Winter On The Lofoten Islands - Episode II

This is part 2 of my trip to the Lofoten Islands in January of 2023. While dealing with almost non-stop rain and short daylight hours for the majority of the trip, I shot as much as I could, making trips from my airbnb cabin in Sorvagen. In this episode I cover the Southern end of Moskenesoy, Sorvagen, Moskenes, Reine, Sakrisoy, Hamnoy, Fredvang Bridges, Skagsanden, and Uttakliev. The sky briefly cleared on two nights so I was also able to grab some shots of the Aurora while I was there. Hoping to return next year!
#lofotenislands #winter #landscapephotography

[@nancee9101]

Thank you for filming your trip. It gave us a real sense of what to expect weatherwise and also the amazing views we're going to see. And golly, the Northern lights photos are fantastic!!

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you for watching Nancy! Lofoten in the Winter is truly amazing and I'm hoping to get another crack at the Northern Lights again this year. The sun has been very active lately and some of the recent solar storms have been bonkers. I feel like I haven't really been able to shoot a BIG Northern Lights show up there yet, so maybe the third time will be the charm. :)

[@violetlam7]

Thank you for sharing your amazing experience in Lofoten Islands with us. I would love to go one day. Only wondering when is the best time to go and to see the Northern lights as well.

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you for watching, Violet! Having been over there in both January and February, I would suggest February as you have more daylight to work with. I don't think it matters too much for the Northern Lights between January and February as it will still get dark early in February and it will really come down to how active the sun is while you are there. Last year, I was there during the first two weeks of February and I was very happy with the photos that I came home with. Ironically, when I went in January, it RAINED almost every day, but in February, we had snow almost every day. I don't understand why that would happen, but February turned out to be a much better month for me overall. :)

[@2wheelsturning54]

After seeing part 1, more of the wonderful same! Thanks William for posting these, I found the way you present very realistic as well as compelling. Beautiful photos despite the challenging conditions and wow, top marks for putting yourself out there on the night you finally got a break in the rain and you captured the Aurora. Really enjoyed the in car POV footage, it showed us what the place is really like.

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you so much for watching! :)

[@katz4dancing]

Stunning locations, I appreciate your photography skills and perspective!!

[@WJMPhotography]

Thanks Kat! And thanks for watching! :)

[@SebastianMoreno82]

William, so glad the weather cooperated some to be able to catch the Aurora! it is def a blessing when conditions align and this amazing natural light show goes off! Cheers !

[@WJMPhotography]

Thanks Sebastian! I wish I had as much snow as when you were there, but that just gives me a good reason to return soon. I hope I get to go back in February!

[@korea.festival]

My friend, You Great Good... !!! I wish you every day of your development. Best Relaxing +thumb up3!

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you! :)

[@sdogg]

Amazing. Thank you for sharing. I'll be going there in late October this year and I cannot wait.

[@WJMPhotography]

Thanks STJ! It really is amazing over there, and the sunsets and sunrises in the Fall seem to go on forever. I hope you have a great time!

[@TheArtOfStreetPhotography]

Stunning photos. We are going from february 20 till March the 3rd - only a few weeks left, cannot wait! I was wondering, is a long lens (100-200 range) of much use? I dont own one but thinking of buying one specifically for this trip.

[@WJMPhotography]

It really depends on what you want to shoot. I almost left my 70-200 lens at home as I primarily wanted to get shots of those peaks with a foreground and plenty of shots of the aurora, etc. Of all of the shots I came home with, I'd say maybe 20 percent were taken with the 70-200, but I really like that 20 percent. For my next trip there, I will be taking a 12mm f2.8 fisheye and the 14-24 f2.8 for the aurora, along with a 24-120 f4 and a 70-200 f4. I have some overlap with the 70-200, but there are many situations where I will definitely want a longer reach. I was tempted to bring the 100-400, but I think I can get most of those tighter shots with the 200, and my bag already weighs a ton. For me, it was definitely worth having the longer reach. I hope that helps. :)

[@AadidevSooknananNXS]

Thank you for doing this!!! Did you get stuck in the snow at any point in time?

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you for watching! I didn't get stuck, but came close. I was driving a Toyota Yaris with snow tires and usually only drove after the roads were plowed, but I drove slowly and was careful when going around corners. I saw quite a few cars and trucks while I was there that had slid off of the road. In my next episode, coming up in a few weeks, I was driving back to my cabin in 3-4 inches and fish-tailed quite a bit while driving on a road that hadn't been plowed yet. They were pretty good about plowing the roads, even in heavy snow, but it's good to be extra careful while you are there. Also...if you are there for several days, be sure to check your wheel wells as snow built up in mine and eventually it kept my steering wheel from turning. All of my alarms went off and it was only after looking at my tires that I discovered that my wheel wells were caked in ice. After I cleared them out, the car ran fine. :)

[@naseelbasheer1783]

Great Video , going next month! Do you have the road map you traversed. Thanks!

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Naseel - I'm sorry I missed your question. I've been out traveling and just got back. If you look at episode 3 of this series, I show a map at 3:40 in the video. Most of what you will probably want to shoot will be down toward the South near Reine, Sakrisoy and Hamnoy and most of the locations are right off of the E10. I hope you have a great time! Here is a link to episode 3: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2e2p4iAZqhmfsU

[@haziqzari2180]

What a beautiful video 😭 where did you stop on the first sunrise?

[@WJMPhotography]

Thanks Haziq. That's a great question. It's been awhile, but I think it was South of Moskenes right before you get to the town of Tind. There are several spots down that way that seemed to be better sunrise options as you could pull more color into the sky by shooting more to the Southeast. When you are shooting up at Reine in January, the sun is generally rising behind you as you shoot over the bay toward the mountains.

[@PuneethSrinivas]

Awesome video 👏 Which camera gear you use ?

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Puneeth - I shoot with a Nikon D850 and a D750, but if you can get fantastic shots of the aurora and the night sky without spending quite so much. Most of my night sky shots were taken with the Nikon 14-24 2.8 and the Rokinon 12mm 2.8. For night skies and the aurora, it used to be that you had to shoot with a super fast lens like a 2.8, but with better camera sensors now and the fact that photoshop will allow you to remove most of the noise with their latest update, you could probably get by with F4 and just roll up the ISO. For video, I'm getting by with a GoPro Hero 10, DJI Mini 3 Pro and my iPhone 13. :)

[@PuneethSrinivas]

Thanks 👍🏻