LIGHT ON THE NORTH

Spectacular images of Arctic foxes, reindeer and musk oxen reveal the wild beauty and diversity of Scandinavia

- PAUL BLOOMFIELD

Shaping shorelines

Jagged pinnacles and ridges tear at the Arctic sky above Myrland Beach in the Lofoten Islands, a gnarled talon of an archipelago stretching west from Norway's north coast.

Powerful tides between the islands create eddies and whirlpools that surge around coves and inlets, sculpting the craggy shoreline.

Females in focus

Female reindeer are herded together by amorous males during the autumn rut in Forollhogna National Park, south-central Norway. A strong bull wields antlers up to 1.3m long in violent clashes with rival males, aiming to secure mating rights to his own harem, numbering up to 15 cows. Fights can sometimes result in death.

Growing up fast

Eight or nine months after mating, a female reindeer typically gives birth to a single calf in May or June, and the youngster is able to outrun a human within its first day. It needs to be ready to keep up with the herd as it trundles across the landscape, browsing grass, shrubs and lichen. Calves start to eat solid food at the age of about one week, supplementing their mothers' rich milk.

Fractured fungus

At the tail end of autumn, following a spell of dry weather, mushrooms in Grimsdalen in Norway's Rondane National Park become cracked and misshapen, with fissures on their formerly smooth caps forming fascinating patterns. This relatively arid reserve is an important haven for wild reindeer, which munch on mushrooms in autumn.

Black beauty

Like a piece of three-dimensional abstract art, varied hues and patterns of bedrock have been revealed over many millennia as the Svartisen ('Black Ice') Glacier ground away strata before retreating among the peaks of northcentral Norway.

Frost flowers