Lofoten 2025
29 Jan - 4 Feb 2025 : Fully Booked
29 Jan – 4 Feb 2025
Our base for this 6-day photography adventure will be the Lofoten Islands in Norway. This stunning area becomes even more magical and striking with its snowy mountain peaks, turquoise seascapes, clean beaches, dramatic fjords, and fingers crossed the Northern Lights. There are no big drives on this trip so plenty of time to concentrate on your shooting.
The mountains literally rise from the sea in Lofoten and there really is nowhere like it from a photography perspective. Add the insanely photogenic red cottages plus the potential for Arctic light that just goes lasts for so long. We have timed our trip around the moon phase plus the potential for spectacular light all day long due to the low angle of the sunlight. When skies are clear at night we will be pushing hard to capture the Northern Lights in all their amazing glory.
Our Lofoten photography workshop begins in Leknes. Leknes is a small town on the north end of the peninsula. You can fly here via a connecting flight from Oslo or else take a ferry via Bodo. The flight is really a much easier way to do it. Our first 3 nights (29 / 30 / 31 Jan) will be spent in Leknes where we have a host of stunning Arctic beaches to visit. Rolling swells, turquoise waters, and epic foregrounds.
From Leknes, we head further down the peninsula for the next 3 nights (1 / 2 / 3 Feb) to the town of Hamnoy. You will be based in a well-appointed converted fishing cabin with the most amazing views you could imagine. We have a mix of single occupancy and shared cabins available. Either way, you will have your own room. The scenery is literally on your doorstep and most shoots are within a few kilometers of your base. It’s quite an experience.
Workshop will finish on 4th Feb. You can either stay in Lofoten OR fly back to Oslo. Accommodation in Oslo on 4th is not provided.
We do not set out a specific daily location itinerary, as Daragh will bring you to the best locations under the prevailing light conditions. As a general guide, however, we will be visiting Leknes, Hamnoy & its surrounding areas. The pictures give you a great idea of what we are aiming for.
There will be a webinar to help you edit your images post-workshop. You send your pictures to your instructor and a section will be edited live. The webinar will be recorded and sent back to you so you will have a route map to help you make the most of your images after the workshop. We will also offer discounted rates on our online photography courses plus we have a range of free courses you can access so you’re ready to go before you even arrive.
The cost of Lofoten Photo Workshop is €3850. For this fee, you will receive all tuition and location guide as described above. Accommodation in hotel and cottages as described above. Breakfast for 3 nights in the hotel and you can stock the cottage fridge for breakfast the other nights. Alcohol and snacks are not included.
FLIGHTS are not included.
It is not advised to book flights until we confirm we have adequate numbers for this workshop to go ahead. In the event of the workshop not going ahead, we will refund deposits in full. However, we will not compensate flight costs.
- On Location Guidance
- Compositional Instruction
- Post Processing Instruction in Free Webinar
- Understanding Exposure Triangle
- Modes of Exposure
- RAW, White Balance and Filters
- Why is the angle of the sun so important – Understanding Light and seeing like your camera
- Using Graduated Neutral Density Filters
- Sharpness From Here to Shanghai – Understanding Depth of Field
- Choosing the Correct Shutter Speed to get the best Outcome
- The Importance of Composition – Using Lines and Texture
- Histograms ExplainedExposing to the Right for Maximum Details
Daragh Muldowney – view gallery of Daragh’s images HERE
Camera gear:
- For equipment, we recommend at least a DSLR. Wide, fast lenses are more popular with night and aurora.
- We recommend an ND filter, grad filters and polariser. Sturdy tripod – think windy!
- An expected amount of gear would fill a camera backpack.Typically we will be shooting landscapes, so a quality wide angle is important… the lens needs to be fairly fast i.e. f/2.8 if possible
- Spare Batteries, European charger. Car charger
- Shutter Release
- As we will be shooting at night, it is important to have a headlamp.
