Northern lights over Senja
EXTRA TOUR!
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This winter there is the highest northern light activity for the coming 11 years. To not miss out on this rare opportunity, we added an extra tour to our schedule. This tour is mainly focused on photographing northern lights, but we will not ignore the stunning landscapes of this area.
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Join us on this intense northern light photography workshop to one of the most stunning islands of Norway, Senja. Spectacular northern lights dancing over the dramatic mountain and sea landscapes of Senja, is a pure dream for every nature photographer. The tour leader Floris Smeets (Sony ambassador) has been guiding in this area for nearly a decade. He will make sure you will be standing at the right location at the right time and he will help you to get the maximum out of every photo opportunity.
Senja
Senja, the second largest island of Norway, is for many nature photographers a still undiscovered treasure. The island is situated about 100km north from the well known Lofoten Islands. The total surface of Senja might be quite a bit smaller than the Lofoten islands, but it has to offer just as many stunning photo opportunities.
Due to the northernly position, the island is perfect for photographing northern light. Even with a low KP index this spectacular light snow can be seen in the sky above the island. This in combination with the impressive fjords, dramatic steep mountains rising straight out of the see and the in birch covered hills, makes this island a Valhalla for northern light and landscape photography. On top of that the local wildlife shows itself frequently. Semi-domesticated reindeer, moose, otters, white tailed sea eagles, golden eagles, grouse and mountain hares thrive here. Senja is nothing short of a paradise for the all-round nature photographer!
Photography
During this extra tour, the main focus lays on photographing northern lights. This winter will have an unusually high northern light activity. In the past weeks we have already been seeing exceptionally intense northern light shows, with a lot more coloration than usual. This is predicted to continue through out the coming winter months. We will keep an eye on the local weather forecasts and make sure that we will be out on the right locations during the nights, in order to have the best chance for seeing and photographing the northern lights.
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Depending on the northern light activity, we will have time on daytime for some landscape photography as well. The guide knows the area very well, knows which locations to visit at what time of the day and with which weather conditions. Therefor the program will be rather flexible during the trip and it can change when weather conditions change. In this way you will always be standing at the right location at the right time. If we encounter wildlife during the drives, we will of course stop to photograph. If the groups wants, we can dedicate some extra time in finding and photographing wildlife.
The accommodation is situated at the north west side of the island. From here we can reach most photo locations within a rather short drive. Also for the northern light photo locations we don’t have to drive far. Some days we will visit locations situated further away, but we will make plenty of photo stops during the longer drives.
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Day / night program
After dinner we will head out in order to be outside and ready to photograph the northern light as soon as they appear. The guide knows the good locations and will make sure that the group will be on the right location at the right time. We will use apps for predicting the northern light activity as good as possible. Of course we also need to sleep at some point. If we have been out photographing northern light all night, we have to catch up some sleep during the day to be able to head out again at night. But for sure we will have time for some landscape photography as well. There are plenty of stunning landscape photography opportunities close to our accommodation. If wanted, there will be opportunities for photo discussion and photo editing.
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Breakfast, lunch and dinner schedule
Breakfast will be available from 08:00 to 10.00 in the local restaurant.
Lunch packages have to be made by ourselves during breakfast.
Dinners will be available from 17:00 to 20:00 in the local restaurant. The diners consist out of two courses and will change from day to day.
The quality of the food served in the restaurant is very good. Most products are fresh and local.
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Itinerary
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Day 1. You will fly on Bardufoss airport. From some countries you have to change flights in Oslo Gardermoen airport. At Bardufoss airport you will be picked up by the guide Floris Smeets, who will drive the group in a mini bus to the accommodation on Senja. This ride takes about 2 hours. After dropping the luggage off at the apartments we will have dinner in the restaurant where Floris will give an introduction for the coming week. After dinner we head out for our first northern light hunt.
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Day 2-7. Depending on the weather and if there has been northern light during the night, we can head out for photographing sunrise before breakfast. Breakfast is between 08:00 and 10:00. We will make our own lunch packages after breakfast. Depending on how much sleep we got during the night, we either go for a nap or head out for landscape photography. Lunch is eaten in the accommodation or out in the field. Because we want to head out after sunset, we have our dinner as early as possible. After dinner we head out again to hunt for northern lights.
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Day 8. We pack our bags and leave to the airport after breakfast. You will fly back from Bardufoss airport.
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Fill in the booking form.
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Or contact us for inquiries for other dates and other questions.
2025: 10 - 17 February (Open for booking)
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8 days
Senja
Max 7 persons
Shared double bedrooms in large apartments
Guided by Floris Smeets
NOK 28.900,- (4000,- deposit)
(Approx. € 2435,- or $ 2645,-)
Bardufoss airport
Price includes
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Accommodation: Shared double bedrooms in large apartments
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Breakfast, lunch and two course diners in good standard restaurant
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Transport: All local transport, including the pick-up and drop off at Bardufoss airport.
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Photography workshop hosted by Floris Smeets (Sony ambassador)
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Single rooms: Single room fees depend on room availability. Please ask for the additional price when making the booking.
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Price does not include
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Flights to and from Bardufoss airport
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Drinks during diners
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Alcoholic beverages and snacks
Photo equipment
During the workshop we will mainly focus on northern light and landscapes. But there is a good chance that we get to see some wildlife as well. This means that next to wide angle lenses a zoom lens, such as a 100-400mm, will come in handy. For the northern light a wide angle lens with an aperture of f2.8 or lower is advised. For the landscapes you can use a large variety of lenses. The best would be if you could cover the range from 16mm up to 200mm. For example, a 16-35mm, 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. If you will bring a 100-400mm or similar, this can replace the 70-200mm. If you don't have a full frame camera but a crop camera, try to cover the range from 10mm up to 150mm. Other things you should bring, are:​
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Plenty of memory cards
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Plenty of batteries (these can drain fast while shooting northern light in the cold nights)
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Battery charger
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Tripod (please bring a sturdy one!)
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Filters (ND, gradient and polarizer) (please let us know if you need filters)
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Laptop, external hard drive or image tank to back up your images
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Laptop if you want to edit images
Clothing
The temperature on Senja during the winter can vary a lot. At the coast the temperature will most likely be around -5 degrees Celsius, but more central on the island the temperature can drop below -20. Please bring plenty of layers so you can dress accordingly.
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Packing list:
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Winter jacket
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Winter / ski trousers
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Thermo base layer (merino wool)
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Winter boots (Sorel makes comfy and affordable winter boots)
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Thick warm (woolen) sweater
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Warm pullover
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Warm hat
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Base layer gloves with which you can still control your camera
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Warm gloves / mittens
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Scarf
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Several pairs of thick warm socks
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Sunglasses
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