Arctic experience

In this week the Arctic has given its best, cold and lots of snow, never seen so much snow in a week. The guys have seen the real Arctic and found all the most beautiful situations it can offer, the Northern Lights, sunsets with soft and colorful light, completely frozen landscapes and red cabins covered in snow with white peaked mountains in the background.

In March the days get longer, we spent a lot of time out there discovering all the most beautiful places of the Lofoten islands.

We spent a week photographing all the most beautiful places on the Lofoten islands, an archipelago located inside the Arctic circle unique for its dramatic landscapes. Majestic snow capped peaks stand out in the middle of the sea creating enchanted fjords. The typical red villages that create a fairytale atmosphere by thinning the line between reality and magic.
At night the Arctic pink colors turn green, illuminated by the Northern Lights.
If these islands enchant you during the day, during the night they steal your heart!

If you want to experience this dream, we invites you to join one of our Arctic photography trips!

This trip was planned down to the smallest detail to be the right place at the right time based on the weather and the month of the year.

Day 1

After picking up the group from the Evenes airport, we began our adventure by driving towards our base accompanied by the moonlight that illuminated the landscape for us.

Our typical Rorbuer, two luxurious red cabins located in the heart of Lofoten, always welcome the group in the best possible way. Located on the ocean, the view from inside is mind blowing, we can enjoy the Northern Lights from our terraces while drinking a hot coffee.

Day 2

For the first sunrise we went to the the famous Uttakleiv beach, known as the beach of the dragon’s eye and we were right there in front, with the eye filling our foregrounds.

Here we started studying in the field how to make a focus stacking and why we need to do it, we talked about composition and the three main elements that there must be in landscape photography, first subject ( dragon’s eye ), main subject ( mountain ) and third subject ( sky ).

The guys were quite frozen, the temperature was around minus 10 degrees Celsius but due to the wind the feel temperature was much colder.

A typical breakfast in a Norwegian coffee shop was very welcome.

Our adventure continued south.
The sky was completely blue and the day was sunny, not the best situation to take captivating photos but it was nice to explore and see so many amazing places.

Unfortunately, when darkness arrived, the clouds covered the sky and a lot of snow fell until the afternoon of the following day.

Day 3

Around 10 o’clock we left our Rorbuers and reached the fairytale villages to the south, Hamnoy and Sakrisoy. The atmosphere was really surreal, the landscape was covered in lots of snow and the red colors of the cabins stood out creating a fabulous scene.

After changing various spots and continuing our study of landscape photography in this magical context, I decided to take the group to eat the best fish burger in all of Norway. This break is never wrong!

After various spots, a dramatic sunset welcomed us at Vareid beach, a perfect place to capture some dramatic mood.

“ Gotophototour group “ played with the guidelines on the frozen foreground and with the powerful waves creating captivating photos.

Even this night the clouds dominated the sky and we relaxed to dine in our rorbuer.

Day 4

This morning we got crazy arctic light in a spot near Vareid beach. Waves, mini pools, colored algae and ice have created a real playground for us.

We finally reached Reine, perhaps the most enchanted village and took some postcards from Lofoten. Here the line between reality and magic is very thin.

We continued straight on the famous E10 scenic road reaching the last village to the south, famous for its short name, that of A.

Meanwhile another blizzard had arrived and after another break in a typical Norwegian restaurant we reached our Rorbuer.

After dinner we had planned to go out as a gap in the sky and strong solar activity promised a night spent under the Northern Lights.

Every 5 minutes I went out to check the sky holding various apps and websites open and suddenly the sky opened and I saw the first stars.

I yelled all the guys who were still having dinner, get dressed and get in the van!!

This was the start of an epic and unforgettable night under the Aurora Borealis.

The guys came out barefoot at minus 10 degrees centigrade running from all directions and screaming, calling loved ones home, they were totally crazy 😂 and honestly me too seeing their happiness and those Northern Lights so powerful dancing fast above us.

After an unforgettable half hour with the Northern Lights above our red cabins, we reached Vik beach, the beach where everything is reflected.

I must admit that here ” Gotophototour group ” took some crazy shots immortalizing the Aurora Borealis above the white mountains.

Being a small group I was able to follow the guys one by one, helping everyone to bring home their much desired night shots. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing their satisfaction when they look at their photos.

Day 5

After breakfast we reached Fredvang Bridges, one of the most famous view of Lofoten islands with the road composed of various bridges to connect small islands goes straight to the majestic mountain, a scene which is often taken from above with drone.

During the day we stopped at various less famous but fantastic spots between frozen lagoons and rugged mountains.

On our last day in the heart of Lofoten we retraced the most beautiful places of the islands and took shots in different light situations, passing from the south Reine to the famous Haukland bach further north where we found a warm sunset.

After sunset we went back to our cabins and we did the first edit session in front of the computer connected to a large monitor inside our Villa.

Starting with a night shot of the Aurora Borealis, taken in the dragon’s eye spot.

The photo was composed of multiple shots using the double exposure and focus stacking techniques. So, after having seen how to do these techniques in the field, in front of the computer we studied how to put the various shots together and how to edit the photo.

In the end we edited starting from the raw files to the final photo a night scene taken in the Dolomites composed not only by focus stacking and different exposures, but also by the perspective blend technique.

The lesson was recorded and at the end, sent to the whole group.

Day 6

It’s time to pack our things and drive to Harstad, where we spent the last night not far from the airport.

Before leaving the cabins we concluded the didactic program in front of the computer, studying and editing a night panorama, from the merging files to editing using PTGui as software as well as Photoshop and Camera Raw.

The lesson was recorded and at the end, sent to the whole group.

During the trip we stopped at three other wonderful spots, a small lagoon full of floating pieces of ice with the Gimsoya island in the background illuminated by the warm light of the sun, a spot that “Gotophototour group” liked so much.

The second stop was in the picturesque village of Henningsvsaer, a real pearl of Lofoten, in its port there was a pleasant traffic of colorful boats because March is the high season for fishing. The beauty of this village always surprises everyone and never gets old.

Our last stop is near the capital Svolvaer, a small islet with three red cabins above it and a majestic mountain range in the background.

Day 7

After sleeping in a hotel in the center of Harstad we reached the airport and our adventure came to an end. A fantastic group that made me live unforgettable moments, hope to see you guys again soon, thank you all!