Dare I say it? SPRING

This may well be folly but I will say it, spring is here... or well, at least well on its way. We have had a solid two weeks of fairly warm weather up here in Finnmark and much of the ice and snow has started to met away.I am told it is still quite early as most years the snow sticks around till about May or June but I am still hopeful. Other than that there is not to much going on with the family and I as we are all fairly settled in to our routines and well... lets face it, this is not exactly the most exiting place in the world as far as social life and stuff to do. That being said I of-course enjoy any opportunity to get out an take some photos. Since it is starting to get dark latter I am finding it harder to get out and photograph the northern lights, but as you can see by the photos I am still managing =)
Hope you enjoy the photos!

Arctic heat wave!

The past week or so has brought a nice little reprieve from winter. The thermostat has been hovering just around freezing which sounds quite cold for my friends and family down in the Yucatan but for those of us up here in the arctic is straight up awesome. In any case I have managed to get outside a few times this week and take some photos of the local wildlife, landscapes and of-course of the northern lights. I am under no delusions that spring is actually here but I will try to enjoy the mild climate for as long as it lasts. Hope you enjoy the photos.

A little brighter every day!

Though its still been quite cold /windy the steady increase in daylight has been quite a boon to the mood of us all up here in Finnmark. I understand intellectually why the changes are so quick, but still it never ceases to amaze me... at this point we are gaining about 10-15 mins of daylight every day! Anyway, things have been fairly uneventful but Emma and I have managed to get out and shoot some photos from time to time. Given that the lack of a car confines us to a fairly small area I feel like I keep on taking the same photos again and again... but since the conditions change so much the scenery remains interesting. Anyway I hope you enjoy the photos. I have also posted another sledding video at the end of the post =) hope you enjoy.

Driving Through Vadsø

I don't usually post videos like this, but a few people have been asking to see some videos of the place Jeanette/Emma and I are living so I took at couple vids with my trusty GoPro. The first is a drive from Vadsøya (Vadsø island, Thanks Robbin) and then the second is just me sledding my way through town in what has been the best weather in weeks... which was still quite dreadful. Ciao for now!

It does not get much more "Arctic" than this

With the holiday season well in the rear-view mirror and as the temperature continuing to plummet life here in the Norwegian arctic has slowed down quite a bit. Its not like Vadsø is a particularly lively place during the best of times, but things have been slow, even for Finnmark standards. For that reason when ever there is anything going on getting out an trying to enjoy it is not just "a nice thing to do" its a necessity in the struggle to sane! Ok, I guess I am getting a little gloomy here... but can you really blame me? heh, oh well. Anyway as you can probably tell by the photos the sun is now back and we are actually gaining about 10-15 mins of daylight every day (which is a reason to celebrate in of itself). I have been doing my best to get out with Emma and snap as many photos as possible, but my moody daughter and the cold has made it increasingly difficult. However when we do get it out we enjoy the crisp air and are happy to take advantage of any photographic opportunities. Today Emma and I made our way in to town to photograph some of the competitors in the local leg of a Dog sledding tournament. Having never seen anything quite like it, I thought it was quite exotic though the barking of literally hundreds of dogs was stressing poor little Emma out something fierce. In any case it was a good time. Hope you enjoy the photos!.

The sun is back!

After what seems like an eternity of darkness we are finally starting to finally get a little sun up here in the Arctic. At this point its still not that bright, but my goodness is it ever an improvement. That being said,I have the feeling February is going to be quite rough month... needless to say we have been having a few winter storm doozies! Anyway, on the plus side I picked up a new camera (since the old EOS Rebel died on me after 10 years of loyal service) and I have been having some fun shooting around town. I of-course don't get out as much as I would like as the baby is not all that hip on staking out wild animals... but I am grateful for what ever I can get. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics.