The region, known as the Land of the Midnight Sun, is as wonderful as it sounds and is made possible by the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
Who wouldn’t want to take a stroll in the sunshine at midnight? Despite the fact that it sounds like the opening of a Game of Thrones episode, it is a very genuine phenomenon.
The annual natural phenomenon, which occurs in Norway between 20 April and 22 August, is celebrated with festivities and fun events like midnight golf, which sounds funny.
The extraordinary sight only appears in regions close to the Arctic Circle, and Svalbard has the longest period of the midnight sun.
The region located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole has a lot to offer, according to Visit Norway.
The official tourism board describes the Svalbard Islands as having “an endless day” because the sun “patrols the sky in almost uniform circles all summer. From the modern town Longyearbyen, which offers a wide range of cultural activities, restaurants, and bars, you can venture into the wild (always with an armed guide) to explore the islands’ Arctic nature, rich wildlife, and old mining towns.”
Other areas that experience the phenomenon include Finnmark, Troms, Lofoten and Vesterålen, Helgeland, Bodø and Salten.
And the tourism board has some advice if you want to take pictures of the amazing, beautiful skies.
It sounds like something our GCSE art teacher would say, but the first thing to do is to keep your image uncluttered: “Since colours are more vivid in the midnight sun, it is a good idea to keep images simple, concentrating on two or three colours at the most to avoid a messy image.”
They add, “Foreground images can be used to frame subjects in the mid and deep field, creating a better sense of three-dimensionality.”
Finally, if you want to capture the light sky’s full impact on a scene, keep the horizon a third of the way from the bottom of your viewfinder when you compose your shot. This will help your camera expose appropriately.
See you in Norway!
