13 March 2018, my first day In Lofoten. It snowed a lot in the night and it was still snowing when I left for Skagsanden Beach at 5am. Once there, there was no beautiful sunrise. Clearly there was still snow in the air. I got out of the car to checked it out, but a heavy snow shower forced me back into the car. After a while the sky opened and there was a sunrise with magical light! In addition, there was the advantage of a fresh layer of snow with no footprints to be seen.
When the light appeared behind the mountains I immediately went looking for a foreground and found it in a number of boulders with a nice layer of fresh snow around it with a lot of detail. I worked fast because I knew from experience that such a fairytale light only lasts for a short while.
In the snow, there was also a curve that I could use as a dynamic line leading to the beautiful glow behind the mountains and the soft red sunlight reflected in some places in the snow in the foreground. The photo was taken with my 24-70mm lens at 24mm. At the time, that was the lens I used mostly for landscapes.
I like images with some “body” and to achieve it, I always do some post-processing. In the field I underexpose some photos. In post-processing I mainly use dodge and burn to enhance some nuances. I look for my subjects in nature, but add my personal interpretation; still, the fieldwork is always the most important thing for me. What is not in the picture, it will not be added.
