Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands offer some of the most dramatic landscapes in the Northern Hemisphere. Faroe is an archipelago of 18 windswept islands between the Shetlands, Iceland and Norway. Mostly long and narrow, the islands rise steeply from the sea, with villages along the coastline wherever there is safe harbor. Many of the islands are connected by undersea tunnels, and villages on opposite ends of individual islands are connected by tunnels through the mountains.
TOUR Details
May 11-20, 2024 — Completed
This is a 9-night, 10-day tour. Your adventure begins with an overnight flight on May 10, and ends in time for your afternoon flight home on May 20.
$7,295 (single) or $13,995 (two sharing a room) + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras.
Group size
10, with 2 instructors — 5:1 ratio
Tour Leaders
Registration
This event has passed. Thanks for your interest!
| • Deposit of $2,495 (single) or $3,995 (two people sharing) is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $5,000 (single) or $10,000 (two people sharing) is due on January 13, 2024. → Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is January 12, 2024. (see cancellation and refund policy) |
| • The tour includes transportation between the airport and hotel for those arriving on May 11 and departing noon or later on May 20, accommodations in the Faroe Islands, all breakfasts at the hotel, entrance fees, and transportation during the tour. |
| • The tour fee does not include airfare to the Faroe Islands. |
The Faroe Islands Experience
The Faroe islands offer some of the best landscape photography opportunities in the world. Rocky coastlines with mountains rising steeply from the sea, dotted with picturesque villages populated by fiercely independent people who are proud of their unique heritage but who are definitely European.
This photography tour will feature long days and nights with intense periods of photography and exploration. It’s not a workshop—there will be no formal classroom instruction or lectures. Our main focus will be to photograph through all the days and nights.
You’ll be able to participate in as many or few of our activities as you like, but we hope that you’ll be up for the more active and physical nature of this adventure. We won’t just be hiking for the sake of hiking, but rather to get to the best vantage points to photograph these beautiful islands. And we will be hiking––along the clifftops, up the hills and along the rocky beaches.
This is not to say that it won’t be a learning experience, but the first and foremost goal of this trip is to provide you with a safe, comfortable and organized opportunity to create images of this unique territory. You’ll be working closely with people of varying levels of photographic experience, and we’ll all learn from one another while making friends along the way.
May is the driest month in the Faroes, with long days, late sunsets and seemingly endless twilight. The sun sets after 10 p.m. and the sky doesn’t get dark until midnight, so this is more of a low-light tour than a night photography tour. Still, the light can be amazing, and we will make the most of it. May also marks the arrival of puffins in the Faroes, and we’ll seek out and photograph these delightful creatures.
What You Should Know
Night photography experience is not necessary, but is helpful. Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting RAW in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
If you would like to attend this tour but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-tour tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-tour reads.
What You Will Learn
We hope to push you to step outside your comfort zone—to test the limits of what you and your camera can do. You’ll go home after the tour with a solid grasp of how to take advantage of whatever conditions we encounter. We believe that there’s always a photograph to be made if you’re willing to look for it.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
daytime, twilight and nighttime landscape photography in various conditions
bird photography
daytime long exposures with neutral density filters
and more …
This is a photo tour and not a workshop. There will be no classroom instruction, lectures or image reviews. It’s an outdoor experience with lots and lots of shooting. Lance and Tim will be available to work with you one-on-one, offering as much or as little creative and technical advice as you want.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
Your adventure begins with an overnight flight on May 10 to Vagar Airport (FAE), connecting through Reykjavik (KEF) or Copenhagen (CPH). The tour officially begins on May 11.
The easiest connection is through Reykjavik. If you connect through Copenhagen, we recommend Atlantic Airways over SAS.
We will pick up those arriving on May 11 at the airport, and at the end of the tour we will transport anyone departing on May 20 after noon to the airport.
If you arrive early or stay extra days, you’ll need to organize your own transportation from/to the airport, which can be arranged through the airport or hotel. The cost of the hotel on nights other than May 11 to 19 is not included, but we can arrange it for you.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own air transportation to the Faroe Islands.
Lodging & Food
We will spend the nights of May 11 to 19 at a wonderful hotel in the capital city of Torshavn. It is located in the center of town, and will be our base for the duration of the tour.
