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HelenaGratkowski
Reine-Lofoten Islands
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Reine-Lofoten Islands



behind the lens badge
upload_dateDec, 2015

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Awards

Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Vol 25 Photo Contest
Featured
Runner Up in My Best Winter Shot Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in My Best Winter Shot Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Resource Travel Inspiration Photo Contest vol2
Staff Winter Selection 2015
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Peer Award
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Superb Composition
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Outstanding Creativity
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Magnificent Capture
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Genius
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Picture Perfect Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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The Talent AwardsTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank
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Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Freshmen 2016 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
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My Best Winter Shot Photo ContestTop 10 rank
My Best Winter Shot Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 5Top 10 rank
Resource Travel Inspiration Photo Contest vol2Top 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 5Top 20 rank week 1
Resource Travel Inspiration Photo Contest vol2Top 10 rank week 1

Categories

16 Comments |
Rosley
 
Rosley December 03, 2015
Superb capture!
denniscondoremmers
 
denniscondoremmers December 03, 2015
This is such s beautiful image! It pulls me in!! Great job
MelissaSword
 
MelissaSword January 16, 2016
Lovely!
RLam
 
RLam February 01, 2016
superb
ElenaRK
 
ElenaRK February 24, 2016
Awesome!
Redsnapper
 
Redsnapper March 05, 2016
Amazing image.
zkrol
 
zkrol March 09, 2016
Congratulation on your well deserved best winter shot award. Very well done !!!
kathyk_abq
 
kathyk_abq April 08, 2016
Gorgeous image!
Jknauf PRO
 
Jknauf November 14, 2016
Fantastic photo. You have take what most would consider horribly flat lighting and turned it into a masterpiece. Well done.
mgenkova
 
mgenkova December 01, 2016
Stunning!
HelmerAhmedi
 
HelmerAhmedi January 02, 2017
Amazing image!!
jen4582
 
jen4582 March 22, 2017
Absolutely gorgeous!
scastros
 
scastros October 27, 2017
Wow!
mido18
 
mido18 December 27, 2017
Great image, awesome!
networkmonkey
 
networkmonkey March 30, 2018
Amazing view!
AlexKnufPhotoVideo
 
AlexKnufPhotoVideo May 22, 2018
Wow!! Amazing photograph! Awesome shot! Love it!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#arctic #norway #lofoten #landscape #freezing #snow
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken on a photographic expedition mid winter January in sub zero temperatures in the Lofoten Islands, Arctic Norway.

Time

It was around 2pm in the afternoon, absolutely freezing to the bone, house lights and street lights were already coming on, as daylight in that part of the world in lasts around 3 hours.

Lighting

As the sun doesn't rise above the horizon at that time of year, the lighting was perfect; no harsh contrasting shadows to deal with whatsoever...a photographer's paradise.

Equipment

I used my Nikon D800 on a tripod with shutter release cable. Lens was my old workhorse Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8, focal length of 42.0mm was used in that particular image. Settings for this shot were f22 at 3 seconds with ISO 400

Inspiration

This is view point is a very popular spot for photographers, I took the picture from the bridge that heads into the township. The composition of the view is breath taking, it is so beautiful that your eyes cannot believe what they are seeing....I could have stayed there forever.

Editing

The post production was minimal - as the image was a RAW file all I did was correct the white balance and fine tune the exposure. This image actually comprises of 2 shots. The quarter section on the left comprises of a second shot as I felt it was too weighted to the right, so by adding a counter weight to the left I feel it balanced it out better giving the viewer a broader aspect of the landscape. From there I cloned out the foreground grass which intruded upon my shot, gave the sky some more contrast and finished off the details in tone in luminosity masks, then applying slight sharpening to the buildings only.

In my camera bag

I normally carry 2 bodies, Nikon D800 and Nikon D3s. Lenses are basic, wide angle 14-24mm f2.8, 28-70mm f2.8 (this is the earlier model pre the 24-70mm but it is super sharp, even sharper than the 24-70mm), 70-200mm VR f2.8, a two times converter, a 105mm macro, polarising filter, neutral density filter and my intervalometer. Spare batteries x3, cloth, electrical tape, my glasses - just in case I can't see what I'm doing....and of course my trusty Manfrotto tripod.

Feedback

If you intend to go to the Arctic to capture this type of scenery, do your research as the weather can be very unpredictable. Frost bite is very real as is hyperthermia when shooting in sub zero temperatures for long periods of time. Research the clothing you will require together, preferably wool thermals which will be layered and also 3 layers of gloves; your boots ideally should insulate to minus 40 degrees - Sorel Caribu are awesome as the come with a compressed wool inner liner. The camera equipment handles the cold well, but when you are done fill your camera bag up with the air temp you are in, and when you get back to the hotel, put your bag in the coldest corner and leave it there unopened for several hours so it has time to acclimatise to the warmer temp...condensation is not your camera's friend so avoid it at all costs. If you can't wait to see your photos then take the memory card out while you are still out in the cold and put it in your jacket pocket. It is also very important to have a strong sturdy tripod...you DO NOT want your gear falling over on a flimsy lightweight tripod when shooting in windy or extreme conditions.

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