Earn yourself an incredible portfolio showcasing the very best in landscape photography when you join this brilliant 7-day photo tour of Lofoten Islands, the jewel in Norway’s scenic crown!
This wild, untamed cluster of islands is a photography paradise; an imposing collection of jaw-dropping natural sights, jagged rock formations and fairytale views.
The Lofoten Islands jut out from Norway’s northern shores, appearing to drift in the open waters of the Norwegian sea. That doesn’t mean they are difficult to reach or travel around. While they may seem pretty inhospitable, all of the islands are actually connected by scenic road bridges and tunnels.
For the duration of this Lofoten Islands photography tour, we will be hunting down the Aurora Borealis and capturing the finest sights in the area. Epic snow-capped peaks, vivid fjords, charming villages and dramatic seascapes... all will be within our reach and hopefully illuminated by the magical glow of the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights are visible in Lofoten from September to April each year. Although they can be temperamental, we’ll do our best to put the group in the perfect position for an Aurora photo shoot at each location.
Grab yourself a once in a lifetime experience by booking this incredible 7-day photo tour of Norway’s Lofoten Islands. Check our departure schedule below.
The adventure begins when you arrive at Leknes airport, where your photo guides will pick you up and take you to your hotel. You’ll then have a bit of time to rest before meeting with the rest of the group at 7pm in the lobby for a delicious, welcoming meal. Over dinner, we’ll get to know one another better as we get acquainted and discuss the itinerary for the next few days. It’s a great time to learn more about the details of the tour and to ask your guides any questions that you might have.
Make sure to have your camera gear ready, as if the Northern Lights make a display on this evening, then we may head out for our first shoot! Otherwise, we’ll try to have an early night so that you can be up bright and early to shoot in the morning.
Lofoten is well-renowned for its scenic beaches, with their golden sands and turquoise water framed by majestic mountains all around.
Over the course of two days, we’ll visit the most picturesque beaches for landscape photography in the Lofoten Islands, including Uttakleiv, Haukland, Unstad and Vareid.
Uttakleiv beach is a photographer’s dream with smooth coastal rocks harbouring jewel-toned tidal pools along a rocky coastline. It offers up a myriad of compelling compositions, night or day.
Nearby to Uttakleiv is its sister beach, Haukland. Voted Norway’s best beach, this stunning stretch of sand is as tranquil as it is photogenic. Framed by mountains on all sides, the conditions here can be very mild.
At Unstad, the swell can sometimes break with unimaginable power over the scattered boulders on the shore, making for great opportunities to practice wave painting at slightly longer exposures for interesting motion effects.
Meanwhile at Vareid, wild and changeable conditions make for stunning compositions, particularly with the rock pools in the foreground and romantic, jagged mountain peaks in the back.
All of these beaches make for wonderful locations to shoot the Northern Lights, so as long as the weather is clear, we’ll spend our evenings roaming the shores in search of their elusive dance in the night sky!
Aside from exploring the coastline, we’ll visit one of the largest fishing villages in Lofoten, known as Ballstad. There will also be a chance to shoot at the famous Skagsanden beach, where complex patterns crop up on the sandy shores with the retreat of the tide on any given day.
On the morning of day four, we’ll make our way from Leknes towards our traditional rorbu fishing cabins in Reine, which will be our base-camp for the next 3 days.
These charming huts are built on land, albeit on stilts, perched high above the water. Cosy and warm, each hut features a spacious hallway, modern bathroom with a shower and a well-equipped kitchen.
We’ll all have our own rooms, though the living spaces will be shared. These brightly coloured wooden huts make for a stunning subject in their own right, set upon a tiny island with breathtaking views of the spectacular Reinefjord, steep mountains behind and the delightful harbour of Hamnøy.
We’ll spend our time capturing their charm between trips to a number of other iconic viewpoints over the next couple of days.
There is much to explore around Reine, including the historical hamlet of Flakstad as well as the magnificent beaches of Fredvang on the outer coast of the Lofoten Islands, overlooking the Arctic Ocean.
We’ll have an incredible array of photography opportunities at our fingertips, from the spectacular views of Nusfjord fishing village to the windswept vistas of Selfjord.
During the evenings, we’ll continue our hunt for the Northern Lights along the shores of the fjords.
This will be your final day in Lofoten. After a hearty breakfast, we’ll check out of our fishing cabins and begin the journey from Reine back to Leknes airport, where we’ll depart the Lofoten Islands together as a group. Along the way, we’ll have a chance to recap upon our winter photography adventure and to consolidate our friendships, no doubt with pockets full of memory cards containing wonderful photos from an exciting time in the Lofoten Islands.
** Please note: It is highly recommended that you book your flight from Leknes to depart at around 1-2pm.
We highly recommend that you get a travel and medical insurance. Your own domestic medical insurance and private health scheme will not cover you whilst you are overseas. The tour is always dependent on weather, as the weather can be highly unpredictable. When it comes to the Northern Lights, while they are most likely to be seen between September and April, there is no guarantee that they will appear on a given day.
18 - 24 Feb 2022 guided by Arild Heitmann
Travel the world to capture the most incredible landscapes
