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!

Picture of winter landscape in Oslo – Skiing in Nordmarka

Picture of winter landscape in Oslo - Skiing in Nordmarka
Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera February 11nd 2012. Click image for larger view.

Living in the largest city in Norway does not mean that there are no possibilities to get out into the nature. There is actually tons of opportunities to get into the wild like hiking in the woods, fishing in the fjords, and like in this picture going skiing in Nordmarka. Nordmarka is a forested area north of Oslo where you can skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. It is so close to the city that you can even go there by the Oslo Metro.
In the summer you can also go fishing in this area, in addition to off-road cycling, and picking wild berries and mushrooms.

In this picture we went skiing from a metro station called Frognersæteren, through some areas where it had snowed heavy and ended up at Sognsvann where we got on the Metro to get back home. It was a great day with plenty of beautiful scenery and a good six hour workout.

Please see my other pictures from Oslo here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 11 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway

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Picture of Vestre Aker kirke – Church in Oslo at St. Hanshaugen

Picture of Vestre Aker kirke - Church in Oslo
Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera January 12th 2012. Click image for larger view.

Vestre Aker is a church in the borough St. Hanshaugen in Oslo. The church was built in 1855 and designed by the architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer. It is has a so called Gothic Revival architecture style that was popular in Norway between 1850 and 1900. There are several other churches in Oslo that is built with the same type of architecture.

Today Vestre Aker has room for about 500 people after it was renovated in 1969. There is also a graveyard in connection with the church.

Here is another picture of Vestre Aker kirke from the side. They might need to trim those trees so we can get a better view of the church.

Picture of Vestre Aker kirke - Church in Oslo

Stay tuned to this blog for more pictures of churches in Oslo.


Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Focal Length 11 and 12 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: St. Hanshaugen in Oslo, Norway

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Black and white picture from winter road trip in Northern Sweden

Black and white picture from winter road trip in Northern Sweden
Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera December 28th 2011. Click image for larger view.

This Christmas I visited Northern Norway for the Holiday. I usually go by plane to the north, but this time we drove from Trondheim, in the middle of Norway, to my home island of Andørja. This kind of trip can be quite challenging during the winter.

On the way south we went through Northern Sweden and there was some nice winter scenery when we passed the mountain ranges. In the picture above I have photographed a winter road in black and white. The landscape up there is very desolate and far away from everything so a black and white conversion suited the scenery.
I also like the effect that you can see in the foreground on the road that happens because I took the picture while sitting in a moving car.

Please see my other winter pictures here.


Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 42 mm
ISO Speed 400
Location: Northern Sweden

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Picture of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) fish caught in Northern Norway

Picture of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) fish caught in Northern Norway
Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera September 4th 2011. Click image for larger view.

Here is have photographed a couple of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) that I caught in a net when I was visiting Northern Norway in September this year. The herring is one of the most important types of fish on the coast of Norway. We mostly use to catch herring in the fall when schools of the fish come into the fjords. We use the herring both as food and as bait to catch other fish like the Atlantic halibut. If the herring is used for food it is usually fried whole or salted for later use.
Personally I prefer to use herring as bait as I’m not the biggest fan of the special taste from this oily fish.

Check out my other fish pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 20 mm
ISO Speed 200
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

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Picture of musk beetle (Aromia moschata)

Picture of musk beetle (Aromia moschata)
Taken with Olympus EPL-1 digital camera July 2nd 2011. Click image for larger view.

Here I have photographed a musk beetle (Aromia moschata) just outside at a place called Bygdøy. It is incredible that you are able to find such beautiful insects so close to a big city.

The musk beetle is very characteristic with coppery or greenish metallic tint and the long antennas (click on the picture to view the insect in a larger view). This beetle can be found in southern Norway and I have seen it several times feeding on trees that has a cut in its trunk. The larvae of musk beetles are known to feed on willow trees and can actually hurt these trees.

Check out my other insect pictures here.


Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 42 mm
ISO Speed 320
Location: Bygdøy, Oslo

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