Checking the winter … Jan 19 2018

This winter has been quite lagom yet. It hadn’t been too warm for a longer period, nor it was it really cold. We got snow several times, but we didn’t get any lake effect snow neither as e.g. five years ago where it snowed more than 80 cm within 24 hours.

Yesterday and today it snowed round 20 cm. Since we already had round half a meter of snow, the fence of my garden is about to disappear in the snow.

I took the photo above through the window of my living room. It shows my (and the neighbours) backyard. The fence is round 80 cm high.

Today I took the car to the Näsgrundet, one of my favourite places in Skelleftehamn. When I had been at the same place 12 days ago, the Baltic Sea was covered with ice as far as the eye could see. When I arrived today I was really surprised to see the Baltic Sea clear of ice again.

The photo above shows a small bay beside of Näsgrundet. The ice had been broken by wind and the floodwater two days ago. The wind was pushing the ice floes slowly offwards and some of them already had started to drift seawards.

That was the view to the northeast. The view to the southwest is completely different: there is the peninsula Rönnskär with the copper smelter of the same name. It snowed but the low sun managed to peek through the airy cloud layer. Temperature was -9 °C and the chimneys smoked.

In front of the industrial plant is the “cape” of Näsgrundet, which is a peninsula as well. I took a short discovery tour and found another motive. When I was standing up, Rönnskär and some trees were visible but when I knelt down I was able to hide the background and to make a completely different photo:

I intensified both contrast and colours to give this photo a more irreal appeal. The motive itself however is unchanged.

What type of winter comes next? I could take a look at the weather forecast of SMHI, but I have difficulties to take it seriously. Beside of the overall temperature and wind direction trends the web forecasts for Skelleftehamn are quite bad. The 20 cm of snow for example weren’t forecasted at all.

But in the back of my mind I know that lake effect snow could be possible again as long as the Baltic Sea is open and wind comes from eastern directions …

Blue hour – golden hour Jan 7 2018

Some winter days are grey and colourless. The photos taken on such dull days appear almost look black and white as long you don’t have a colourful motive.

Some other winter days are clear and colourful. There are two colours, that are especially prominent: orange and blue.

Orange is not only the colour of candlelight and cozy fires, but of the golden hour, too. The golden hour is defined by the time, when the sun’s altitude is between -4° (thus below the horizon) and 6°.

Blue is the complementary colour of orange. If you look at snow in the shadow you may realise, that it’s not of perfect white but looks a bit blueish. And the whole landscape gets a blue tinge when the sun’s altitude is between -6° and -4°. This period has a name, too, it’s called the blue hour.

Both images are made today. The first one at 09:32 (sun ±0°), the second one at 08:30 (sun -4.5°). If you have a closer look to the 2nd photo you can see the first sunrise colours on the left part of the sky. I should have make it a bit earlier.

It’s a good thing for such to live way up north. In Skelleftehamn the sun won’t rise more than 6 °C for two months, that’s golden hour even at lunchtime! And since the path of the sun is quite flat, these time periods are quite long. Today I didn’t need to rise up very early since the days are still short, but this will change soon:

Sunrise was 09:35 on 1 January and will be 08:20 on 1 February and 06:44 on 1 March. Then it’s time to get out of bed really early! Or to travel even more north, but that’s another story …

Wintry still live at the coast Dec 17 2017

This image was taken with my iPhone SE, not with my Nikon camera that I usually take with me. I just forgot it home today. I don’t think, that the iPhone SE has or is a great camera because I’m quite picky when it comes to image quality. But it’s a great backup if you manage to keep it warm in the winter and some of the photos look quite nice.

4×4 winter impressions of Kirkenes Feb 21 2017

This article is part of the series “2017-02: Northern Norway”.

Kirkenes – the harbour

While Annika and our friends in Kirkenes enjoyed their breakfast in the Hotel Thon I took a short promenade along the Johan Knudtzens gata to take some pictures. Already the view from the hotel terrace over the fjord is quite impressive and shows the beauties of the arctic nature while the harbour shows the more practical sides of living here: fishing, both commercially and just for fun.

A hike onto the top of the Lyngberget

After the breakfast we took the car to Jakobsnes and a bit further to take a promenade up the mountain Lyngberget, which lies on the other side of the Bøkfjorden. Here you can have a wide view over the whole town of Kirkenes – at least as long it doesn’t snow, as it did on our way back. I just love these wintry landscapes where you have views over fjell and fjord, but the wind was quite chilly and soon we looked like the participants of an arctic expedition.

