Scandinavian summer (part II)

This week we continue our photo report of the Scandinavian summer with a coverage of the Varanger peninsula. The Varanger peninsula is situated in the utmost north-eastern part of Norway. It is surrounded by the Tana fjord in the west, the Barentsz Sea in the north, and the Varanger fjord in the east. The area is well-known among bird watchers and photographers as the area is home to some spectacular arctic bird species, like gyrfalcon and snowy owl. Also from the viewpoint of landscape photography, the Varanger area is certainly worth a visit. It has a stunning rock coast in the north and the extensive views from the tundra fjells in the central part are breath taking. We spend a few days in the Båtsfjord area, followed by some days in the neighbourhood of Vardø.

The Båtsfjord area: tundra, fjells, and abundant bird life



The fjell landscape in the central part of Varanger during midsummer night. During those nights the light is very special with intense yellow, orange to red tones. The lakes are home to loons and long-tailed ducks.

A complete rainbow remained visible for over an hour during one of our midnight drives through the arctic tundra. I like the two arcs in the picture. The atmosphere was complete with the typical calls of some characteristic arctic bird species.

A territorial golden plover in its biotope.

Lapland bunting, a common resident of the tundra uplands.



Adult ringed plover backlit by the midsummer night sun.

The Vardø area: scenic rock coast at its best

View on the spectacular route towards Hamningberg, an abandoned fishing town along the Barentsz sea. It is like driving through a moon landscape. Don't forget to eat the waffles in Hamningberg. The best in Norway!

The tectonic plates almost rise perpendicular from the earth surface. Every second, the massive stones are beaten by the inevitable surf.

Hopefully you enjoyed the pictures. Questions? Please feel free to contact me on info@ifornature.nl. I would be pleased to help you on your way to Varanger!

Dirk-Jan

Scandinavian summer (part I)

As mentioned in the previous post, the coming weeks there will be a report of our Scandinavian summer holiday in three parts. Today the first part about the brown bears at the Wild Brown Bear lodge in Finland (http://www.wildbrownbear.fi/). After a relaxing boat trip from Rostock to Helsinki and an 8 hours drive to Vartius, 60 km North of Kuhmo, we arrived at the Wild Brown Bear lodge. This comfortable lodge, with excellent food and comfortable rooms, is owned by Ari Saaski. It is situated next to a lake in the middle of the enormous Finnish taiga forest. It is about 2 km from the Russian border and every night the brown bears are crossing the border in search of food. Ari is taking good care of 'his' bears and they like to come back. The hides are situated around a lake in a swamp area surrounded by taiga forest. There are plenty of opportunities for bear photography from forest, swamp, or pool hides. A nice feature is the recently installed bearcam on one of the hides. You want to have a look at the bears in real live .......... www.wildbrownbear.fi/bearcam/. Unfortunately , the bearcam is not active every night.

When we visited the lodge last July for 5 days, the weather was pretty bad. Every night there were at least 6-10 bears active. As I like to take pictures of bears in there natural surrounding the grey overcast skies gave me limitations. However, in post processing I realized that the black and white transformation gave me the feel on the photos that I liked. The cotton grass was flowering abundantly in the swamp areas, which gave some nice white details in the black and white pictures. Here are some examples.

Next week more to come ............. the landscapes and birds of Varanger peninsula Norway.

Have fun,

Dirk-Jan