Polar night images

It is now the darkest time of the year and even with the beautiful clear weather that we have had recently, it doesn't get very light at all. But in the last couple of days, we have had some amazing and very photogenic red and orange skies over the southern horizon, which have drawn out all the photographers in Tromsø, including myself. So here some photos of beautiful skies and polar night colours.

Het is nu de donkerste tijd van het jaar en zelfs met het prachtige heldere weer van de afgelopen tijd wordt het hier niet erg licht. Maar de laatste dagen hebben we hier fantastische en erg fotogenieke rode en oranje luchten gehad over de zuidelijke horizon en veel fotografen waren erop uit om die kleuren te vangen, inclusief mijzelf. Niet makkelijk, wel mooi. Hieronder een aantal fotos van de afgelopen dagen.

'Tromsø palm' (Persian hogweed) against an orange sky

Red light reflecting in water and ice on a tidal flat

Looking to the northeast away from the red skies, broken ice on the beach

Close up of the broken ice sheets

Close up of broken ice in a tidal bay

Yesterday we went for a short hike up Kjølen. A little chilly at -13°C with windchill, but with nice views over Tromsø and to the beautiful coloured skies in the south.

Gisteren hebben we een korte wandeling gemaakt naar de top van Kjølen, de berg direkt west van Tromsø. Koel met -13°C plus wind, maar met prachtig uitzicht over Tromsø en naar de schitterende gekleurde luchten in het zuiden.

Three quarters of the way up

View from the top to the rugged mountains in the west

View from the top to Tromsø

Coloured skies reflecting in the fjords

Nearly back at the car, it is pretty dark by now. The lights of Tromsø at the foot of Tromsdalstinden

Polar night and birds

The polar night has started. In Tromsø, it officially lasts from 25 November to 17 January, but in the town centre it lasts a few days longer because of the mountains in the south. The official 'soldagen', the day the sun comes back, is 21 January. Below is a selection of photos from the last couple of weeks.

De poolnacht is begonnen in Tromsø. De poolnacht duurt in theorie van 25 november tot 17 januari, maar in het centrum van Tromsø is dit een paar dagen langer omdat de bergen ten zuiden van Tromsø de horizon blokkeren. De officiele 'soldagen', de dag dat de zon terug komt, is op 21 januari. Hier een aantal foto's van de afgelopen weken.

A group of grey herons circling over our suburb.

The same group of grey herons in the bay near our house.

Cormorants trying to dry their wings sitting on rocks that are rapidly disappearing under the water with the tide coming in.

Polar night colours over our suburb Hamna.

Colours reflecting in the icy track.

We often get beautiful skies in the south, 4 hour long 'sunsets'.

Colours reflecting in some small frozen lakes on top of Tromsøya.

Not very colourful today, but some interesting looking lenticular clouds. Similar skyline as 2 photos up, looking south from Tromsø.

It has been cold, -10°C for the last week or so, day and night. So there is nice frost growth on some of the branches and the snow surface, with large platy and feathery crystals. Tony has been playing with the camera today, trying to take photos of the crystal growths, and the next 4 photos are his.

Frozen bushes. This photo is taken with flash light, the photo below without to give a more realistic view.

The light can get quite blue during the polar night, so the colours here are not too far off.

Close-up of ice crystals on a branch.

Another close-up.