Thomas Laupstad

Hi there :) My name is Thomas Laupstad and I recently picked up photography as my favorite activity. I want to show you northern Norway from my point of view. Hope you enjoy the blog!

Photo of wave crashing over a small headland in Northern Norway


Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera February 14th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see a wave crashing over a small headland about 1km away from where I was standing. The small headland is called Hesteneset, directly translated “The Horse Headland”. The headland got it’s name because in older times all the horses in the Northern Norway village called Laupstad used to grass there. Today there are no farmers left in Laupstad and thus no horses either.
Sea eagles, on the other hand, is still around and love this spot as place to scout the fjord for prey. I hope I soon will be able to photograph these majestic eagles!
The wind was so strong that the air was filled with seawater so it looked like there was a little bit of fog in the air. That is why the picture might not look 100% sharp.

This photo was taken the same day as the wave and sailing seagull picture.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Photo of wave crashing over a small headland in Northern Norway Read More »

Picture of grass straws and boathouses as background – Winter scenery in Northern Norway


Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera February 22nd 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture you can see some straws growing at the coast in Northern Norway. I love the texture of this kind of straws so I thought they would look great together with the old boathouses.
I wanted to get the boathouses a bit out of focus so I pushed the aperture down f/3.5 and focused on the grass straws to get the depth of field that I thought would suit the composition.

Check out my other boathouse pictures here. I’m starting to get a nice collection of boathouse photos 🙂

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/3.5
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 grass straws and boathouses as background – Winter scenery in Northern Norway Read More »

Picture of waves on a rocky coast in Northern Norway

Picture of waves on a rocky coast in Northern Norway
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera February 14th 2008. Click image for larger view.
It’s time for a simple photo from the rocky coast here in Northern Norway. I love to observe and listen to the massive waves that come crashing in when we have stormy weather. If you look at the picture large you can see some seaweed inside of the waves. The seaweed must have some incredible strength to be able to cling fast during such extreme conditions.
When the weather is like this you can taste the saltwater in your throat for a long time afterwards and it is supposed to be very good for sinus problems. I hope my camera and lenses wont take any damage from the salt 🙂

Check out this blog post with pictures and recorded sound of waves from last winter.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 68 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of waves on a rocky coast in Northern Norway Read More »

Picture of Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) couple sitting on roof pipe in Northern Norway

Picture of seagull pair sitting on roof pipe in Northern Norway
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 18th 2007. Click image for larger view.
I’m a big fan of seagulls so that is why they keep popping up on my site all the time 🙂
In this picture you can see a Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) couple sitting on a roof pipe watching over the neighborhood.
These birds have a highly developed language and I have been trying to understand what the different seagull cries mean. I believe I understand most of the cries and I know when there is a danger coming or food to be found. Knowing the different seagull cries can be helpful when you are out fishing on the sea and look for the same fish shoals that the seagull feeds of.
The seagulls also have some special cries for warning each other about white-tailed eagles (sea eagles) approaching. Those cries can be helpful if you want to observe or photograph eagles.

Check out another picture of roof sitting bird. This time a photo of a raven.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) couple sitting on roof pipe in Northern Norway Read More »

My favorite macro pictures from 2007 taken in Northern Norway part 2

When I made the first post with my favorite pictures from 2007 I realized that I had more faves than I could fit into one post. So here is the next batch of my favorite macro photos taken in Northern Norway 2007.
Click on the pictures to see a larger version and if you click on the individual links you can read more about each picture.

Macro photo of ant dragging a spider
If you look closely you can see the ant is dragging a spider.

Macro photo of Ichneumon wasp
This freaky creature is a sort of Ichneumon wasp that lay eggs into other insects. Their larvae live as a parasite of other insects.

Close up photo of a water drop against yellow lichen with reflection of me, the sun and a mountain
If you look at the picture large you can see the reflection of me, the sun and a big mountain.


Picture of a bumblebee
Bumblebees are beautiful and fascinating. Check out this post for more bumblebee pictures.

Macro picture of a sawfly with blue eyes
Loved the blue eyes on this sawfly.

My favorite macro pictures from 2007 taken in Northern Norway part 2 Read More »