Clothing:
- The correct way to dress is to have suitable layers of clothing, so that layers can be added or removed accordingly. Icelanders dress with 3 or 4 thin layers, starting with wool and ending with Goretex (or similar).
- You can expect temperatures between 12 c and -12 c
- Layers of clothing, for example, thermal-shirt, fleece, jacket, long-johns, Outdoor trousers (not jeans!!), rain jacket and rain trousers.
- Sturdy shoes for light hiking (waterproof is best), wool socks.
- Hat and gloves, scarf and balaclava.
- Spare gloves – spare shoes.
Luggage Guide:
- One large suitcase, small personal bag, camera bag and tripod each.
EASY – There are no long walks on this workshop with locations typically within 5 minutes of the car. All workshops require walking on uneven ground on beaches or lake edges for example
Our team is dedicated to getting you the best images possible on every trip. We are an experienced team of leaders and always willing to go the extra mile for our participants. Ask our repeat customers. Most workshops have 50% or higher returning customers.
We will get you to the right place at the right time of day to maximize your chances of making great images. That’s the core focus of every trip. What drives us forward. We love the light as much as you do and our primary goal is always to give you the best chance possible of bringing home special images.
We have small groups and a really high teacher to pupil ratio. Most workshops are only 6 or 7 people. Our max is 10 and there will be 2 instructors. This means that there is always time to give advice and help when on location. It also means we always travel in comfort with 2 people to a 3 seat berth. We take your comfort seriously with single occupancy rooms with private bathrooms as standard. We also have a dedicated office team managing logistics so you have a point of contact for your arrival and departures or other logistical questions you might have around the trip.
Every workshop of 3 days or more comes with a free follow-up private webinar for the group. 2 hours of post-processing of the images from your trip. Recorded live and emailed back to you so you have a road map through the edit of the whole trip.
So why not join the adventure? Join the ExploreLight Community!
“On a workshop with ExploreLight, there are always laughs, but there are always great photographs too. Peter and his team go to great efforts to ensure everyone gets the shot they want at a location – whether it’s the continuous checking of local weather conditions, to in depth knowledge of each location, to prepping the group prior to arrival at the location by showing past shots, to walking among the group during the shoot, offering advice and sharing their own shots, total dedication to the client. I’ve taken some of my best shots while on ExploreLight workshops and that’s no coincidence.
The aftercare is second to none, with a private Facebook group where you are encouraged to share your shots (and where you can receive suggestions for improvement) to social nights out and emails on upcoming workshops, editing sessions, etc. Peter is building a community of photographers who return again and again.”
Barbara Tanzler
“Something deep within tempted me to attend an ExploreLight fundamentals workshop in the Wicklow National Park in March 2015. I remember coming home feeling invigorated, that a new world was about to open up for me. My photography has improved steadily so much so that I recently achieved my Associate distinction from the IPF but more importantly I have met fantastic people many of whom are now considered friends, I’ve attended many more ExploreLight workshops since and visited fantastic locations all under the expert guidance of the ExploreLight team. These guys are good and are at the top of their game and super professional. I recommend ExploreLight because they are the best Photography workshop and tour operators out there.”
Noel McIntyre AIPF
“I have been on several ExploreLight Workshops and have thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. The ExploreLight workshops are a perfect combination of excellent teaching, superb locations, and great “craic”. Your enthusiasm is infectious, even if it means getting up at 5am to shoot the sunrise, or staying out until 4am to shoot the aurora. I look forward to returning to many more workshops with you guys.”
Paul Byrne
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Regarding flights or other personal expenses, we cannot take responsibility for costs if a workshop does not go ahead. We suggest having insurance or a ticket that allows you to move dates. This is available with most airlines at the moment.
Hopefully this picture captures some of the most beautiful elements Lofoten has to offer. Clean arctic beaches, beautiful azure water plus the mood and atmosphere of the passing weather. Long exposure with my Kase filters to keep things nice and simple.