Great video! I was also in Lofoten during Gale storm. :D Also great point about dangerous parking to take photos. No photo is worth the risk to lives and properties of yours or others.
Thanks Masoud! That storm was crazy! The storms and snow created more challenges but this year was SO much better than last year in the rain. The snow makes such a huge difference in the Winter. I hope you came home with some good shots!
Thanks Dave - LOL...I definitely did. I've got a ton of photos still to post and over 700 video clips from this trip. I kind of went crazy while I was there, so if there are mountains that I drove by, there's a good chance I either shot it last year or this year at some point. Such an amazing corner of the world. I'm almost certainly going back at some point because there is so much more to shoot!
Wonderful set of videos William. Just watched the first 3 back to back, and about to watch the 4th. I'm planning a trip there in Feb 2025. Your videos are helping with the planning. You've really captured Lofoten. Thank you.
I must have missed this comment earlier, John. I hope you have a great time over there! I might actually drive past you at some point depending on when you will be there. I'm planning on shooting again in February 2025, but I'm going to try to make more trips to the North towards Senja and some of the other towns and beaches North of Leknes. In either case, I hope we both get some snow and some light! :)
Thanks for this. I'm going to spend one week at the beginning of January in the Lofoten, so now i know what to expect: Power cuts, gales and overcast skies. Aw well.
Thanks so much for watching! Early January will be tough for light during the day, but that just means you'll have more opportunities for the aurora. I hope the weather is better for you! I couldn't get over how it seemed to be stormy almost EVERY day, but maybe you'll get lucky this year. I hope you have a great time!
Fantastic video - my wife and I watched, liked and subscribed having watched parts I & II this weekend as we are planning a similar trip in Feb or March 2025 - we were not expecting to see this today! Looking forward to part IV!! Were there any big learnings from your trips? Would you suggest February, over March?
Thanks Nils! After reading up on it, it seems that there actually might be more snow and definitely more light to work with in March. It seems odd to me that it would rain more in January and February, but that's what I'm reading. However....for me, it would be really hard to pass on that golden light for 6-7 hours in February as the sun stays so low in the horizon to the South. The light was just stunning when I was there. The other surprising thing was that the average temperatures for both months seem pretty close. So...the sun would be higher in March, the days would be longer, but in the middle of the day, the light might not be as nice. I got lucky this year with the snow in February, but if you can catch a day with new snow and that low sun off to the South...February can be pretty spectacular. Thank you so much for subscribing! :)
@@WJMPhotography I had not realised about the differing snow cover between Feb and March, that's very useful to know - I need to do a lot of fast reading!! With the Solar maximum boosting the chance to see the Aurora in 2025 I really want to get booked in now before everyone else does! We had planned to roadtrip around Senja and Lofoten in early 2015 but bottled it and we instead went in May 2016 when the 24hr daylight was another very different experience. We still really wanted to see the Aurora and so booked three nights in Abisko, just east of Lofoten in Northern Sweden and an hours drive from Kiruna airport. The scenery isn't as spectacular (though the "Lap gate" / Lapporten was quite something) and we were lucky to have 2 very bright and strong showings, plus a colourful smudge on the third night. There is supposedly a "blue hole" above Abisko caused by the local geography parting the clouds to give clear skies above - I'm not sure quite how true that is but it certainly worked for us! I'm planning on starting our next trip with two nights in Abisko in the hopes of clear skies and an Aurora to take the pressure off the following week to 10 days in Lofoten! Thanks again for replying and posting such a great video. I really like the presentation style and having watched a couple of dozen videos about Lofoten in winter ove rthe past weekend, your were the ones that stood out. Cheers / Skol!
I think it depends on what you really want to see while you are there. If you go in late December, you MIGHT have several clear nights and more time to see the aurora, but you could just as easily have a solid week of rain like I had in 2023, and if that is the case, there isn't much daylight to work with. The sun won't come up above horizon in Lofoten until around Jan 8, so if there is bad weather, you might end up spending a lot of time indoors. One of my favorite reference books on Lofoten is "Seasons on Lofoten: Winter" by Cody Duncan. The book does a great job of describing the pros and cons of each month in Winter. Cody didn't seem too enthusiastic about December, but again, it depends on what you are after. If you want to experience the Polar Night and have longer hours to look at and/or shoot the aurora (which has been pretty active lately!) you might want to just go and see what you get. If you want a broader range of light to work with, i.e. sun coming over the horizon and lighting up new snow, you might want to wait until mid to late January or into Feb to go. Here is a link to Cody's book: www.codyduncan.com/ebooks/
Hi Bri - I was on my own for both of my Lofoten Trips, but cell service is pretty good on major roadways on the Lofoten Islands in case you break down somewhere. I did see about 4 accidents while I was there as it's not uncommon for people to pass you in snowy conditions when they are in a hurry. I generally take it pretty easy when the roads are icy and I haven't had any problems so far. The studded snow tires definitely help in the Winter!
