Lofoten, Norway in the Summer (9 photos)

[Mike Buckley]

When I saw an article about photographing Lofoten in the winter, I was humored about one of its photos that displays two fishing cabins of yesteryear now converted into vacation cabins. That's because my wife and I stayed for a week in one of the cabins in the photo, which are surrounded by the most beautiful scenery where we have ever stayed. So, I decided to look up my favorite photos from that vacation in summer 2014 and share them here, as I wasn't participating at the Cafe at the time. If you're interested in the article, it's at https://petapixel.com/2021/02/17/lofoten-norway-a-landscape-photographers-dream/

Photo #1: Nusfjord

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Photo #2: Viewed from the hike to the Munkebu Hut

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Photo #3: Hamnoya

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Photo #4: Racks for drying cod (Photo by my wife, post-processed by me)

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Photo #5

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Photo #6: Located in the village (now an outdoor museum) with the shortest name -- Å

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Photo #7: Reine (village on the right) and Valen (village on the left) -- Scenery surrounding the cabin we stayed in.

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Photo #8: We stayed in the cabin on the right.

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Photo #9: Midnight Sun

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[Mitchell]

Mike, this is a beautiful series. I've seen so many photos of this area in winter. It is nice to see your summer time series.

I'm curious what you and your wife did there for a full week. Would you recommend it as a summer destination?

 

[Bohdan]

Wonderful series of images of a country that I have grown to love. Was hoping to visit my brother and his family this summer//fall but....Covid!!
Hopefully we can in the future be able to revisit the places we love, and enjoy the times with family and friends.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Mitch and Bob!

Would you recommend it as a summer destination?

Absolutely! It is one of our favorite trips that we have taken. As much as you and your family enjoy hiking, you would love it, especially if you want to avoid the cold temperatures and the smell of the cod hanging everywhere.

 

[Mike Buckley]

I'm curious what you and your wife did there for a full week.

Oops! I forgot to respond to that.

We were actually there for about ten days -- the first three at Sandvika Fjord followed by a week in the cabin in Valen, which has a view of Reine, a famous village. We spent every day either hiking, enjoying fishing villages or both. Never a dull moment.

 

[Allan]

Beautiful compositions.

 

[Mitchell]

Oops! I forgot to respond to that.

We were actually there for about ten days -- the first three at Sandvika Fjord followed by a week in the cabin in Valen, which has a view of Reine, a famous village. We spent every day either hiking, enjoying fishing villages or both. Never a dull moment.

Sounds delightful. Now if we could only travel beyond my immediate area.

 

[Terri French]

So beautiful! Looks like a dream vacation to me.

 

[Butlerkid]

Truly beautiful photos, Mike!

 

[Phil K]

Beautiful set.

I also had a summer trip in Norway in 2019. It was beautiful all the way.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Allan, Terri, Karen and Phil!

Looks like a dream vacation to me.

It really is a dream vacation in two ways: for the drop-dead beautiful scenery and, sadly, because Norway is so expensive that it does become a rare vacation spot for most people.

 

[Louis Champan]

What a superb set of images Mike, that first one stuck gorgeous.

 

[Walter Rowe]

These are wonderful Mike. A friend of mine also went there in the warmer months and I believe it is just as picturesque in summer as winter.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Louie and Walter!

that first one stuck gorgeous.

Imagine getting off the ferry mid-morning, picking up the rental car and the first place you drive to because you want to eat lunch is that place. That's what we experienced. There was practically no choice of food and none of it was good, but the scenery sure was magnificent.

 

[Mike Buckley]

For those of you who want to know a little more about Lofoten, it's an archipelago of less than ten main islands. Most of the main islands are connected by just one road but a few are accessed only by boat or airplane. There are a couple cities in the islands but most of the area is rural, mountainous and dotted with fishing villages, some of which have become tourist havens. I've read that Lofoten is still the largest cod fishery in the world. I've also been told that during the fishing season, which is January to April, the smell of the cod hanging from the outdoor racks to dry is everywhere.

Though the large, commercial fishing companies took over long ago, the cabins the fishermen used to use for sleeping at night still remain. The fishermen would tie up their boats to the cabins and climb directly from their boats up the outdoor stairs to enter the cabins. All of those cabins have been converted into vacation cabins. Most of them are red with white trim as seen in my photos but some are yellow-gold with white trim. They are so popular that lots of vacation homes including modern subdivisions of them have been built in the style of the fishing cabins even when they aren't built on stilts sticking out over the edge of the water. The traditional name in Norwegian for the fishing cabins is rorbu (singular) or rorbuer (plural).

All of Lofoten is within the Arctic Circle, so viewing the aurora borealis during winter is popular and viewing the midnight sun during roughly mid May to mid July is also popular. My wife and I have seen the midnight sun only in Lofoten. For our first viewing of it, we took a bottle of wine and two glasses to a small, public beach. (I was willing to forgo the glasses but my wife wasn't.) The only other people there were enjoying a small family reunion. Three of them were swimming and the matriarch, a very healthy 90-year-old, was scampering around the beach also drinking wine.

 

[drr1531]

Nice set of images, Mike. I like the water colors that you captured in no.2. I think most people associate those blues/aquas with tropical water and are surprised when they take cruises etc in higher latitudes. The last image is really nice and is also an excellent example of the pinks/purples seen in higher latitude sunrises/sunsets vs warmer tones typical elsewhere.

 

[West]

Nice set. Barren and unforgiving looking landscape.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Dan and West!