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Lofoten islands

— The colors of the arctic —

19th-26th March, 2021

Upon first reaching these islands, you feel as if time had stopped a long time ago and you had found yourself flipping through the pages of a fairy tale book. The tour of discovery around this archipelago in the heart of the Arctic Circle, will surely be engraved in your memory. The unique lighting that can only be found at this latitude, creates a dreamlike atmosphere for the islands’ breathtaking sceneries, surrounded by fjords, sharp mountains and fairy-tale fishing villages.

In this time of the year, there are high chances of witnessing frozen landscapes and, consequently, of capturing captivating close shots. During the hours of darkness, we’ll go to some of the islands’ most spectacular places and wait the most amazing spectacle the Arctic has to offer: the magical Northern Lights


    Unspoilt nature

    Lofoten islands are still scarcely inhabited lands, therefore, not far from residential areas, you’ll be able to admire all that nature has to offer and keeps on creating everyday.

    On this tour, we’ll be making a stop in each one of these unknown, yet photographically perfect places to take pictures of breathtaking landscapes

    Fairy-tale villages

    In fairytales you can often hear about enchanted villages, built on the coast and framed by the mountains. On Lofoten Islands, cities have this kind of magical aura: every house, every street and every mountain, they’re all nestled in a natural frame that contains years of history and tradition.

    Who’s this trip for?

    This is a trip is aimed at everyone who is passionate about photography and the incredible Scandinavian landscapes. We’ll visit and take pictures of all the most beautiful places on the Lofoten islands, alternating shooting at sunrise, at sunset and at night.

    During the trip we’ll study all things related to landscape photography, both diurnal and nocturnal, from the theory of picture taking to post-production. We’ll start from the theoretical and technical foundations of photography and we’ll see how to put them to use whilst outside taking pictures, we’ll evaluate together the shots taken, and finally we’ll learn about the workflows in post-production depending on the files we have.

    The goal of the trip is going back home after having lived a dream and having shot captivating landscapes.

    Photo tour program

    March 19th

    • We’ll meet you at Svolvær airport
    • Transfer to city
    • Introduction and presentation of the tour
    • First night shooting session, hoping to start off on the first day by catching sight of Northern Lights

    March 20th

    • Sunrise among the city’s most characteristic streets, surrounded by red cabins on the coast and snow-clad mountains on the horizon
    • After breakfast we’ll further enjoy the city before leaving for the three most characteristic villages: Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Reine, where we’ll stop in the most suggestive locations
    • Sunset at one of the most beautiful beaches on the islands, Vareid beach
    • At night, we’ll go back to the villages of Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Reine, which offer a lot of incredible spots for shooting

    March 21th

    • The day will be dedicated to these three villages and to seeing Å, the last village in the south of the islands
    • Sunrise at Reine
    • Sunset and night among the most spectacular locations in these villages

    March 22th-23th

    • The tour will continue north, between beaches and lakes, where we’ll witness the amazing reflections of the mountains on the bodies of water.
    • In this area we can expect sunrises, sunsets and nights in incredible places such as Fredvang, Ramberg, Flakstad, the famous Skagsanden beach and Smorten, where we’ll have an amazing view of Gimsøya island.
    • We’ll wait for Northern Lights in two of the best places on the islands to capture them: Storvatnet lake, surrounded by mountains, and Skagsanden beach. Here, thanks to the reflections everything turns green.

    March 24th

    • We’ll go to Leknes, central area of the islands
    • We’ll stop in the most famous and magical fjord in the whole of the islands, Nusfjord
    • We’ll visit and watch the sunset on the wildest beaches, Uttakleiv and Haukland, famous among surfers for their waves and among landscapes photographers for their incredible colours and the mountains that seem to be diving in the sea
    • We’ll wait for Northern Lights on Uttakleiv beach

    March 25th

    • We’ll move closer to Svolvær, where we’ll spend our last night, stopping at Eggum lighthouse and Unstad beach
    • On our way to Svolvær, we’ll choose the best location to stop for sunset. After sunset we’ll reach our hotel close to Svolvær airport
    • At night, if the weather is favourable, we’ll admire Northern Lights from a mountain lake a few km from the airport

    March 26th

    • Plane departure from Svolvær

    Participation

    In order to offer the best quality, the maximum of attendees has been set at 7 people, so that we can follow each participant closely and in the best way possible.

    The minimum of attendees for the tour is 4 people.

    Level of difficulty: Easy

    The cost include

    • Nights in hotel or traditional cabins in double rooms with single or king-size bed  or single room (on request). The houses usually have 4 beds with 1 private bathroom for each house.
    • Rent of vehicles necessary for the tour
    • Fuel
    • Constant availability of a professional photographer

    The cost does NOT include

    • Travel insurance covering medical insurance/luggage insurance
    • International flights
    • Local expenses
    • Meals (*) (**)
    • Supplement or extra fee for a single room
    • Everything that isn’t specifically mentioned in “the cost includes”

    *During the trip a common fund for current expenses will be set up

    ** We’ll have breakfast in our Rorbu/flats; lunch and dinner will be either packed or eaten at our accomodation, in which case they will be booked by the instructors using the common fund

    What to wear

    Lofoten islands have a very unpredictable weather, every 30 minutes or so cloud formation, lighting and wind change, therefore waterproof hiking boots and shell jacket are necessary. It is best to layer the clothes, so that you can add or shed layers according to the weather. Example: thermal underwear, woolen or polar-fleece middle layer, a coat and windproof and waterproof long shell jacket, that also covers the legs. Spare socks and hiking boots are recommended.

    Equipment

    The suggested photographic equipment consists in a reflex or mirrorless supply, with at least two lenses, a wide-angle lens and a medium telephoto lens, and a steady tripod. Optional but recommended: photographic filters and a remote shutter release remote control for long exposures.

    Useful tips

    Extra batteries, the weather is cold so extra batteries are useful. Multiple cloths to clean the lenses. Spare memory card.

    Payment

    The total cost of the photo tour is 1950 euros. You can reserve your seat by paying a deposit of 700 euros and paying the remaining part (1250 euros) within 30 days before departure (19/03/2021).

    The payment will be made by bank transfer.

    Single room supplement: 600 euros

    Documents and currency

    • Passport/ identity card valid for travel broad
    • The country’s currency is the Norwegian Krone
    • Visa/MasterCard credit card are accepted (you may have some problems with American Express)
    • You can withdraw Norwegian Krones in every ATM with a debit card

    Guided by

    Giulio Cobianchi

    Stefan Liebermann


      Refund and cancellation policy

      If a participant decides to cancel his reservation, he can do so at any time by communicating it as soon as possible to the official email address of one of the two organizers.

      However, you should keep in mind that the cancellation by a participant would create management difficulties in bookings as well as the risk of not reaching the minimum number of participants for the trip (and consequently the need to search for a new person). 

      Because of that:

      • If the cancellation request is submitted MORE than 60 days (before departure), you may receive a refund of the booking fee.
      • If the cancellation request is presented LESS than 60 days before departure, it will NOT be possible to receive a refund of the booking fee.

      * Unless the customer that desires to cancel his booking brings in another person who is willing to take his place by paying the total amount of the trip itself.

      The entire amount paid (deposit or full fee) will be fully refunded if the event is canceled.

      Some photos about Lofoten

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