Highlights of this photo tour

Aurora and night photographing every night with professional photographer Peter Rosén and David Evans.
Maximum 8 participants for a real experience.
Dog sledding, reindeer sledding, day visit to the ICEHOTEL, moose, landscape and astro photographing part of the tour.
Access to a AWD minibus and a snow mobile during your entire stay to increase our flexibility and chances to see the Aurora.
All camera equipment and warm clothes included.
Accommodation in two different locations. Both places has been chosen so you can see and photograph the Aurora from your lodge/hotel.
Avoid the crowds. We visit locations most travellers do not find.

This 8 day northern lights vacation package in Swedish Lapland is an exclusive package and is suitable for photographers of all levels. The tour is led by professional photographer Peter Rosén and the Australian photographer David Evans. Peter is the photographer behind the books Aurora Borealis in Lapland, Midnight Sun over Swedish Lapland and Magic in the Lapland sky and has 30 years of experience in professional photography. David Evans is a Lonely Planet travel and landscape photographer, travel writer, and a Master of Photography (AIPP) who creates images of high fidelity, depth and substance.

All previous overnight participants since 2012 have seen and captured the Aurora in beautiful environments (c. 90 groups). We are also happy to be the best rated aurora tour provider in Sweden and the winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award.

Nature, culture and photo guiding

Say Swedish Lapland and images of a pristine mountain landscape, arctic wildlife, the living Sami culture and Aurora borealis soon come to mind. This tour brings it all to life! Your guide will be professional photographer Peter Rosén and David Evans. Peter’s background is as a biologist and associate professor in environmental science but work since 2012 as a full time photographer. Peter and David offers you an in-depth photo course on how to capture the aurora, stars, galaxies, Sámi culture, wildlife and the spellbinding midwinter landscape in the best possible way.

Peter will also bring you the full story behind your beautiful images! The history of the breath taking nature and exciting culture of Lapland is an essential part of every tour. Your guide will tell you about the Sami culture that is an integral part of this region, the fascinating science behind the northern lights, the unique ecosystem you are in and how it has been shaped by natural forces over the millennia. The animals and vegetation are specialized to survive this climate, from the lichens clinging to rocks up to the majestic moose. Every photo you shoot captures some aspect of Lapland culture, science and history.

We have the photo equipment for you

Thanks to Canon and Manfrotto, we can offer amarteur and professional SLR cameras, lenses (14-500mm), tripods and an astro star tracker – at no additional cost.

We can help you to extend your tour

We can recommend you to add two extra nights in Abisko or at Camp Ripan in Kiruna including full board, activities and all transfers. Choose between snow mobile tour, dog sledding, evening aurora photo tour with Sami photographers or visit the Sami people and get knowledge about their daily life.

Itinerary for your tour

Lapland Landscapes and Aurora Borealis

We will pick you up at the airport or any hotel in Kiruna after lunch. We will get dressed in warm clothing and head out to Aurora Wilderness Camp where you can light a fire and settle into your cosy cabin in the forest. Do not expect luxury here, but cosy with beautiful views over the Torne River, the mountains and excellent spots for aurora photography straight from your cabin. A great place for adventures. We will use the evening light for landscape photography from the lodge. Before dinner we will go through the basics in aurora and night photography.

After a two-course gourmet dinner at the lodge it is time to gear up and head out for aurora hunting! We will keep an eye on the weather and aurora forecast and head to whichever location offers us the best chance of seeing the aurora borealis, and we have many stunning locations to choose from!
Dog-sledding and Aurora Borealis

We start a dogsledding tour in the morning from our cabins. Our dog sledding guide will drive us into the forest and onto frozen lakes for several hours, making stops for photography along the way. Lunch outdoors over an open fire inside a lavvu (a traditional Sami teepee tent). Returning to camp. In the afternoon we will have some free time to download images, time for private tuition and perhaps a wood-heated sauna. After dinner, we will go aurora hunting, a pattern we repeat each and every night. If the aurora comes out to dance, we are often out quite late (trust us, you will forget you are tired if you are watching the aurora!).
ICEHOTEL, moose, wooden heated sauna and Aurora Borealis

