Landscape Photography from Levi, Finnish Lapland
- George Wheelhouse
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Last winter, the Arctic was calling, and so back we went to one of our favourite areas of the world. It had been eight years since were last in Finnish Lapland, and this time was similar - but different. Back in 2017, we were based in Pyhä-Luosto, which is a relatively quiet national park. We also had a hire car, to help us get around and see the wider area. This time, due to various factors, our intent was more low-intensity, and accessible. We wanted somewhere we could get to with easy direct flights from the UK, and with enough to do in the immediate area that we wouldn't need a car. And all those factors led us to Levi, in North West Finland. Levi is a small ski resort town, with all of the shops, restaurants, and public transport that comes with that - along with plenty of day-trips and tour companies catering to non-skiers. So it ticks a lot of boxes, in terms of practicality. I was also drawn to Finland for their fantastic cardamom donuts; Munkki. More than photography, my priority for this trip was to average a munkki per day.
In my previous post, I shared a collection of reindeer photos, all taken at Eanan, Levi, and this post is for the landscape photos. There will be a third post in the series, dedicated to 'Miniscapes'; detail shots and smaller scenes within scenes. But we'll come to that next time.
For now, we'll start with some drama and one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever witnessed.
Sunset from Levi Fell
These photos were all taken from the summit of Levi Fell, which is accessible by snowshoe, or by Gondola 2000. We chose the gondola :-)
At times, the colours of the sunlight on the mist and trees was so fantastic, they're hard to represent in photos. This telephoto shot of the distant misty forest is just one example...
This area of the landscape was slightly closer to us, with lighter mist moving through, but it too was lit pink by the setting sun.
As warm as the tones are in these images, the conditions at the top of the fell were very cold! On the afternoon I shot these photos, the temperature in Levi was -27°C.
Interestingly (if you're a nerd like me), unlike alpine environments where temperatures drop at higher altitudes due to atmospheric pressure, Arctic fells are often warmer than the surrounding lower areas. This is because the peaks aren't high enough to be affected by altitude, and the coldest air settles in the lower areas. So, even though Levi was -27°C, the top of the fell was closer to -22°C. Positively comfortable!
In fact the following morning, it was colder still, and I got the ski bus back to the gondola, hoping to experience the same landscape at sunrise, too. But I was thwarted when I arrived, only to find the gondola was closed as it's unable to run when the air temperature dips below -30°C. So if you do visit, bear that in mind.
For this photo I turned slightly sideways on from the sun, to find a more pastel scene, without any direct sunlight. I like this one because it's hard to tell what's a fell, and what's mist...
Although Levi was very cold during our visit, it was also not very cold. The freeze peaked at around -34°C a few days into our stay, but the pendulum swung so far in the other direction, that we had a day of 1°C near the end, which was a real shame because all the snow melted from the trees, which changes the character of the landscape quite dramatically. On a practical level, it also increases the risk of slips and falls on slushy snow, and re-freezing ice-melt.
Following the mini-melt, I returned to Levi Fell. Turning my back on the sunset, I managed to capture another low-contrast pastel scene. This time, it featured the pink band of sky formed by light reflecting off particles in the upper atmosphere, hovering above the blue and white arctic landscape below.
I thought that was a pretty cool shot, until I saw a near-identical version of it at the airport check-in desk, as we were leaving. I guess it's a shot that's asking to be taken, if you're in the right place at the right time :-)
So what's it like to be out in -30°C?
It's not so bad. Obviously I'm reliant on several layers of clothing, but if you get that right, the cold is almost not noticable. The main practical issue, I would say, of operating in these temperatures, is the differential between indoors and outdoors. It takes so long to get all your layers on, that you quickly get very warm indoors when you're only halfway ready. Once you are fully dressed, it's unbearable indoors, and it's preferable to wait for the rest of your party outside. In my case, I'm usually the one faffing the longest, so I'm the straggler everyone else is waiting outside for! Once you do get outside, the cold dry air almost takes your breath away at first. It induces a dry cough, as your lungs adjust to the shock. But after that first 30 seconds or so - it's really fine. Until you get indoors again, and have to get all those layers off before you overheat!
Fells and Forests
As I alluded to earlier, the fells of Finland are not that high, and almost all are accessible by snowshoe. The peak below is Kätkätunturi ("Kätkä"), which is just over 500m above sea level. Only 300m higher than the trail head at Levi. There are actually two hikers close to the summit, visible in this photo. I would have liked to have made the hike myself (note: snowshoes required), but that wasn't possible on this trip. There's always something to go back for...
I love the combination of pink and blue you get in the arctic, during the long sunrises and sunsets. It's a colour combination I was looking for last time I was there, but never really made the most of.
As the sun went down, low-lying mist began to appear in the valleys, and it became an interesting puzzle trying to show the contrasting textures of the forested hillsides combined with mist.
That first version includes the horizon, but subsequent versions are more like frame-filling tapestries.
I love how this one illustrates the transition in trees from a dense pine forest below to smaller trees and a mixed forest at higher elevations.
Perhaps I'm sharing too many similar images here, but I like them all, and each is a slightly different take on the landscape, either in composition or orientation.
It's easy to read this wide-aspect forest image as one subject, but there are hundreds of individual trees within it, each contributing it's own tone and texture to the overall effect.
Here the fog is almost impenetrable.
I suspect I'm the only one still enjoying these, but I love photography's ability to play with scale, and present a vast, unforgiving landscape as a thing of beauty.
This is a section of flatter ground, which is still able to catch some light - partly from the low sun, and partly from the deep blue and purple sections of sky.
Finnish Taiga
Aside from the many other great things about Finland and it's landscapes, the one aspect that resonates with me most are the vast areas of forest. Northern Finland forms part of the great Boreal Forest, which streches around the globe at this latitude. In this part of the world, it's also known as the Taiga, and it's home to some of my favourite animals; bears, moose, and lynx, amongst others. For me, this photo represents that primeval wonder. I've taken more licence with the processing on this one, reducing the saturation to nullify the pinks and purples, and darkening the shadows to end up with an image I really love. On one hand, it seems like a magical scene I'd love to wander through. On the other, it seems a disorienting and foreboding place. That's the lure of the Taiga.
As I said earlier, there will be a follow-up post, to close this set of three, featuring some abstract snow and ice photos, and some mossy trees close-up.
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If you didn't - chill out and have a munkki :-)
-
George
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