Flakstad Church (Norwegian: Flakstad Kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway. Located in Flakstad on the Lofoten Islands, it was first built in 1430, but a storm destroyed it in the 18th century. They built the church that stands today in 1780.

As a landscape photographer, I love the winter, and the winter in January in Norway is something very special. Average temperatures can vary from -2 degrees centigrade to -10 degrees centigrade and can often drop as far as -15 degrees centigrade with the wind chill.

You need to be well prepared for the arctic conditions here, wearing plenty of layers and good snow boots with ice grips on, and of course, extra batteries are a must. The main problem that I found was that my tripod legs kept freezing up, and I wouldn't be able to retract them until I got back to the van, where the heat would eventually unfreeze the moisture that had got trapped in the legs.

Daylight at this time of the year only lasts about 4-5 hours, but the light stays constant and subdued all day, with the sun remaining low in the sky. When I previsualized this shot, my plan was to make the red building stand out from the winter landscape that surrounded it, creating a feeling of serenity and a sense of place.

I used my 24-70 mm F/2.8 Lens @ 70mm to compress the scene whilst at the same time being careful not to crop off the top of the mountain and also to include enough of the surrounding landscape as I could.