Lofoten Islands
Our favorite location to experience the auroras, which have been climbing to a solar maximum over the last few years. This will be a winter workshop focused on photographing the rugged snow-covered mountain islands, northern lights, pristine fisherman huts, and the untouched beauty of this remote and breathtaking region of the world. March is a perfect time to visit Lofoten—the milder winter temperatures make the overall experience ideal for catching the auroras over a snow-globe winterscape.
Tour Details
March 12-20, 2024 — Completed
This is an 8-night, 9-day tour. Your adventure begins with an overnight flight on Monday, March 11, and ends with a late-morning flight to Oslo on Wednesday, March 20.
$5,995 + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Open to all who have a sense of adventure and 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 $1,995 is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $4,000 is due on November 13, 2023. → 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 November 12, 2023. (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The tour fee includes lodging, transportation to and from Leknes airport, transportation during the tour, and welcome and farewell dinners. |
| • The tour fee does not include flights, hot tub and sauna, alcohol, or meals other than the welcome and farewell dinners. |
The Lofoten Islands Experience
Did we mention that Lofoten is remote? It will take you a full day to get there with at least three flight changes. There is one road, the King’s Road, that connects the archipelago. This official Norwegian Scenic Route is a wonderfully winding road that offers picturesque views around each bend and that links the pristine red and yellow rorbuer fishing villages.
We will base our tour out of Ballstad, centrally located and within 1 hour of most of our shoot locations for the beginning of the week. We’ll also spend 2 days and nights in Reine, the classic location of red and yellow fishing huts framed by the world’s oldest mountains rising majestically from the northern sea. Must-see picturesque spots such as Hamnoy, Henningsvaer and Nusfjord will all be on our shoot list, but we will also slow things down to fully explore creative long exposures along the beautiful beaches of the north.
March brings longer days, milder weather, and a lot of fish! The culture and old currency of Lofoten is cod. We will gain a deeper insight into the history and heritage from the family that has owned Hattvika Lodge for several generations.
This photo tour will feature long days and nights with intense periods of photography. It’s not a workshop—there will be no formal classroom instruction or lectures. There won’t be time, as we will be photographing day and night.
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 comfortable and organized opportunity to create images of the dramatic landscapes of Lofoten and—fingers crossed—the aurora. You’ll be working closely with people of varying levels of photographic experience, and we’ll all learn from each other while making friends along the way.
The trip is suited for people of all photographic levels, and the leaders will provide instruction on night and low-light photography techniques in the field. We will be available to work with you one-on-one, offering as much or as little creative and technical advice as you want.
Night photography will be a big part of the trip, whether or not we see northern lights. Whenever the weather permits, we will venture out to search for and photograph the aurora borealis. There may be time for casual sharing and review of images, especially if there is “some weather.”
What You Should Know
Night photography experience is not necessary, but participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting raw in manual mode.
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. Additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-tour reads.
What You Will Learn
As this is a photo tour rather than a workshop, the emphasis is getting participants to great locations with great light, and making sure that everyone has the trip of a lifetime. It isn’t every day that you get to travel 68 degrees north of the Arctic Circle!
That said, we do encourage you to think about and set goals for the trip.
What would you like to gain from this experience?
great images?
lasting memories?
new photography skills?
capturing auroras?
eating some of the freshest fish in the world?
The instructors will be available for one-on-one guidance in the field as much as time permits. You can pull us aside during quieter moments to check out your images if you’d like.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
You are responsible for booking your flights to and from Lofoten. It is a very remote place and will take at least three flight legs and one full day. Check the flights from your home airport and if you have any questions, just ask.
We recommend that you plan to start your trip to Oslo on March 11. Most flights are overnight and you will arrive early on March 12. From there, look at which flights will best get you to Leknes (LKN) and it will probably be two additional short flights on small planes that will bring you to one of the most beautiful and remote regions of the world, Lofoten.
Once you get to the Leknes airport, which could be the smallest one you’ve ever been to, we will be there to pick you up. You won’t have to worry about rental cars or transportation—Gabe and Tim will each have a large van to whisk you away for the rest of our time on the archipelago.
Upon your arrival we’ll get you checked in, and we’ll let you rest and relax the rest of the day. Perhaps you’ll opt for a session in the hot tub or sauna, followed by our welcome dinner!
You will want to plan your return flight for March 20, preferably the 11:45 a.m. flight to Oslo. Depending on where you live, there are limited flights that can get you from Leknes to your home airport in one day. Or, stay a night in Oslo, where there is the fabulous and not-that-expensive Radisson Blu hotel steps away from the terminal. Have a wonderful dinner and then catch a more convenient flight home the next day. Or spend a few nights in the capital of Norway—the hotel offers multiple shuttles to downtown Oslo for more Nordic explorations.
