Nature – Page 31 – Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog

Photo of old rowboat at sunset on a Norwegian fjord

11 Comments / Birds, Boats, Clouds, Coast, Fjord, Landscape, Midnight Sun, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Scenery, Sea Ocean, Sky, Summer, Sunset / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 30th 2007. Click image for larger view.

Last night I was out on the beach late at night taking pictures of the sunset. A tern couple landed on this old rowboat so had to take a picture of it against the beautiful sunset.

The sun is not up 24/7 anymore (though it’s still light 24/7) so there will be some incredible sunsets in the months to come. Hope my readers doesn’t get tired of sunset pictures 🙂

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Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Ã…nstad, AndÃ¸rja (Ibestad) in northern Norway

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Close up pictures of bumblebees – our chubby insect friend

15 Comments / Bumblebees, Flower, Insect, Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Summer / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 23rd, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

I have always been fascinated by bumblebees and whenever I get the opportunity I try to photograph these chubby insects. It’s not always so easy because they can be very camera shy and get annoyed if you get too close.

In the first picture you can see a bumblebee relaxing on a leave. If you click the picture and look at it large you can see that bumblebees have claw like feet. Must be great to have feet like that when you are clinging to flowers.

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on May 6th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

Here you can see a bumblebee head down in a crocus flower (mooning to the camera!). Notice the pollen on its behind. Bumblebees are important pollinators in nature.
They are also been used as pollinators in agriculture. When I studied organic farming we had a bumblebee nest inside the tomato greenhouse to pollinate our tomato plants. Let me tell you that the bumblebees did a fantastic job. Never tasted such yummy tomatoes before.

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 29th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

Here you can see a bumblebee feeding on tansy flowers (Tanacetum vulgare).
According to Wikipedia bumblebees are endangered in many countries because of the destruction of natural habitats and the use of pesticides.
So please stop using pesticides and look into organic farming/gardening 🙂

Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Andørja, Troms in Northern Norway

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Picture of Fireweed / Rosebay Willowherb flowers – sign of coming autumn

8 Comments / Fireweed, Flora, Flower, Mountain, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Plant, Sky / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 28th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

The fireweed, also known as Rosebay Willowherb in Britain, (Epilobium angustifolium) have started to flower so I had to take photos of them.
They are very nice to look at, but I have some mixed feelings about fireweed. The reason for this is that they start to flower late in the summer. Some weeks later they will produce millions upon millions of seeds (80,000 per plant!) that have white silky hairs and can be carried with the wind. It often looks like it’s snowing if there are lots of fireweed growing in the area. For me this is a clear sign of autumn and I would like the summer to last a bit longer 🙂

I looked up fireweed on Wikipedia and I had no idea that it could be used for food. Native Americans collects young shoots and mix them with other greens. They also use it for medicine.
Have anyone tasted fireweed? Would be cool to try it in a salad.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in northern Norway

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Photo of clouds hugging a Norwegian mountain peak

24 Comments / Clouds, Landscape, Mountain, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Sky / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 23rd 2007. Click image for larger view.

I enjoy watching clouds and I enjoy watching mountains so why not take pictures of them together. Looks like the clouds are hugging the mountain 🙂

The mountain peak is called “Drangen” and is about 1000 meters above sea level.

Check out my other mountain pictures.

Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Laupstad, AndÃ¸rja (Ibestad) in northern Norway

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Close up photo of a common frog

6 Comments / Amphibian, Frog, Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on July 15th, 2007. Click picture for larger view.

This is a close up photo of a common frog (Rana temporaria) being very camera shy. I found the frog pretty far up in the mountains and I was surprised because I have never seen frogs in this area before.

Frogs are supposed to be an biological indicator that are able to tell us whether the environment is healthy or unhealthy. The reason for this is that frogs are very sensitive to pollution and habitat degradation.
I’m very happy that I found this frog because it means the nature around here is healthy 🙂

If you view the picture large you can actually see an ant below the frog on left side. Maybe it was the frogs next meal?

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Flash used
Location: Laupstad (AndÃ¸rja), Troms in northern Norway

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