Winter in Lofoton, Norway

Location: Lofoton, Norway See our Fall Trip Report from Lofoten

Dates: February 18-25, 2023

Cost: $6099 double occupancy, $6599 single occupancy

Join this 8 day winter arctic adventure in the Lofoten Islands of Northern Norway. The Lofoten Islands are located north of the Arctic Circle. The archipelago consists of seven principal islands with only 24,000 inhabitants. Highlights of the trip include autumn landscapes, jagged mountains, colorful fjords and a chance to photograph the Aurora Borealis aka Northern Lights. 

The weather in Lofoten is notoriously unpredictable. Weather conditions and the light changes constantly. If we are blessed with starry nights and clear skies, we will be able to capture the elusive and strikingly beautiful Aurora Borealis aka Northern Lights as they dance seductively on the night skies.

Tom’s favorite thing about Lofoten is the stunning landscapes, remote fjords and the quality of light at that latitude. He loves the fact that if the aurora appears, it is often reflected in the small bays around the archipelago. We have chosen to stay in a single basecamp for this trip to maximize our photography time in one of Scandinavia’s most scenic destinations.

Closest Airport: Harstad/Narvik Evenes Airport (Eve code)

Flights and Airports: One way to get to the meeting point is via Oslo Gardermoen airport (OSL code). United also offers a new flight from Newark direct to Bergen. From there, you fly to Harstad and arrive at Evenes Airport (EVE). Domestic flights in Norway can be purchased from www.sas.no, www.norwegian.no  You will need to arrive on Feb 18 before 11:00 am for the workshop. Departing flights can be booked for anytime during the day on Feb 25.

Where are we staying?

We will be staying in the Statles Rorbuer for 6 nights on Mortsund Harbor and Sure Hotel Evenes for the final night. Rorbuers are old converted fishing camps and they are very popular in the Lofoten area. Tom stayed in one on his last trip and loved it. They are rustic and charming. They have large living room style areas and smaller bedrooms. This means plenty of space for editing and relaxing when not shooting. Both singles and doubles will have ensuite bathrooms. One of the best parts of staying at a rorbuer, you are right on the water and this can be spectacular if the aurora is out.

The Sure Hotel Evenes is near the airport in Evenes and a good choice if you are arriving early. It is a Best Western hotel and can be booked online. Arild, our Norwegian contact, can also book it for you if you prefer.

Where will we be eating?

There are great restaurants all over the Lofoten Peninsula and our guides know them all…they grew up in Lofoten! Where we eat each day will depend on where we are shooting. Lunches and dinners are not provided on this workshop. That means you can choose what you want to eat at each restaurant.

Itinerary:

Our 2 local guides and two 9 person vans will be picking us up on the morning of February 18 between 10 and 11:00 am at the Evenes Airport area in Haarstad. After we have collected everyone, we will drive the 3.5 hours to our hotel on the Lofoten Peninsula.

 It’s a full on photography workshop, so the activities are planned around sunrise, sunset and night photography excursions. The whole archipelago is packed with locations, so the weather and light conditions will decide where we will go each day. That being said, we have a list of locations we will visit throughout the week including the finest areas in Lofoten, from Reine in the south, to Svolvær in the north. We will explore frozen waterfalls and lakes with amazing backdrops of jagged, snow covered mountains. We don’t know which day or time of day we will visit each specific location as this will be dictated by the weather.

Will we photograph aurora?

Winter is a great time to photograph aurora in the Lofoten Islands. If the weather is clear and the KP Index is high, we will go out late in the evening to photograph aurora. We will sleep in the next day to make sure everyone is ready for great photos the next day.

What camera gear should I bring?

• 2 camera bodies
• 24-200 mm range for landscapes and daily shooting
• Aurora/night lens at 24mm or wider. Best results come from f2.8 or faster
• Tripod
• Optional: 14-24mm superwide lens or 100-400mm for far away details
• Polarizing filter
• 10 stop ND filters for waves, water and clouds
• Optional: graduated ND filter
• laptop for editing midday

Included in the fee:

• 2 Full time photo leaders to assist the group during the trip
• Lodging for 7 nights
• Overland private transportation in 2 vans
• Welcome dinner and all breakfasts
• Local bilingual guide
• Copy of Tom’s ebook Create Better Photographs

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Participants will provide their own:

• Personal expenses, tips, travel insurance, alcoholic beverages during meals, all lunches, dinners beside welcome dinner, gratuity for drivers/guides
• International travel round trip to Harstad, Norway
• Alcohol and gratuities
• Meals other than welcome dinner and breakfasts

Included in the fee:

• 2 Full time photo leaders to assist the group during the trip
• Local bilingual guide
• Lodging for 7 nights
• Overland private transportation in 2 vans
• Welcome dinner and all breakfasts

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Know Before You Go: Rated Difficult. This workshop requires walking from 1-3 miles per day in snow and on icy surfaces. A super wide angle lens and heavy winter clothing/boots are recommended.