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The “ultimate Lofoten Photography trip” sat on the top of my list of adventures under the disguise of a “Sail and Ski” adventure. It was a unicorn born well before I ever picked up a camera.
If you are familiar with ski movies you will know of the Warren Miller productions and iconic scenes like a yacht sailing up to a bay surrounded by towering peaks covered from top to bottom with champagne powder. Just thinking about it now makes my hear beat harder. The video part on this particular warren Miller film that plays on repeat in my head, located in Northern Norway it features riders stepping off the boat at the base of a mountain with an instant hike up to a view that would bring giants to tears, followed by untouched powder lines to the ocean below. This was the dream, ultimately destroyed by the reality of logistics and price, we pulled a crew together and set about our own “Lofoten Sail and Ski” dubbed “Bucket list: Lofoten”.
This image of dramatic snowboarding lines overlooking fjords and the North Norwegian sea was enhanced by images of Lofoten popping onto my radar every time I researched for photography locations in Norway. I was haunted by these images, they plagued me and begged me to hunt them down.
With fellow friends eager for ski adventures out of the norm, we pulled together a plan to conquer the fresh ocean air, epic lines and dramatic landscape photography.
We stayed in a great little fishing village and hired a cabin in Henningsvær. Form here we could access all the popular ski lines within a maximum of 1 hour driving in any direction. For the most part we drove between 20-30 minutes for both the skiing and photography. I have outlined most of the locations below.
Skiing in Lofoten is largely concentrated around the North of Lofoten, we skied places like Rundfjellet and around the Laupstad area.
“Lofoten – Skiing in the Magic Islands” is a great resource. It outlines all the classic ski routes with dangers, safety guidelines and pictures included.
We were also lucky to have a friend with us that had some time off from guiding in the area. Thus we owe a big thanks to Ben Johns from Altuss mountain guides for keeping an eye on us during his time off. Thanks for the tips, the beers and the avo lessons Ben!
I set out with a few shots in mind, a mix of skiing and landscape photography but I was ultimately looking for a shot that could combine the two. As the weather did it’s own thing, the “Ultimate Shot” will have to wait until the next trip and many of the photo locations were influenced from where we going to ski that day and what was around that location. Luckily Lofoten itself is one big photo waiting to be shot which made things easy. Again, due to the weather, we ended up scouting as much as actually shooting, thus I have a long list of spots for the next trip, oh yes there will be a next trip!
Some of the Iconic Lofoten shots I came away with were Drying Norsk Thorsk (fish) on the drying racks. These can be found all over, whilst the village we stayed in had an abundance of fish drying racks easy to find by following the aroma.
Mt Rulten in the Austnesfjorden. This beauty of a mountain can be viewed from Svolvær and all the way down the fjord.
Kåblevag. Although we tried to shoot at the harbour a couple times, our attempts were met with clouds completely covering the mountains in the background. Given good conditions, there are some great locations in this area.
Unstad “arcitc surf”. I was hoping there would be a few surfers out to add interest to the landscapes. However with no surfer insight and a 10 minute weather window this location will keep for next time. Luckily the drive to Unstad from Henneingsvær was fruitfull and as spontaneous as the light.
Henningsvær itself is a truly unique spot (although perhaps not unique within Lofoten as there are many small villages), connected with large arching bridges Henningsvær is littered with photo spots hosting grand backdrops.
I know there are some outstanding areas towards the south of Lofoten, places like Reine and Hamnøy.
We did not drive take the extra few hours to drive that far south but if you are heading to lofoten I would highly recommend spending an a night or two around those locations.
Henningsvær Harbour | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Henningsvær Fish Rack | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Henningsvær | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Henningsvær Sunset |Photo: Carl van den Boom
Henningsvær Hut |Photo: Carl van den Boom
Vatnfjorden |Photo: Carl van den Boom
Rundfjellet | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Henningsvær Harbour | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Rundfjellet | Photo: Carl van den Boom
kalle | Photo: Carl van den Boom
kalle | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Svolvær | Photo: Carl van den Boom
Leave a comment below if you would like to know anything about our trip or wanting some tips for your own Lofoten photography adventure.
Happy Shooting,
Carl van den Boom
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