Second Day of Summer
14. April is – according to the ancient Norwegian calendars, Runic Calendars (primstav) the first day of summer. Hence today would be the second day of summer. As you can see, the fjord today is calm like on a beautiful summer day – but the snow reveals that we still have som way to go before the spring feeling turns into a summer feeling…
Second Day of Summer by the Ofoten Fjord
(Very) Early Morning Scenery
Never ever burn yourself out on negative stress. There is a very fine line between positive stress (I am busy, but I am coping) and negative stress (I am busy, I am not coping and the world is in utter chaos / I am experiencing traumatic events and don’t have the time or the resources to cope with it).
Without going into the finer details of what negative stress does to you psychologically and biochemically – once you crossed the line into negative stress it can have a serious – life shortening – impact on your health like insomnia, which I am suffering from. But insomnia has its perks (no, just kidding). At least you get to see your surroundings at all possible hours. So failing to do what I was supposed to do, I made this photo at 5 am standard time (6 am DST) of the sunrise gleem.
Early Morning in Narvik
Venus right now
Nope, not the one from Milo, but the faithful planet that also is known as The Morning Star or Evening Star. Venus is the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon. Although beautiful seen from a distance, this is a very hostile place to be. The pressure of the atmosphere is 93 bar (your car tire is a couple of bars…) and the temperature is around 460°C.
Venus is shining very brightly these days - here reflecting itself in the Ofoten Fjord
Mountain in the light of dusk
Mountain lit up by the evening sun
Old (Gamle) Skagen – Revisited
I captured this magnificent photo in february by the Old Skagen (Gl. Skagen) Beach, Denmark. Erosion of the sandy dunes is a big problem. Most places the shifting sand has been stopped by planting gras. But it is a formidable force they’re up against out there on the north-western tip og Denmark. Although it is a practical problem for people wanting to live there – the erosion have a beauty of it’s own. Well captured in this photo.
Patterns of eroding sand - by the Old (Gl. Skagen) Skagen Beach
Grand Finale – Northern Lights
The night is getting lighter and soon the Midnight Sun will be shining – thus making it impossible to see the spectacular phenomenon – Northern Lights (Aurora borealis). But still the night is dark enough to se the occasional Northern Lights. Although I am too busy at the moment to spend hours out in the cold gazing for this beautiful light show – yesterday I just had to.
I only shoot photos in RAW-mode. Hence it takes a lot of hard, manual labor to “develop” them into JPEGs suitable for showing here. And there it is again time… Well, I’ve processed one with the planet Venus shining brightly through the vail of the Northern Lights above the Ofoten Fjord.
Northern Lights yesterday - Venus is shining through the vail of Northern Lights
In for landing in the Coconut
One of my mother’s little friend – a Great Tit (Parus major) – coming in for landing in the hollow coconut used as a feeding station.
In for landing in the coconut
Calm Fjord covered in Freshly Fallen Snow
Panorama of Narvik yesterday when the snowing stopped. Please click the photo and see all the details!
It never ceases to amaze me
The Sky in Northern-Norway never ceases to amaze me. The snow, sea and ever shifting weather reveals the most fantastic light shows sometimes. This evening was no exception.
Evening sky
Evening Sky 2
Flashing Auroras
Coming home from a late night meeting last night, I found the skies ablaze. And I was in a hurry with more pressing matters (hmm, is there any good reason not to look at auroras..?) So in a hurry I set up my tripod and camera. Unfortunately the tripod was a little wobbly in the snow and quite a few photos was a bit blurry, but a few turned out alright.
Aurora Borealis yesterday over the Ofoten Fjord
Aurora Borealis - Northern Light - over Narvik last night
Beautiful Painted Sky
I just shot this photo of the evening sky above Narvik. Pastels all around with the mountains running like a white jagged edge throuh the landscape.
Pastels all around
There they are again – Beautiful contrasts
Narvik in between the showers this evening…
Beautiful contrasts of snow showers in the Ofoten Fjord - Narvik to the right
Evening sun shines on the city Narvik - in between the snow showers
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