Photo by: Strabo Rep
Location: Loften Islands Norway
PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Norway Lofoten Island Landscapes and Northern Lights

  • Eight days with accomplished photographer and tour leader Nancy Ori.
  • Tour limited to 11 passengers.
  • Experience the diverse landscape of Norway with fellow photographers.
  • Jagged mountains, grand vistas, colorful fjords, and soaring eagles.
  • The chance of experiencing the greatest show on earth, the Aurora Borealis aka Northern Lights.
  • Take an optional boat ride with the fjords rising overhead.
Region

Europe

Destination

Norway

Dates

September 20-28, 2024

Duration

8 days

$5395

per person, double occupancy*

*U.S. dollars based upon minimum of 4 participants. We try to accommodate travelers who request single accommodations, as well as travelers who are looking for a roommate. If a single room is requested (subject to availability), or if we are unable to find a suitable roommate, there is a single room surcharge of $595.

Tour Overview

Lofoten is an archipelago of Nordland, Norway. Known for dramatic mountains, peaks, open sea, sheltered bays, and beaches of untouched lands. There are sea eagles soaring through the sky, northern lights, and midnight sun. The rapidly changing weather and magnificent light conditions have inspired artists for decades.

The tour is open to all levels of photography and painting. It will focus on improving your photos from your camera or cell phone...

Lofoten is an archipelago of Nordland, Norway. Known for dramatic mountains, peaks, open sea, sheltered bays, and beaches of untouched lands. There are sea eagles soaring through the sky, northern lights, and midnight sun. The rapidly changing weather and magnificent light conditions have inspired artists for decades.

The tour is open to all levels of photography and painting. It will focus on improving your photos from your camera or cell phone to your final work. Your guides will focus your time in-country getting you to the right places for good light and color; you can focus your time post trip on completing your vision of the subject matter. This is true for all artists whether that be in the format of a painting, photograph, or mixed media. We encourage a mix of painters and photographers, as they have much to learn from one another.

Like the work of English artist William Turner, you will be in search of beautiful light every day and evening. Turner is perhaps the best-loved English Romantic artist. He became known as the painter of light, because of his increasing interest in brilliant colors as the main constituent in his landscapes and seascapes. His works include watercolors, oils, and engravings of light-filled romantic settings of land, and seascapes.

Join this seven-night Arctic adventure in the Lofoten Islands. This archipelago consists of seven principal islands. The natural beauty of this incredible landscape presents us with the possibility of exploring colorful fjords, jagged mountain peaks, unique beaches, and the world-renowned Arctic light. Your basecamp for the first three days will be in Reine on the island of Moskenesøya. It has been referred to as one of the most scenic villages on earth. One look outside your bedroom window, and you will understand why – incredible granite mountains rising straight out of the fjords, traditional fishermen cabins and the location just oozes of great Norwegian history.

The program will then move on to encompass four evenings in Mortsund, a beautiful fishing village in the archipelago. Currently Lofoten gets few visitors during the Fall. Mid & late September are easily one of the best periods to visit. Fall colors are popping and the vegetation puts on a show. The angle for getting good light during the golden hours is terrific, and temperatures make it more come comfortable for chasing the light. The magical aurora borealis is really active around the Fall equinox. If we are blessed with clear skies, we will be able to capture the elusive lights as they dance seductively on the night skies. Speaking of weather, Lofoten is notoriously unpredictable. Conditions and light changes constantly, so please be sure to read your travel guide for what to bring.

Weather permitting the group will take a boat ride amidst one of the many fjords. This angle provides a different perspective of the sheer beauty of the mountains, and what look like miniscule huts squeezed into the small areas of flatland along the shore.

Your accommodations will be in traditional fisherman’s cabins that have been updated for travelers who venture here. Typical cabins consist of two bedrooms in each cabin with a shared bath. Box lunches are provided from your accommodations, to make the most of your day in the field.

Photo Leader

Nancy Ori

Tour Itinerary

September 20: Home

Your journey to Norway begins with an overnight flight, likely connecting through Oslo, and Bodo, Norway to your final destination Leknes (arrive September 21) (LKN).

September 21-23: Leknes - Reine

Arrive in Leknes Airport by 2pm today, where you will be met at the airport and transferred to your accommodations in Reine (45-minute drive). The Lofoten archipelago is made up of a multitude of tiny islets – according to legend, the island chain was created by Thor, flinging fistfuls of rocks into the sea. The main population is concentrated on four main islands, all now linked by modern bridges and tunnels. Overnight three evenings Eliassen Rorbuer or Reine Rorbuer (D; BLD two days), please note lunches may be picnic style to get the most out of your photographic locations.

There is a lovely wooden bridge in Reine which connects to a small island. Be on the lookout for some lovely reflections, as well as at Reinevagen Bay. Rambergstranda Beach has some of the most beautiful white sand you will ever see. Photographing the Hamnoy Bridge or from the bridge itself offers many beautiful backdrops and compositions to choose from. There is plenty of room to wander off to various locations, capturing the landscape of the amazing sheer mountainside or the inclement weather shown off by the bridge lights and buildings lit up at night. You will visit here at various times of the day and evening during your stay. Drive east over the bridge and your eye will be captured by fishing boats and red Rorbuer. These will be dwarfed by the backdrop of the sheer cliffs and slopes of Olstinden & Navaren.

Traveling south from your accommodations is the small fishing village of A (pronounced ohr). Photograph the historic huts and various architecture, and of course the steep mountain backdrop. You can also walk to the harbor for fishing boats and unique perspectives from the water’s edge. There are various other backdrops at Moskenes and Sorvagen.

September 24-27: Mortsund

Driving back toward Leknes there will be photography stops along the way as you continue to your next accommodation situated in idyllic Mortsund, a small fishing village in the heart of the Lofoten archipelago, on the island of Vestvagoy. There are other islands of Austvagoy, Flakstadoy and Moskensoy.

Fishing is the lifeblood of the Lofoten Islands. From late January, spawning winter cod – skrei – make their way to the islands from the Barents Sea, attracting fishermen from all along the Norwegian coast. The Rorbuer were originally built as temporary homes for the three-month cod-fishing season. Nowadays, the numbers of visiting fishermen have declined from roughly 25,000 fishermen to 2500. But the islanders themselves remain dedicated to, and dependent on, the industry. The key product is torrfisk, or stockfish – cod that has been dried out to a fifth of its original body weight and is exported, primarily to Italy, as a delicacy. The huge wooden drying frames that seem to cover every available square foot of level space are as integral to the Lofoten landscape as its rorbuer.

Possible photo ops present themselves as you visit some of the following locations: Svolvaer, which has long been an inspiration to many artists; Haukland Beach, one of the most beautiful in all of Norway; Myrland Beach, golden sand and amazing surf; Eggum, old fishing village with a historic site from World War II; and Henningsvaer, an island with in a cluster of islands, and yes, there is a football (soccer) field in the center of the island. Overnight Statles Rorbuer (BLD all days)

September 28: Leknes - Oslo - Home

Completing your journey from Mortsund will allow for different perspectives from this region of the archipelago and be a quick return to the airport for departures. After breakfast this morning you will be transferred back to the Leknes Airport for flight home (time to be announced). (B)