Lodging & Food
We will be staying at the wonderful and very accommodating Hattvika Lodge and Reine Rorbuers. At Hattvika we have two Sorbua luxury apartments, each with four single-occupancy bedrooms. These apartments are more like houses, with a shared living room, dining room, kitchen and two large bathrooms with heated tile floors. There is also a chill space on the mezzanine level with seating and skylight for additional aurora viewing. The apartments feature a log-burning stove and are tastefully furnished in a modern Norwegian style.
We also have the Myklebustbua cottage, which is a double occupancy rorbuer that would be ideal for a couple.
Each apartment has kitchen facilities for self-catering, modern bathrooms and zones for relaxation. Great views welcome all the guests of Hattvika Lodge, Mount Skottinden looms behind, and the wonderful water views of the harbor make this our favorite spot to stay in Lofoten. Two saunas (one looks like something out of The Hobbit) sit at the end of the pier, offering relaxing downtime after our long days and nights. We highly recommend bringing your bathing suit!
We will be taking all of our guests to an excellent local grocery store so you can stock up on supplies to make breakfast and lunch during the week. This will allow us to best chase the light throughout the day and have (no-host) group dinners at restaurants that are convenient to our shooting locations.
In Reine everyone will have shared rorbuers that have two bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as a shared common area. The views are even more majestic in Reine as we will be footsteps away from epic views and hopefully dancing auroras.
Weather
The weather can be very unpredictable in the Lofoten Islands. While the Gulf Stream brings warmer temperatures for this extreme latitude, it also can bring lots of variable weather in general. We will most likely experience rain or snow every day. But like most oceanic locations, it could last for a short time or be on only one side of a mountain. This weather is perfectly suited for dramatic pictures—lots of rays of light battling through clouds and spraying across the landscape.
Expect daytime temperatures to be in the 30s to 40s F, and lows at night could get down to the teens.
Recommended Attire
Layers and winter wear.
Quality base layers (both tops and bottoms) are a must.
A rain/snow-proof winter jacket will offer you the best protection from any wind or weather.
Rain or ski pants that can go over your jeans wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Wool socks and waterproof hiking boots will keep your feet warm, and Yaktrax, IceTrekkers or Microspikes will keep them planted if you’re walking on ice.
Hats and warm gloves (Vallerret photography gloves are made in Norway!) are also highly recommended.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this tour is Easy, with a possible touch of Moderate. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the tour, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. There won’t be any long hikes, but there will be long walks on uneven and snowy surfaces, and cold weather. You should be comfortable carrying your own equipment in these conditions and in the dark.
Considerations
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.
My New Favorite Mountains …
“The unique combination of height, shape and the fact that they rise straight up from the ocean make these Lofoten peaks simply epic.”
My first introduction to the incredible Lofoten Islands was during a workshop I led with Gabriel Biderman. All I knew of Lofoten was the pictures that Gabriel had shared on our website and the stories he had told. He often called it a “most wonderful snow globe.” He was absolutely right. I was ready to be impressed, but upon arrival I was absolutely floored by the sheer, raw beauty of the place and the warmth of its people.
I’ll admit that when visiting a new place, it almost always becomes my new favorite. I’ve had this experience many, many times over the years. I can now say with certainty, however, that Norway’s Lofoten island chain is firmly my favorite landscape in the world. From the moment I landed, I couldn’t wait to plan my return.
I love mountains and I love beaches. Nowhere that I’ve visited in the past has combined these two elements more perfectly than Lofoten. The mountains here are simply amazing. Vertical and sculpted, they reach nearly 4,000 feet above the sea they rise out of. I have been in and photographed much higher mountains, but the unique combination of height, shape and the fact that they rise straight up from the ocean make these Lofoten peaks simply epic.
While these peaks were often the focus of my photography, they also made a perfect backdrop for Loften’s beautiful lakes, sandy and rocky beaches, sheltered bays and churning oceans, charming fishing villages, and rugged countryside. Oh, and did I mention the northern lights? While the aurora borealis is fickle, when it does appear, it makes this fantastic landscape simply sublime.
If natural beauty was all that these islands offered, it would be more than enough. But truly, the history and culture of this archipelago is as alluring as its mountains and beaches. From the Stone and Iron ages to the age of the Vikings, these islands have been home to a host of independent and resourceful people. Fishing has always been a major industry here and its prominence shows in every restaurant you visit. In fact, I am not sure if I am more attracted to the endless photographic opportunities or the endless opportunities for the most delicious fish I’ve ever eaten.
Whatever the draw, I am beyond excited to be visiting this place again.
