I flew half-way across the world and above the arctic circle to join a small group of photographers I met on Instagram to photograph the magical Lofoten islands of Norway.
After roughly 48-hours of traveling, I met up with the rest of the 6-person team I would spend the next 4 days with. The tour was hosted by the amazing Réza Kalfane and Valentino Valkaj of France and Finland. We were joined by 3 others from Switzerland and France.
We averaged about 3 hours of sleep a night so that we could try and catch the Northern Lights and be ready for every sunrise photo opportunity. Although the weather was bad, there were a few breaks in the freezing rain that allowed us to capture some pretty amazing light.
There are 6 main islands in Lofoten, and we explored every one of them. The islands are connected by bridges or tunnels that were built under the sea floor.
Some tunnels connect islands that only have a few houses.
Lofoten is a magical fairytale land. Everything is ridiculously cute, the people are amazing, and the landscapes are unreal. We stayed in 3 different cabins that overlooked the water and ate the most amazing fish that were caught a few hours before.
My favorite restaurant was Svinøya Rorer: a Hansel and Gretel-like fairytale location where I had the best meal of my life. Reindeer was on the menu and I tried Cod tongue for the first time (amazing).
Another favorite was Krambua where the chef came out to each table to discuss the menu he changed daily. He even showed us our food before he cooked it (wolf fish):
The wolf fish must have had some magic powers, because as we were eating, the first and only appearance of the Northern Lights began. Here’s the photo gallery from my trip:
(for print inquiries, email: info@lightspeedfilms.com)
Here’s a time-lapse of the Northern Lights. It was EXTREMELY windy, hence the moving of the camera:
Behind the scenes video:
I had the 5 most amazing people with me that I now call friends. This placed truly inspired me and I cannot wait to go back and explore the rest of Scandinavia.
Fun Facts:
All of the fish heads are shipped off to Nigeria to be used in soups (one of the chefs told us)
Here are some novels that were based off the Lofoten Islands:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -Jules Verne
A Descent into the Maelstrom -Edgar Allan Poe
The Last of the Vikings -Johan Bojer
The Moskestraumen in Lofoten is a system of tidal eddies whirlpools and is one of the strongest in the world. Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and Herman Melville (Mobydick or the Whale) all include descriptions of this unusual phenomenon.
Norway gets 98-99% of its electricity from hydroelectric power, more than any other country.
VOSS water is just water from the municipal water supply in Iveland, Norway.
Erin Malone 