June 2008

Pictures of a 24 kg (53 lb) big cod fished in Northern Norway

A couple of weeks ago I caught a 24 kg (53 lb) heavy cod on a bottom-longline. This is the biggest fish I have caught in years so I was very excited when I dragged the huge fish up from the depth of the ocean.
The head was so big that it alone completely filled a 10 liter (2.5 gallon) bucket.
Here is a close up picture of the cod. If you click the image you can look at the picture in a bigger size.
Picture of a 24 kg (53lb) big cod that I fished in Northern Norway
As I mentioned I used a bottom-longline to catch the cod. A bottom-longline is a long line filled with many hooks that are baited. I used some herring that I caught last year as bait since herring seems to be loved by larger fish. The longline is placed on the bottom of the ocean over night and is dragged with a lot of excitement as you never know what you might catch. I also caught a nice Atlantic halibut and some smaller cods along with the 24 kg cod.
Here is a picture of me, the proud fisherman with orange fishing-trousers, holding the big cod:
Picture of me holding a 24kg (53lb) cod


Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

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Harstad – the pearl of VÃ¥gsfjorden

Harstad is the fourth largest city here in Northern Norway and has a population of about 23,000. It is located on an island called Hinnøya and this island is the largest in Norway with it’s 2,204.7 km². Harstad is often called “the pearl of VÃ¥gsfjorden” as the city lays by a beautiful fjord called VÃ¥gsfjorden. The scenery in VÃ¥gsfjorden is great for photographing with midnight sun during the summer and northern lights (aurora borealis) during the dark winter months. The combination of steep mountains and narrow fjords produce some of the most stunning scenery that I have ever seen. This scenery is simply perfect for a nature photographer like me.

There are several other attractions beside the nature that one can check out in Harstad. One example are some huge guns called “The Adolf Guns” that was built during World War II by the occupying Germans. The Adolf Guns consists of the largest naval guns placed ashore in Europe during WWII and the whole gun battery is claimed to be Atlantic Wall’s largest and most powerful.
One should also check out the beautiful Trondens Church. This old church was built around 1434 and is the northernmost Medieval stone church in Norway.

For more information about Harstad you can visit the Wikipedia entry about the town and the official travel website for Harstad. If you want to travel to Harstad and are looking for a good hotel you can check out this website where most of the hotels in Harstad are listed.

When I grew up Harstad was the closest city to where I used to live and we used to simply call it “The city” as it was the only city we ever visited. Here is a picture taken from the harbor in Harstad with a view over VÃ¥gsfjorden and with the island I live on (Andørja) in the background. The boat pictured is an old fishing boat called “sjark” that are still commonly used in the fisheries here in Northern Norway.
Old fishing boat on a calm sea

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

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

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Picture of wood anemone (nemorosa) flower with purple primula flowers as background

Picture of wood anemone (nemorosa flower) with purple primula flowers as background
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera May 31st 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture I have photographed a wood anemone flower (anemone nemorosa) with some purple primula flowers as background. I loved the contrast with the sun shining on the white wood anemone flower and the the primula flowers in the shadow. These beautiful small flowers are also known as windflower, European thimbleweed and smell fox.

The wood anemone flowers is a sure sign that the spring is here and that summer is right around the corner.
Flowers are popping up everywhere now so expect more pictures of flowers from Northern Norway in the near future. You can also check out my previous pictures of flowers here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

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