LOFOTEN ISLANDS - CO-LED BY MARK MCCOLL

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Bookings for this workshop are being taken by Mark McColl Photography Ltd, so if you would like to reserve a place, email Mark at markmccollphotography@gmail.com. Please do not book via this website! A deposit of £300 per person will be payable to Mark to secure your place/s

This workshop is centred in one of the most stunning areas of arctic Norway - the beautiful Lofoten Islands, an archipelago within the arctic circle.

This area is well known for its rugged mountains that rise straight from the sea, beautiful fishing villages with their charming rorbu, amazing beaches, and of course the aurora borealis. Our arrival will be at Leknes airport, right in the heart of the islands, where we’ll spend 7 nights at the Scandic Leknes Lofoten hotel, which is within easy reach of the picturesque fishing villages of Hamnoya, Sakrisoya, and Reine. There are also a number of nearby beaches including Uttakliev, Flakstad and Haukland that are surrounded by mountain peaks, hopefully clad in snow. We’ll have plenty of time to spend at these locations as well as visiting other areas of the islands, including Ramberg, Henningsvaer and Unstad

In addition to the amazing daytime photographic opportunities on this trip, we may also have the opportunity to shoot the aurora borealis. There is probably no better place on earth to see the aurora than arctic Norway. The dates for our workshop have been chosen for dark skies with minimal moon, as well as what is considered the month with most snowfall in this area. Mark and Lee have both been fortunate to shoot the aurora on many previous occasions, so can help with composition, as well as the techniques required to make successful aurora images. Bear in mind that we cannot guarantee that you will see the northern lights, but we will do our best to be in the right location if the aurora is active and there are clear skies.

For this workshop we will travel in two 9-seater vans. During the day (weather dependent) we’ll be up before dawn to shoot beautiful arctic sunrises, and will shoot throughout the day until sunset. This time of year gives an excellent amount of light for daytime shooting. We will not have a fixed itinerary – we will decide on a daily basis what locations are likely to work depending on the prevailing weather conditions. Remember that this tour takes place during the Arctic winter, and occasionally storms / adverse weather can make travel more difficult. Safety will always take priority. If the weather is unfavourable during the day we can spend some time on image processing or reviewing images.

 

Equipment needed

• Camera body (plus a spare as backup if you have it)

• Batteries

• Lenses – from wide angle to telephoto. A 16-35mm, 24-70mm and a 70-300mm would cover most subjects. To shoot the aurora, a fast wide angle is needed – f2.8 ideally, or even faster (eg. f1.8) if you have it and 24mm or wider.

• Tripod

• Lens cleaning equipment – a methanol based cleaning liquid (eg. Eclipse) is ideal as it doesn’t freeze at sub-zero temperatures.

• Plenty of memory cards

• Laptop and external hard disk to back up images each night

• If you have a drone – bring it along! 

 

Clothing

Expect temperatures anywhere between zero and minus 15C – however, don’t worry too much as we will never be far from our tour vans, where you can warm up if necessary

• Down filled jacket

• Base layers – top and bottom

• Warm weather proof trousers (ski pants ideal)

• Hat / gloves / hand warmers

• Warm socks

• Boots / arctic wellies (eg. North Face Chilkats, Muckboot arctic sport)

• Microspikes (Unigear ice traction cleats on Amazon are recommeded)  in case ground is icy / slippery. We recommend microspikes over Yaktrax as they are better on ice, and could be essential depending on conditions / location.

 

Fitness level

Moderate – it is not anticipated that we will do extensive, physically demanding walking. As with any outdoor activity slips, trips and falls are all a risk, particularly in an arctic environment. All participants must have adequate health insurance in place, and accept that there is a small degree of falls risk in an icy environment.

• At A Glance...

• Deposit / Price

  £0.00 / £3,295.00

  Sharing Discount - £350.00

• Date

  01st - 08th March, 2027

• Included

  7 nights accommodation in en-suite rooms for single occupancy in the Scandic Leknes Lofoten Hotel, Leknes, Lofoten islands, breakfast at the hotel, all transportation during the workshop, tuition from Lee Frost and Mark McColl 

• Excluded

  Flights, Insurance, lunches / dinners / snacks / drinks not mentioned above 

• Fitness Level

  Moderate

• Location

  Norway

• Max Group Size

  10