Arild Heitmann is a leading photographer based in the north of Norway, and lives a quiet life in the small town close to the Lofoten Islands. In many ways his stature in the world of photography belies his hometown, but at the same time it makes a lot of sense.
Arild grew up in a remote part of Norway and his connection to the mountains is what led him into photography in the first place. He has explored northern Norway extensively, both as a photographer and a sports angler.
Arild is best known for his photos of the Aurora Borealis. In fact, he was one of the first photographers, if not the first, to compose pictures of the northern lights with the landscape below as the focal point. This means that his Aurora work is always easy to spot, due to the dynamic contrast between stunning foregrounds - from waterfalls to ice formations and frozen rivers - and eerie, illuminated backdrops.
Tours with Arild are bound to be eventful, as he’s renowned for being a photographer unafraid of going the extra mile to get a great shot. Just be careful you don’t find yourself falling into any icy rivers or being stalked by wolverines!
Together with fellow Norwegian photographer Stian Klo, he founded the popular Lofoten Tours. They run premium trips across the arctic region to all of the places that every photographer should visit, including Lofoten, Senja, Iceland and Svalbard.