Hi Ada - I use a combination of Windy and Ventusky to get a look at the cloud forecast and try to match it with where the clouds look like they are headed on the satellite view which is available on both apps. For sunrise/sunset color, I use both SunsetWX (they have a Europe model) and Skyfire on The Photographer's Ephemeris app. Of all of those, I think Skyfire is the only one that I pay a subscription for. Skyfire and Sunsetwx are usually only 50-60% accurate, but both are good if I am trying to decide where my best chance of light will be. :)
Hi beautiful video, we will be visiting on Nov 24th and staying in Reine, just a query- for northern lights will this be a good village to see them like just outside or rely more on northern lights tours(will be doing one anyways)….also would the reinebriengen hike be open?
Hello - Just found your comment. I hope you see this in time if you need it. Hamnoy/Sakrisoy had a good view of the Northern Lights when I was there facing North toward the mountains, but depending on the night and the weather, you can get nice views from any place that is out in the open without lights. They tend to look very nice from beaches like Uttakliev, which is why quite a few photographers go there. The Reinebringen should be "open" but if there is snow and ice, there will be signs warning you of the danger of climbing in Winter. If you still want to go up in the snow, it would be best to have a helmet, and maybe even an ice axe and crampons to help keep you from slipping on the way up. That can be a scary climb in Winter. :)
Wow! Your videos of Lofoten are absolutely awesome! Documentary-like cinematography! Truly remarkable!
Thank you so much for watching! :)
Absolutely amazing sir, thank u for bringing this wonderful place alive into yt📸
Thank you so much for watching! :)
Great video! I was also in Lofoten during Gale storm. :D Also great point about dangerous parking to take photos. No photo is worth the risk to lives and properties of yours or others.
Thanks Masoud! That storm was crazy! The storms and snow created more challenges but this year was SO much better than last year in the rain. The snow makes such a huge difference in the Winter. I hope you came home with some good shots!
Great video sir. I was screaming at the TV telling you to stop on the bridge in the snow and shoot the mountains.
Thanks Dave - LOL...I definitely did. I've got a ton of photos still to post and over 700 video clips from this trip. I kind of went crazy while I was there, so if there are mountains that I drove by, there's a good chance I either shot it last year or this year at some point. Such an amazing corner of the world. I'm almost certainly going back at some point because there is so much more to shoot!
Wonderful set of videos William. Just watched the first 3 back to back, and about to watch the 4th. I'm planning a trip there in Feb 2025. Your videos are helping with the planning. You've really captured Lofoten. Thank you.
I must have missed this comment earlier, John. I hope you have a great time over there! I might actually drive past you at some point depending on when you will be there. I'm planning on shooting again in February 2025, but I'm going to try to make more trips to the North towards Senja and some of the other towns and beaches North of Leknes. In either case, I hope we both get some snow and some light! :)
Thanks for this. I'm going to spend one week at the beginning of January in the Lofoten, so now i know what to expect: Power cuts, gales and overcast skies. Aw well.
Thanks so much for watching! Early January will be tough for light during the day, but that just means you'll have more opportunities for the aurora. I hope the weather is better for you! I couldn't get over how it seemed to be stormy almost EVERY day, but maybe you'll get lucky this year. I hope you have a great time!
Such an awesome video! I’m watching it now too as part of my first time visiting Lofoten on an upcoming solo trip in February!
Thank you so much for watching! You're going to have an amazing time there! Lofoten is incredible in February!
Fantastic video - my wife and I watched, liked and subscribed having watched parts I & II this weekend as we are planning a similar trip in Feb or March 2025 - we were not expecting to see this today! Looking forward to part IV!!
Were there any big learnings from your trips? Would you suggest February, over March?
