Aurora hunting – failing and cheating Sep 29 2021

It’s always the same: when you wake up in the night and see the polar lights illuminating the sky it doesn’t mean, that you can take good pictures of them. In the time you need to dress, take camera and tripod and walk outside to a nice place it’s likely that they disappear again. Polar lights are shy fellows.

Last night it was the same: I saw a nice aurora from my sleeping room. But when I arrived at the bay Telegrafbukta no distinct aurora was visible anymore.

Anyhow the sky looked a bit pale. Clouds or polar lights? Let’s take a handheld photo with a long exposure. Cl… …ick.

Yes. The sky is definitely green. I set up the tripod, configure the camera and wait.

…

Nothing happens.

So I start taking a long expose shot of the sea, the mountains and the lights of Kvaløysletta.

And you can see the polar lights, at least a bit. No surprise because I exposed the photo for 30 seconds with ISO 560 and an exposure of ƒ/3.2. That puts enough light onto the sensor to catch even faint polar lights that are hardly visible to the naked eye. So this is not really an aurora photo, it’s more cheating.

Before I went back to my bed I wanted to take at least one photo with some kind of a motive. It became a shed nearby, illuminated by the moon and again with a faint polar light in the background.

A nightly motive by the sea with a faint aurora

Today I have to go to bed early, I have to catch up on sleep.

An after-work tour onto the Rødtinden and Storbogtinden Sep 28 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

Last week I worked a lot of extra hours. When I realised that the weather would be nice today I stopped working at 14:00, took the bus home and then my car to Kvaløya where I took an after-work tour, first on the Rødtinden (470 m) and then to the Storbogtinden (568 m).

I had my Nikon with me but I think these photos are boring and so I let the iPhone speak today:

I didn’t edit the image beside of cropping them to the ratio of 8:3 and editing contrast and sharpness a bit.

And the tour?

sunny, blue sky, round 15 °C ❦ t-shirt weather ❦ some really muddy parts ❦ first birches and mountain ashes with coloured leaves ❦ then bare trees ❦ above 350 metres no trees at all ❦ I’m alone on the mountain tops, sweating and panting ❦ 360 °C view on different mountain ranges, fjords, sounds and the open sea to the northwest ❦ not the most impressive look but beautiful anyhow

A short tour to Sørtinden Sep 26 2021

I have to admit that my motivation to go out was low this Saturday where it was grey weather with a slight drizzle that made everything damp. So this time I chose a shorter tour for my project #onceaweek.

And since the light was so dull that the autumnal colours looked pale and grey it was simple to choose a photo project: Only black and white and only rocks.

Telegrafbukta and the first autumn storm Sep 22 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

The first autumn storm approached Tromsø. Nothing extreme but the tide and the waves were higher than usual.

Autumn colours on Kvaløya Sep 19 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

Tromtinden Sep 18 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

It wasn’t planned, that I woke up already before 6 o’clock. Anyhow I took the opportunity to get an early start for my 2nd mountain tour of #onceaweek. Todays destination is the Tromtinden in the northwest of the island Kvaløya. The starting point is 50 km away so I had to take the car. It won’t be the last time.

The car ride however is incredible. Now many trees bear autumnal colouring. It is already impressive in the shadow, but then I suddenly drive into the sun and was almost blinded by these colours, to bright and intense they were.

I have to take another photo, that shows the road to Tromvik. It lies in the shadow while the sun illuminates the bald mountain peaks.

Already at 7:20 I start the tour. It’s 2 °C. It seems that most Norwegians prefer to start their hiking tours much later and so I am completely alone. The first part crosses boggy ground. There are some planks leading over wet parts but they are quite slippery because of ground frost.

The way leads up through a sparse birch forest. Now the path is less muddy and starts being dominated by rocks. No wonder – it’s going to be a mountain tour.

On a small plateau I find some cloudberries. There are overripe and have a bland taste, but the frozen one in the shadow is really tasty. Cloudberry sorbet!

On a saddle between the Mellomtinden and Tromtinden the view opens to the northwest and a mountain lake as well as the sea appears.

I follow the ascending path until I stand on a larger plateau. From here I can see the steep northwest face of the Tromtinden and the marking of the summit.

The Tromtinden with the stone cairn marking the top

After traversing the plateau the path gets steeper, leads mostly over rocks and I have to stop several times to look where it continues. Do you see the mark on the next image?

After crossing some rock fields and a bit of level I “climbing” I arrive at the summit plateau with its impressive cairn and an even more impressive 360° view.

9:15 – finally time for breakfast. Three cloudberries didn’t fill me up.

I almost spend one hour on the Tromtinden and enjoy being outdoors completely undisturbed.

View from the summit of the Tromtinden I

View from the summit of the Tromtinden II

Finally I start walking down. Slowly and carefully I take my steps on the rock fields but then the path gets easier and easier. When I am halfway down I meet the first other hiker – a woman with a dog. From now on I meet twelve other people (plus three dogs) until I arrive at the car. The sky is blue and it has become so warm, that I only wear a t-shirt.

I arrive at the car at round 11 o’clock. I’m surprised that the car thermometer shows only 7 °C, but the sun has still quite a lot power. Now I’ll head home, only with a detour to the grocery to buy a huge bowl of salad for lunch.

For the stats: 8.3 km, summit altitude 636 m.

The first polar light of the season Sep 17 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

Is the polar light shy? It was quite bright, when I peeked out of the window of my tiny room in Tromsø. It got pale when I took pictures at the bay Telegrafbukta. And it got really bright after that while I was returning home because clouds had been gathering.