The islands are connected by a series of undersea tunnels and ferries, and we will be able to experience at least six of the islands. Most of our dinners will be taken in Torshavn, with lunches in the field during our explorations. Lunches and dinners are not included, and you’ll be able to dine as richly or modestly as you like. Seafood and lamb feature heavily in Faroese cuisine, but there are also burger and pizza joints, Italian, ramen, sushi and Thai food to suit all tastes.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 40s F to around 50, and nighttime lows in the upper 30s. May is the driest month, with 1.5 to 2 inches of rain. It is usually windy in the Faroes.
Recommended Attire
Think layers. Merino wool or synthetic base layers, fleece mid layer, and breathable, waterproof pants and shell.
Hats that won’t blow off in the wind, and two pairs of gloves.
Waterproof, over-the-ankle hiking boots, and a second pair of waterproof trail shoes.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this tour is Moderate to Active. (See more about our classifications.)
This tour includes daily walks and hikes of 1 to 5 miles round-trip over uneven ground, along cliff tops in possibly windy conditions. Please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. You should be comfortable carrying your own equipment. There may be ferry crossings or boat rides in choppy seas.
Note: To ensure the safety of individuals and the group, the tour leaders may use their discretion to limit an attendee from engaging in a vigorous activity on-site should that person’s physical health or ability be in question. If you are unsure about your ability to meet the physical demands of this tour, we will be happy to discuss your concerns one-on-one before you register. You are also, of course, welcome to attend a tour and sit out any physical activity that makes you uncomfortable. In such cases, we can provide you with ideas for alternative shoot locations for that time.
Additional Information
IMPORTANT: We encourage reading our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Expect the Unexpected ...
“Each day, each village, each different island we encountered offered so many incredible scenes and experiences that it’s hard to pick just one to share”
In October 2022 Tim and I led a trip to the Faroes that was supposed to be based aboard a sailboat. The idea was that we would have access to areas inaccessible by land.
Due to a long story for another day (or not), we ended up leading a land-based tour instead, and in the end the trip was much better for it.
The seas were too rough for us to have put ashore in most of our intended landing sites. Moreover, the amazing network of undersea tunnels connecting most of the islands made it pretty easy to get to where we wanted to be. We ended up flying there about 10 days early to scout and get the lay of the land, so all in all we spent 3 weeks in the Faroes, which was a wonderful introduction to a truly unique country and culture.
We had outstanding location help from our friend and Night Photo Summit and Nightscaper speaker Kah-Wai Lin, which gave us a great head start with our pre-trip scouting. Once we arrived and got our bearings, it was obvious that exploring the Faroes by car was the best way to cover a lot of ground. It was also immediately apparent that we were falling in love. (With the Faroes, not each other. I love you like a brother, Tim.) Each day, each village, each different island we encountered offered so many incredible scenes and experiences that it’s hard to pick just one to share with you here.
In the course of our 10-day scouting trip, we looked for places we could bring the group for dinner outside of the capital city of Torshavn. It’s a small country of mostly mountainsides and small coastal towns and villages, and most of the population lives in the capital.
One afternoon we came across Rose’s Cafe, and pulled into the parking lot. It wasn’t open yet as they were serving only dinner that day, but as we stood there reading the menu taped to the door, Rose herself came up and invited us in. Before we knew it, we’d spent an hour drinking coffee with Rose and learning about her life as an Ethiopian immigrant married to a Faroese man, and about the restaurant she started, unable to serve Ethiopian food because she had struggled to get the ingredients she needed. When we promised to bring our group for dinner, Rose offered to make an Ethiopian feast for us, on a Monday night, meaning that she would open the restaurant just for us.
That evening was a highlight of the trip for all, and just one example of how the unexpected seemed to appear out of nowhere in the Faroes. Like the amazing burst of light we encountered after a heavy downpour, or the stupendously impossible sea stack rising out of the ocean as we turned a corner, or the vivacious immigrant woman who makes the best espresso in the Faroe Islands in a restaurant by the sea on the edge of a tiny village.
Faroe was the biggest surprise and my favorite trip of 2022, and I’ve been dreaming of going back ever since.
