Kyle Jones
Moderator
Note that this guide was originally published on my website here.
The Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway have become a popular location for hiking, boating and exploring in the summer and for viewing (or attempting to view) the northern lights in the winter. Even though there are some challenges traveling above the Arctic Circle in the winter, the reward is a beautiful array of islands, mountains, fjords, villages and beaches that provide a multitude of photographic opportunities. I spent about 10 days in Lofoten in February 2024, splitting the time between Hamnøy for the first part of the trip and Leknes/Svolvær for the second.
Travel to Lofoten
The Lofoten islands are not particularly easy to get to. Most trips will involve a stop in Oslo. From there I flew to the Harstad/Narvik Airport in Evenes which is about a 5 hour drive from my first destination. There are a few smaller airports in Lofoten that were closer but they would have required an extra connection. There is also a ferry from Bodø, but that wouldn’t be my first choice in the winter. The main “highway” through the Lofoten islands is almost wide enough for one lane in each direction (some cooperation is sometimes needed passing cars going the opposite way) and is generally covered in snow/ice in the winter. The Norwegians do an excellent job of keeping the roads plowed, as I would learn during the trip. Rental cars include snow tires and I made sure I had a 4WD as well.
The drive was beautiful but I only stopped for photos once during the drive, attracted by some nice reflections along the road.
Arriving in Hamnøy
My home for the next five nights was the Eliassen Rorbuer in the village of Hamnøy. Rorbuer are the traditional fisherman’s cottages common in the region, many of which have been renovated into tourist accommodations. My main reason for staying here was the location – it is a short walk to the most famous view in Lofoten.
I shared a two-bedroom cottage with my friend with an ocean view. The facility has an onsite restaurant serving seafood and Italian which is open during the winter.
Surfing Unstad
As it turns out the Lofoten Islands have some beaches that are well regarded as surfing destinations, particularly Unstad beach. My friend had arranged with a local surf shop to rent a board and wetsuit. Our first stop on the way there was Vareid for sunrise.
Fresh snow had fallen overnight (and there was plenty more to come) providing a frosting on the rocks. While there was some nice light on the mountains across the fjord, we never really got any sunrise color and the tide was a little too high to take advantage of the rocks in the foreground.
Unstad Arctic Surf was my favorite place to eat in Lofoten. The food was local and delicious and the staff was friendly and accommodating. This morning started with their (self-advertised) “world’s best cinnamon rolls” and coffee. Later in the day we would try their salmon, whale stew, and reindeer stew. On another visit I tried the goulash which was also delicious. Especially in the winter off-season, breakfast was a challenge in Lofoten. Many restaurants are closed for the season and most coffee shops don’t open until 10:00am. Our cottage for this part of the trip had a kitchen so we were able to have some food there before leaving. Otherwise we would wait until a coffee shop opened and then get coffee and cake/pastry. A few coffee shops also had some smoked salmon sandwiches.
The beach was enclosed within mountains and had large, snow covered rocks along the shore. The snowy morning had turned into a nice afternoon with great clouds and some color. Being this far north in February, the light was nice all day.
Driving up the hill from Unstad and going through a tunnel, we came upon the view below. We had no choice but to stop and take a few photos of the fjord and sunset.
Uttakleiv beach is flanked by some impressive mountains and is known for its rock formations along the shoreline that make great foreground subjects.
Stormy Weather and Snowy Scenes
The weather began to turn the next morning. The skies clouded over and the winds began to pick up. With some time on my hands, a lunch stop at Anita’s Seafood in Sakrisøy was in order. One of my staples while in Lofoten was fish soup. I would have it for lunch or dinner and it was always good. The fish soups in the area have a buttery cream base and include cod, shrimp, vegetables, and sometimes some other shellfish. The food in Lofoten is fairly expensive, with a bowl of fish soup or a fish sandwich costing around $30.
Anita’s also serves a Whale Tataki, with slices of whale meat served Japanese style. The meat, harvested from Norway’s healthy Minke whale population, is bright red and has a taste and consistency similar to beef.
My favorite dish from my visits to Anita’s, though, was the fish sandwich. They offer several versions, but I really enjoyed having fried cod topped with smoked salmon. Highly recommended.
Next to Anita’s is a small, yellow cabin that is a popular photographic subject in Sakrisøy. I chose a tight composition to avoid a truck that was parked next to it, but was still able to include the peak in the background.
That evening the wind really began to howl. During the night, our quaint cottage on stilts shook with each gust of wind, making me question some life choices. Fortunately the structure survived and the weather began to calm mid-morning the next day. I decided to go exploring around Ramberg to the north and scout compositions at Skagsanden beach for sunsets/aurora.
We spotted a sea eagle along the way, which was worth a quick stop. The highway was blocked by snow drifts near Skagsanden beach and we were stuck on the road for over half an hour. Once the drift was cleared, we drove to Flakstad just passed the beach. The lack of traffic made it possible to stop in the road for a few minutes to photograph the church in front of the mountains.
We stopped in Ramberg for lunch on the way back to Hamnøy. Yes, I had fish soup again. Ramberg has a well known cottage along the water so we stopped to photograph it after lunch. The colors in the ocean and the still stormy skies worked well in the background.
The clearing clouds looked good over Hamnøy so I stopped for a few photos. For this composition I used a wide lens to include the rocks in the foreground and a variable ND filter to slow down the exposure to show a wave motion that I liked.
The prime spot to photograph this location is from the bridge leading south from Hamnøy toward Sakrisøy. The snow/ice covered sidewalk next to the railing almost always has at least one tripod on it and I probably saw as many as 100 at peak times. Some people choose to shoot over the railing and some set up low and shoot through it to capture more of the foreground rocks. The biggest challenge is the street lights. They create some nasty flares when trying to compose a wide scene. It was a constant learning process to figure out where I should stand, how wide I could compose, and whether I needed to block the light with my hand to prevent flares. There are also some lights in the water to help guide boats. These lights create a green tint on the snow in the foreground that I worked to remove when processing.
