A bit delayed, but here is the trip report of the second "Frozen Lofoten" tour.
I find nature photography so interesting because the nature is always changing, which provides new opportunities and possibilities continuously. Also now Mother Nature has shown us again how rapidly things can change. During the first Frozen Lofoten tour we had snowfall every day, heavy winds, temperatures down to -14 degrees Celsius and the sun almost never showed itself. But between returning the first group to the airport and picking up the next group the following day, the weather completely changed. The wind disappeared, the sun came out and the temperature went up. And it stayed like that during the full length of the second tour.
The itinerary of this tour was similar to the one I described in the previous trip report. Only the conditions were quite different....
Day 1.
The first day of the tour we used for traveling to our first accommodation in Leknes. The guests flew on the airport of Evenes - Harstad and from there we drove in 3,5 hours with two rental cars to our accommodation. There was a small chance for northern light that night, but since we arrived late night we used the night to catch some sleep. One of our guests couldn't sleep and went out at 2 in the morning. To her surprise the was northern light visible above our accommodation. A nice way to start the tour.
Day 2.
On this first photo day, we focused on the area north from Leknes, where some of the most iconic beaches of the Lofoten are located. We started at Haukland beach this time. With only two other photographers there, we had all the space we wanted. And when the sun colored the clouds, our guests were more than satisfied. That night the group could photograph the first northern light of the tour. It was nothing spectacular, but a good moment for the participants to practice.
Day 3.
This day we visited several locations, from the well know Skagsanden to some less known beaches and fjords. Because of the early low tide, we visited Skagsanden in the morning. This location has the most to offer with low tide, because of the amazing structures in the sand on the beach which are visible then... as long as no one has walked through them!!! That night we attempted again to photograph the northern lights. But sadly, exactly when the high activity was predicted, clouds filled the sky. We only had a short peek at what it could have been. Frozen and a bit disappointed we returned to our accommodation... not knowing what still was to come the following days.
Day 4.
Because we went to bed at around 4 in the morning, we didn't get up too early. We packed our bags and started our drive further south on the Lofoten islands. On the way to our new accommodation we visited Nusfjord and stopped at several other locations. In the evening we arrived at our second accommodation in Hamnøy, just like the week before. Luckily we had eaten warm in a restaurant that afternoon. Because before it was dark the first northern lights started showing itself. That night we photographed one of the most spectacular and longest northern light shows I have ever seen.
Day 5.
Even though we went to bed late, we managed to get ourselves out of bed before sunrise to photograph the fisherman village of Hamnøy. The rest of the day we spent photographing in the direct surroundings of our accommodation. For the evening we visited a lake between the mountains and hoped for some northern light. Because the mountains blocked our view to the north, we needed the northern light to appear quite far south for it to show. But once again we got lucky. Because of the moonlight, the landscape became good visible in the pictures.
An hour or two after returning to our accommodation, we were treated with another show.
Day 6.
After again a short night, we photographed the sunrise from a different place, giving us a slightly different view on the fisherman village of Hamnøy. During the day and evening we visited Reine and Å where we were treated with an awesome sunset. And if we were not spoiled enough, that night we had again an insane northern light show!
Day 7.
Sadly this was our last photo day of the tour already. But it was a great one again. While driving towards our hotel in Harstad, we revisited some locations and also visited some new locations.
Just like the first tour, this tour also came to an end with a spectacular northern light show. The most spectacular one so far! However, the lights were moving so fast, that it was very difficult / impossible to capture the structure of the lights. Even with a shutter speed of 1 second, there was too much movement! But it surely was a joy for our eyes!
Day 8.
Early morning we had our last breakfast together. We packed our bags and flew back home.
If you would like to join us next year on one of our tours on the Lofoten, you can find the tour information here: English description - Dutch Description.