Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog » Mountain

Picture of ice on the coast – Midwinter in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:18:16 +0000

Taken with Olympus E-PL1 digital camera December 28th 2010. Click image for larger view.

This Christmas I visited the family in Northern Norway. There was a few moments where I got time for some photo shooting in the familiar surroundings in the north. Here I was walking at the coastline and I found these ice flakes to be pretty with the winter mountain (that often appears in my photos) in the background. I had to photograph the winter landscape to document another winter in the north!

The light that one can experience midwinter in Northern Norway is pretty awesome with its deep blue colors and signs of the sun coming back, but one got to remember thick clothes and gloves suited for photography.

Please see my other winter pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-PL1 digital camera
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 14 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Photo of old wooden fishing boat on the sea by Harstad in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:53:21 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera July 31st 2010. Click image for larger view.
I was just on a short visit in Northern Norway this summer. I did not have much time for photography, but found some minutes while waiting on a ferry to get home to the place where I grew up. While waiting this old wooden fishing boat passed out on the fjord so I had to take a picture of the boat with a lovely mountain in the background.

I love these old fishing boats as they tell a story how the fisheries used to be in Norway. Due to modern fishery politics many of these wooden boats have been demolished because the government wanted a more effective fishing fleet with fewer and bigger boats, but there are a few left and even some that still are partaking in the coastal fisheries. Even the boats that were owned by my family were sunken in the 50ies, which I find really sad. Hopefully we will have more sensible fisheries in the future so we will not destroy the fish stocks and the rest of the environment in our oceans.

Please take a look at my other pictures of boats here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX APO DG HSM Macro
Location: Harstad, Troms in Northern Norway

My picture was published in The New Yorker magazine

Thomas Laupstad — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:06:27 +0000

Some months ago I was contacted by an employee at a magazine called The New Yorker. They had found one of my pictures on the world wide web and wanted to use it in collage that were to illustrate a fictional story. The picture they found was of some clouds hugging a mountain. I didn’t think the picture was my best, but it probably was perfect for the artist at The New Yorker.
It is very nice to get recognized like this and of course get paid for your work. It makes it worthwhile to get out and take more pictures of all the beauty around us.

Here is the picture The New Yorker used:

Now the story is published in The New Yorker and if you want to check out the story and collage with my picture check out this link.
You can see my other photographs of mountains here.

Midnight sunset picture of distant village in the sea in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:20:35 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera June 29th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture I have captured what was a fantastic midnight sunset here in Northern Norway. The sunset created some incredible light where this village in the sea was bathed in a beam of sunshine. The picture should be looked at in large size to get a better view of the sunset.
The midnight sun is already gone (I can’t believe how fast this summer has passed), but the nights are still very light if the rain clouds could stay away.

The distant village is called Laupstad and is the place where I grew up (hence my last name Laupstad). The mountains in the background is a part of the second largest island in Norway, Senja.

I have photographed the same village from above in this picture and in this picture you can see the village with a some pink sunset-clouds as background at 01:30 AM.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 89 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: From Ånstad viewing Laupstad (Andørja) with Senja in the background, Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of field full of dandelion flowers and a red boatshed in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:16:10 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera June 8th 2008. Click image for larger view.
I love the short period when every dandelion plant seems to flower at the exact same time. A field full of yellow flowers on a sunny day is a beautiful sight so I could not resist taking out the camera to snap some pictures. Since I’m a big fan of photographing boatsheds I had to make a composition with a shed in the picture.
As you can see there is still some snow in the mountains here in Northern Norway, but the green color is creeping pretty fast upward to the top of the mountains. Maybe it is time to go for a photo-hike up those mountainsides?

Check out a few shots of grass fields from last summer:
-Taking pictures while laying in a buttercup meadow
-Photo of old fence keeping out hordes of yellow flowers

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Sunset scene during the spring in Northern Norway – Picture taken from bedroom window

Thomas Laupstad — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:59:17 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera May 16th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture I have photographed a sunset late in the evening (at 11 PM) from my bedroom window. I love this view and I never get tired of looking at it
Notice all the snow in the mountains that you can see in the horizon (if you click on the picture to view it large it easier to see the snow). We are still a bit away from summer here in Northern Norway and spring has been pretty cold so far. It will hopefully get warmer here soon so a cold Norwegian can get a tan

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

Picture of small Scots pine tree (Pinus sylvestris) in a winter landscape in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 2nd 2008. Click image for larger view.
After a period of not taking any pictures I got some inspiration today and went out on a photo trip.
I found an area where some Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) were growing wild. I really liked the form on this little tree and the snowy scenery made a good background for a picture. The mountain peak is many kilometers away, but I used a zoom lens to make it look closer.
Scots pine is the only pine tree species growing wild here in Norway. It can reach 40 meters and there has been found trees that are over 800 years old.

Check out this picture of a lonely birch tree standing in a marsh filled with mist. It’s one of my personal faves

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Sørvik (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Photo of old Norwegian summer barn against mountain

Thomas Laupstad — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:20:22 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera March 14th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see a traditional, old Norwegian summer barn with some mountains as background. In older times these barns were used to house livestock during the summer season. The summer barns were often located a bit away from the farm land and closer to the forests and mountains where the livestock grazed.
Notice the common juniper and small birch trees growing on the summer barn’s grass roof. It must be decades since it was last in use.
The sun was about to set and so that explains the red color on the snow.

If you want to take a look at other decaying buildings check out this and this picture.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Å (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

Picture of lonely straw and winter mountains in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:43:43 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera March 7th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see a lonely straw against some snow covered winter mountains in Northern Norway. I love the deep blue color on the sky in contrast to the white mountains.
I used a low f-stop, f/2.8, to get a shallow depth of field to get the mountains and the rest of the scenery a bit out of focus, while the straw is in focus.

I’ve done something similar in a scene with some grass straws and boatsheds.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 11 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

Picture of old boatshed against snow covered mountains in Northern Norway

Thomas Laupstad — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:33:33 +0000

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera March 1st 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see the family boatshed with some snow covered mountains as background.
You can tell from the battered look that the boatshed have endured countless of harsh storms. It’s tilting a bit to left because of some extreme storms a few years ago that moved the boatshed a good 40 cm (16 inch) from the foundation. I hope it wont fall down over my boat
The tallest mountain in the background is called Å-tinden and is about 1000 meters above sea level.

Check out this photo of a decayed boathouse that is about to fall down.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Polarizer filter used
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway