Lofoten Islands – Northern Lights and Winter Landscapes in the Arctic Circle | Wild Photography Holidays - Photography & Adventure Travel

Lofoten Islands – Northern Lights and Winter Landscapes in the Arctic Circle

Highlights include…

• Arctic light
• Wild beaches
• Northern lights
• Low light photography
• Scenic accommodation
• Magical fjords
• Snow capped mountains
• Reine Fjord ferry
• Remote lakes
• Unusual fishing villages

Introduction

The Lofoten Islands provide some of the most remarkable landscapes to be found anywhere on Earth. Lofoten is one of THE places for photographers to be in winter! These Islands are well known for their natural beauty, unusual snow capped mountains rising steeply from attractive fjords and magical light. Anchored above the Arctic Circle, the sun stays low in the sky giving the coastal landscapes a very emotive appearance. The locations on this particular trip are especially suited for those of you that would like to gain more experience in low light photography. We base ourselves in the village of Ramberg overlooking the Arctic Sea and directly facing the northern sky. At this time of year skies are dark with both the sea and mountains providing a magnificent backdrop to the ephemeral Aurora. As many of our regular photographic guests know, WPH are based in Iceland and are uniquely experienced to judge what constitutes a fine northerly coastal landscape. We also know a thing or two about taking great aurora shots. In our opinion Lofoten ticks all the boxes and more. If you have always wanted to see and photograph the northern lights and explore one of the Arctic’s most astonishing regions, then this is the workshop for you!

Brief Itinerary

For full details download the trip description PDF

Day 1: Arrival in Lofoten

Our hotel in Ramberg is half an hour drive from Leknes airport. There are plenty of flights to and from Oslo’s Gardermoen airport to Leknes. We will try to coordinate with participants so that we only do a couple of airport transfers. Have a chat with us prior to booking flights. Should the night be clear we will go out locally for our first shot at capturing the aurora.
Hotel Ramberg (B, L, D)

Day 2-7: An Overview

For the following six days we will explore as many locations as possible in the surrounding area. We have chosen to base ourselves close to the northern sky for aurora possibilities and evening light. Most of our locations are between ten minutes and half an hour’s drive from our base. At this time of year the sun rises to the south in the Reine area, it is well worth the half hour drive to this beautiful early morning light spot. There will be almost 10 hours between sunrise and sunset and the sun will still be very close to the horizon. It is impossible for us to predict where we will be on any given day as much will depend on the weather and prevailing winds. Needless to say, photographically, we will make the most of each day whatever the weather throws our way. There will be lots of opportunity for low light photography. At least one neutral density filter in the range of 4-6 stops would be a good addition to your kit. It is important to bring with you a good quality, sturdy tripod. We will attempt to photograph the aurora whenever the skies are clear. It is essential that you bring along a laptop so that we can review your images. Please feel free to get in touch with us if you need advice. Take a good look at our trip gallery, this will give you a fair idea of what to expect on this trip. Here is a short description of some of our locations.

Skagsanden Beach, Flakstadøya

A fine open beach facing north offering classic landscapes, rich textured sand, interesting rocks and a great aurora spot.

Reine Village, Moskenesøya

Classic Lofoten, Red Rorbuer (fishermen’s huts) and snow capped mountains reflected in the fjord with rows of cod hanging out to dry.

Sakrisøy

The picturesque Reine fishing village affords superb sunrise images of ochre fishermen’s cabins and cod racks with a striking mountain backdrop

Utakleiv Beach, Vestvågøya

North of Leknes is probably our furthest location. The left side of the beach is rocky, allowing you to get right up into the waves for some dramatic images and, more often than not, wet feet! The rocks here come in lovely smooth shapes of round or oval. En route to Utakleiv is the bright white sand Haukland Beach.

Vikten

The village of Vikten is situated on the outer side of Flakstadøya in Lofoten. In Vikten you find the glassblower’s cabin with its turf roof and great vistas across to distant mountains.

Unstad Beach

The beach allows for a variety of images. There is some sand but the main interest lies with the rocks on either side. They look particularly effective when they are snow covered with a stormy sky.

Fredvang

From Ramberg we drive over the bridges that span the fjord to Fredvang and surrounding areas. En route are many potential locations including fine views down the fjord and a farm with very photogenic sheep (only out in good weather)!

Selfjorden

This remote part of the fjord beyond Fredvang feels very wild and offers fine mountain landscapes with a variety of small derelict stilted cabins for foreground interest.

Reinefjord

Given suitable weather we will take the scheduled roundtrip ferry on one of the Norway’s most beautiful fjords.

Day 8: Transfer to Leknes Airport

After breakfast we will transfer to Leknes airport for homeward flights.

What’s Included

• 7 hotel nights
• All meals
• Transfers
• Reine Fjord Ferry

What’s not Included

• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Alcoholic beverages
• Items not mentioned

Accommodation

Our accommodation in Ramberg is scenically located and close to many locations. We sleep in cottages facing the sea. The cottages are warm and cosy with small kitchenettes, a bathroom and a sitting area where guests can relax or work on their images. The spacious central restaurant and bar is where we take all our meals. The food is locally sourced and of a good standard. There is a comfortable house adjacent to the restaurant/cottages where the tutors are accommodated, we meet here for image reviews and presentations.

Guests will not have to share a bedroom. In the two bed cabins are two equally nice bedrooms and a shared bathroom. In the one bedroomed cottages there is a single bedroom and bathroom.
Single cottages are limited and will be allocated on a ‘first come’ basis. Unless requested otherwise guests will be sharing a cottage with another guest of the same gender.

Complete Itinerary and Full Details

This page is only a brief summary. A complete itinerary and full details can be found in our trip description PDF It is important that you read the full day-to-day description and further information for this holiday before making your booking.