After breakfast we will drive up into the mountains to photograph the beautiful landscape and perhaps also moose (no guarantee to see one, but almost all groups since 2014 have succeeded). Moose is the largest species in the deer family. You are welcome to borrow long Canon telephoto lenses from us for wildlife photography (eg. 400:2.8, 300,2.8, 400:4.0, 300:4.0). We will have lunch at the ICEHOTEL. In the afternoon we will visit the world famous ICEHOTEL, which is the world’s first hotel made of ice and snow. Founded in 1989, it is reborn in a new guise each winter, in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi. A very nice location for photography! In the afternoon we will spend time with landscape photographing, down loading images, image critique and you have access to a wooden heated sauna just next to the froozen river. After a 2 course dinner we will head out for the Aurora again. The location will be choosen to maximize our chances for a great show and nice foregrounds for our images.
Sami culture, reindeer sledding, wooden heated sauna and the aurora borealis

After breakfast we will drive up into the mountains. We stop at Rautas, a Sami village between Kiruna and Abisko. Håkan, a Sami man living in Rautas will take us on an exhilarating and very unique experience. You will be allocated your own reindeer and lead it to your sled, where you will be instructed on how to handle your sled and reindeer – Vuoján. Vuoján is the traditional way for Sámi to travel and a magical experience. After the tour we will eat a traditional Sami lunch around the fire inside a goahti (a traditional sami building) and learn about the Sami life today. In the afternoon we will have time for private questions, down loading images or the wooden heated sauna. In the evening we will go out for the Aurora again and we will try to find new locations for you every night.
A trip to the mountains and the Aurora village Abisko

After breakfast we will head further up into the mountains and to the small village of Abisko – famous for aurora watching. We settle into our accommodations before heading out again to photograph the mid-winter landscape of Abisko National Park. After our sumptuous 3 course dinner, it’s time to gear up. We will either take a snowmobile ride into the Abisko valley or take a minibus to a nice photo spot. We are flexible to maximize our chances for great aurora images. We return to our hotel around midnight for a well-deserved sleep.
Mountain Landscapes, Aurora Borealis and Astro Photography

This day offers the perfect a mix of outdoor photography and tuition. Abisko National Park and its surroundings are an adventurer’s playground, and offer a diverse range of subject matter for great photography. Depending on your preferences and previous activities, we will spend time on editing your images. We can also go through how to best edit images of the Milky Way, nebula and other deep sky objects.

After a 3 course dinner, we jump on a snowmobile and head into the wilderness to a traditional lavvu, set up in our own location to provide a wonderful foreground for the aurora, or a great subject to photograph in its own right. We’ll also have a fire in the tent and have a chance to sit and talk about everything we’ve experienced during our tour. It’s a wonderful time to reflect on our trip and spend time with new friends in the group, who by now know each other rather well!
The norwegian fjords, landscape, aurora borealis and astro photographing.

After breakfast we will head up further into the mountains and make a drive to Norway. We will se and photograph many nice mountain landscapes along the way and possibly see reindeers along the road. In the Norwegian town Narvik we will visit a local fish restaurant (they do also serve other non fish dishes as well) and then head into one of the most spectacular fjords in Norway for some great landscape photographing. After our 3 course gourmet dinner in Abisko we will head out for the Aurora again. We have access to the AWD minibus and Volvo for the entire stay so we can be flexible and choose the best location for the night. It does also happen that we end up in Peter’s cabin which is nicely located for the Aurora and a good place for photo tutorials.
Departure

After dragging ourselves out of bed and having breakfast, you depart at a civilized mid-morning time to Kiruna for some shopping, visiting the church in Kiruna and then to the airport. You may like to spend more time in Stockholm, or stop over at one of the many wonderful European destinations on your way home. By now you will be wanting to sleep for a million years, but you will not be able to wipe the smile off your face! We recommend booking your departure flight at the earliest around lunch time.

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Why should you choose us for your next photo adventure?

We might be the only company in the world with a 100% success rate on northern lights tours.
The fleeting nature of the northern lights means it is naturally difficult to guarantee you will see them, but to date we have been thrilled!
This means that all previous guests participating on our 3+ day tours ever since we started in 2012 have seen and captured the Aurora borealis in beautiful environments. We are truly dedicated to ensuring our guest’s satisfaction and proud to say that we are the winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award.
All our photographers live and come from Swedish Lapland which means that we have a good local knowledge about being up in the mountains, important not only for safety reasons but also important for good images and stories about living in the Arctic. We welcome you to our own back garden.
We have been running photo courses in Abisko and Swedish Lapland since 2001. Our idea is that you have come to Swedish Lapland for a once in a life time experience and we will do all we can to fulfil your dream to see and photograph the Aurora and the Arctic landscape in a nice way.

Get inspired and look at Peter Rosén’s images here: LapplandMedia