Thanks Nils! After reading up on it, it seems that there actually might be more snow and definitely more light to work with in March. It seems odd to me that it would rain more in January and February, but that's what I'm reading. However....for me, it would be really hard to pass on that golden light for 6-7 hours in February as the sun stays so low in the horizon to the South. The light was just stunning when I was there. The other surprising thing was that the average temperatures for both months seem pretty close. So...the sun would be higher in March, the days would be longer, but in the middle of the day, the light might not be as nice. I got lucky this year with the snow in February, but if you can catch a day with new snow and that low sun off to the South...February can be pretty spectacular. Thank you so much for subscribing! :)
@@WJMPhotography I had not realised about the differing snow cover between Feb and March, that's very useful to know - I need to do a lot of fast reading!! With the Solar maximum boosting the chance to see the Aurora in 2025 I really want to get booked in now before everyone else does!
We had planned to roadtrip around Senja and Lofoten in early 2015 but bottled it and we instead went in May 2016 when the 24hr daylight was another very different experience. We still really wanted to see the Aurora and so booked three nights in Abisko, just east of Lofoten in Northern Sweden and an hours drive from Kiruna airport. The scenery isn't as spectacular (though the "Lap gate" / Lapporten was quite something) and we were lucky to have 2 very bright and strong showings, plus a colourful smudge on the third night. There is supposedly a "blue hole" above Abisko caused by the local geography parting the clouds to give clear skies above - I'm not sure quite how true that is but it certainly worked for us! I'm planning on starting our next trip with two nights in Abisko in the hopes of clear skies and an Aurora to take the pressure off the following week to 10 days in Lofoten!
Thanks again for replying and posting such a great video. I really like the presentation style and having watched a couple of dozen videos about Lofoten in winter ove rthe past weekend, your were the ones that stood out. Cheers / Skol!
Wow! wonderful video. I am planning to go there during end of December but not sure if I should go :) Do you have any suggestion?
I think it depends on what you really want to see while you are there. If you go in late December, you MIGHT have several clear nights and more time to see the aurora, but you could just as easily have a solid week of rain like I had in 2023, and if that is the case, there isn't much daylight to work with. The sun won't come up above horizon in Lofoten until around Jan 8, so if there is bad weather, you might end up spending a lot of time indoors. One of my favorite reference books on Lofoten is "Seasons on Lofoten: Winter" by Cody Duncan. The book does a great job of describing the pros and cons of each month in Winter. Cody didn't seem too enthusiastic about December, but again, it depends on what you are after. If you want to experience the Polar Night and have longer hours to look at and/or shoot the aurora (which has been pretty active lately!) you might want to just go and see what you get. If you want a broader range of light to work with, i.e. sun coming over the horizon and lighting up new snow, you might want to wait until mid to late January or into Feb to go. Here is a link to Cody's book: www.codyduncan.com/ebooks/
@ Thank you 😊👍
Wonderful footage! For safety, do you have a friend to drive through weather like that?
Hi Bri - I was on my own for both of my Lofoten Trips, but cell service is pretty good on major roadways on the Lofoten Islands in case you break down somewhere. I did see about 4 accidents while I was there as it's not uncommon for people to pass you in snowy conditions when they are in a hurry. I generally take it pretty easy when the roads are icy and I haven't had any problems so far. The studded snow tires definitely help in the Winter!
@@WJMPhotography Reminds me of when I lived in Rhode Island!
Which weather forecast app you are using to check the amount of cloud ?
Hi Ada - I use a combination of Windy and Ventusky to get a look at the cloud forecast and try to match it with where the clouds look like they are headed on the satellite view which is available on both apps. For sunrise/sunset color, I use both SunsetWX (they have a Europe model) and Skyfire on The Photographer's Ephemeris app. Of all of those, I think Skyfire is the only one that I pay a subscription for. Skyfire and Sunsetwx are usually only 50-60% accurate, but both are good if I am trying to decide where my best chance of light will be. :)
Hi beautiful video, we will be visiting on Nov 24th and staying in Reine, just a query- for northern lights will this be a good village to see them like just outside or rely more on northern lights tours(will be doing one anyways)….also would the reinebriengen hike be open?
Hello - Just found your comment. I hope you see this in time if you need it. Hamnoy/Sakrisoy had a good view of the Northern Lights when I was there facing North toward the mountains, but depending on the night and the weather, you can get nice views from any place that is out in the open without lights. They tend to look very nice from beaches like Uttakliev, which is why quite a few photographers go there. The Reinebringen should be "open" but if there is snow and ice, there will be signs warning you of the danger of climbing in Winter. If you still want to go up in the snow, it would be best to have a helmet, and maybe even an ice axe and crampons to help keep you from slipping on the way up. That can be a scary climb in Winter. :)