The Huskies of the Kirkenes Snowhotel

Today we played tourists and visited the Kirkenes Snowhotel, which is just some hundred metres away. The Snowhotel has 180 Huskies including the seniors plus 30 puppies. The huskies are like we humans – some are working, some are resting, some are curious and some are shy. But they are all very kind and friendly.

Inside the Kirkenes Snowhotel

I slept in tents, in igloos and outside in wintertime. I even slept in the Kirkenes Snowhotel two years ago. This time Annika and I enjoy sleeping in the inside of our friends house (Thank you for your great hospitality, Christine and Ørjan) but gave the Snowhotel a visit. And it was worth it – especially the lounge with it carved ice blocks is very impressive.

Tomorrow we’ll leave this fine place, take the car to Vardø in the North (yes, that’s still possible!) and take the Hurtigruten from there to our next destination.

Four images from the coast of Kågnäsudden Feb 7 2017

When I arrived at the former fishermen’s village at Kågnäsudden I realised that I almost came too late for the beautiful pre-sunrise colours. The sun had already risen above the horizon, only covered by some clouds lingering at the horizon far away. I just managed to take a picture of the big lumps of ice before it rose above the clouds.

The sun illuminated the Baltic Sea which was covered with rough drifting ice floes to a great extend.

While I continued my photographical promenade the sun rose higher – what a difference to six weeks ago, where it more rolled along the horizon and hardly rose at all.

Round some of the small rocky cliffs the sea was still partly open but the first heralds of frost were visible. Finally we got a bit colder weather and the temperatures next night expect to be round -15 °C. This could be enough to make the surface to freeze over.

Perhaps I’ll check the same location again tomorrow, but then I’ll have to leave earlier because sunrise is already before 8 o’clock.

Micromountains Oct 29 2016

After two weeks of cloudy and gloomy weather it started to clear up and the sun came out, glistening from a cloudless blue sky. I was out at 8 o’clock, sufficiently early to catch the sunrise.

The photo however I liked most was of the frost-covered tree stump which I developed in black and white.

Furuögrund May 5 2016

Today Annika and I took the road E4 to Byske to visit Byske Havsbad, one of the largest sandy beaches nearby. But I was curious about the other side of the river Byskeälven and took another departure. That’s how we came to Furuögrund, which is a small coastal village north from Skelleftehamn. 39 kilometres by car; 20 kilometres if you can fly. Outside of Furuögrund there’s a peninsula with a small boat harbour and a café (that unfortunately won’t open before next weekend). The peninsula is surrounded by two bays – one with a sandy beach (and still some old leftover ice).

On the northeastern side there’s an old dock for timber, build in 1874 together with the sawmill. The dock has or had three different names: Massahusdockan, Norrdockan or “Nööl-dockan”. As you can see on the images, there’s hardly anything left beside of a mikado-like stack of old timber.

After strolling along the shore we took the car again and turned into a small side road to Svartnäsudden. I just had to stop when I saw the smooth granit rocks with the clear water puddle. In front of the rocks there was some boggy ground, partly covered with ice, surrounded by pine trees. And behind that a beautiful view over the blue Baltic Sea – that’s Coastal Northern Sweden in spring in a pocket.

Between ice and spring Apr 16 2016

Micromap Mar 19 2016

The snow returns Feb 12 2016

I dislike thaw. When it’s winter I want to see white snow, not brownish slush and drizzle falling from low-hanging clouds.

The latter was the weather that we got for four days. The snow slid from the roofs and melted away and under many water puddles sheer ice covered the roads. But alas, yesterday the weather changed and it started to snow. Today it has been quite windy and it has been constantly snowing. The strong winds glue the wet snow to the houses, the cars, and the windows.

I guess, we got round 20 cm of snow the last 24 hours and it continues snowing. The thick brown half-frozen chunks of wet snow, that framed all streets start to get a fresh white snow blanket and small snow drifts cover the roadways.

Yes snow – that’s more my cup of tea. I hope however, that the wind gusts will stop soon, since tomorrow the Winter Swimming World Cup and Scandinavian
Championship 2016 will take place in Skellefteå and I guess it won’t be much fun for the swimmers standing in some kind of “snow storm” dressed only with a swimsuit and a warm cap. And neither for me, who is going to take pictures of this event.

Links

Kirkenes – the harbour

A hike onto the top of the Lyngberget

The Huskies of the Kirkenes Snowhotel

Inside the Kirkenes Snowhotel