Anyhow, it’s the first polar light of the season 2021/22 and therefore worth photographing.

There was another light at least as fascinating as the polar light. Plankton that was washed ashore. This plankton was bioluminescent and glowed blue-turquoise. I have a real ugly photo for the records. When this a common phenomenon I’ll try to take better photos some other time.

A hike to the Stor-Kjølen Sep 12 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

Let’s be honest and face it. I’ve been really lazy this year and my outdoor fitness is near non-existent. I don’t like that. There is a simple solution for that: Be more outdoors!

Today I started the project #onceaweek. I want to make an outdoor tour with at least 10 km every week. (Thanks M. for your inspiration.)

I will try to blog about these tours and I want to give each tour some photographical focus. Today’s theme: vegetation zones.

From forest to fjell

The gravel road is quite steep in the beginning. First it leads through birch forests that have started to colorise autumnal. Then the landscape opens and is not dominated by trees anymore.

Gaining height

At the lake I leave the gravel road and the character of the hike starts to get alpine. It’s however still a hiking tour, no climbing needed on the whole tour.

From earth to moon

The vegetation is becoming more and more sparse. Some tufts of grass, a fern, moss, map lichens. And then I pass the first snow field. I look up the mountain I wish to climb. It is just an enormous pile of stones. Fortunately there’s a way round this slope.

The mountain top of the is a plateau of rocks with even less live. It’s almost like being on another planet or moon. And there it is: the space station.

“Varmebua” – asmall cabin for hikers to find shelter

“Oh, the space station looks so cozy inside!” – „Well, that’s not the space station, it’s the varmebua, a small wooden cabin to give shelter to hikers.“

“Um, hikers? On an alien moon?” – “Well, we are on earth and the ‘space station’ is a radar station used for controlling the air traffic of a larger part of Northern Norway.“

I had been almost alone on my way up but on the summit there were many other hikers. Some passed, others took a rest like me.

Looking around

The plateau provided a 360° panoramic view. I could see many mountain chains, the higher tops all snow covered. Anyhow, it’s Tromsø and so fjords and open sea are present as well.

Mountain chain on the other side of the fjord Kaldfjorden

This could be a favourite place of mine in Tromsø’s gorgeous nature. But it is way too early to know this. Remember, it is my first tour of #onceaweek. There will be other places to discover.

For the stats: 16 km, summit altitude: 788 m.

Two photos from a mountain tour Aug 14 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

Two quite different photos from a mountain tour in the Tverrfjellet on Kvaløya. In opposite to the forecast the weather was very cloudy.

Photo 1 – telephoto lens, 125 mm · developed in black and white with a light shade of blue.

Photo 2 – fish eye · developed with increased color saturation.

… and when I was halfway down the sun came out and half an hour later the whole sky was blue. My knees however disagreed in the idea of hiking 500 metres up again.

A Saturday road trip Aug 9 2021

This article is part of the series “2021-07: Back in Tromsø”.

A new used car and a sunny Saturday – off I go for a road trip.

km 29.5 – Isaksens Kiosk

In Fagernes I leave the E8 and take the 91 through a valley between the mountains. Before that I stop at Isaksens Kiosk and buy something to drink. Some other cars park here, too. Mostly it’s families that stop to have some ice cream.

km 41.1 – road 91

The mountains in Northern Norway are impressively massive and sometimes you cannot imagine that the road continues somehow. But some do …

km 51.9 – view on the Lyngen Alps

… and so does the road 91. A small part of the rugged Lyngen Alps comes into view.

km 53.5 – Breivikeidet Fergekai

I continue the 91 but soon the road ends. Not because of the mountains, but the fjord Ullsfjorden. The weather is warm and sunny and I am waiting for the ferry to Svensby.

On the ferry

For me even a short boat trip makes a single day to a holiday. I just love standing outside (in every whether), look at the waves and watch the slowly changing landscape.

km 60.7 – Nyheim

Just a Norwegian house and a barn. And a pasture. And a fjord in the background. And mountains behind. Beautiful even without the sun, that has been covered by a layer of clouds.

Would I want to live here? No, it’s too far away from Tromsø and other towns.

km 75.3 – Lyngseidet

It already half past two – time for a late lunch break. When you travel through Northern Norway and want to eat something warm it will be pizza or burgers in most of the cases. It you are not Norwegian you will find it incredible expensive, but so is food, cars, housing and almost everything else.

The burger costed 189 NOK (18 Euro) and was really tasty.

Here the road 91 continues – as another ferry to Olderdalen. I however take the road 868 heading south.

km 83.5 – low tide

The Lyngen Alps are more impressive as seen from the west but I like the shallow waters of the fjord Lyngen, too, especially in low tide.

km 113.9 – Badjánanluokta

Another tidal flat, more reflections. There are few things that I consider as relaxing as strolling along the shore of the sea.

Anyhow, it’s already 5 o’clock in the afternoon and I have at least another 100 km to go until being back. So no more photos until …

km 203 (or so) – Extra Tromsdalen

At the Extra supermarket I buy some food for the evening and the next day. In opposite to Sweden the supermarkets in Norway are closed un Sundays. Then I cross the road E8 by foot and soon stand by the shore of the Tromsøysundet where I have a look on Tromsø (including my workplace) and the large bridge crossing the sound.

Round 15 minutes later I arrive at my temporary home in Tromsø.

In Norway it takes time to go by car. I should have learned that by now but still I underestimate how many hours it takes to travel when you want to take some stops. Next time I hopefully will start earlier – this day I didn’t start before 11 o’clock.