Northern Lights -info/advice wanted please

blondie606

blondie606

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Lynne
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Hi All

Have decided I want to go see the Northern Lights . Been looking around & have 2 possibles both booked through my local travel agent ....1st up is a 3 night 4 day trip staying in Reykjavik Cabin Hotel with a couple of excursions booked for the lights & Blue Lagoon/Golden Circle . Not sure I feel totally comfortable wandering around with my camera gear on my own during the day in a strange place though , & not sure how much photography time I'd get on the excursions ?

or
A Hurtigruten cruise for 6 days Arctic Highlights.

As a single traveller cost gets a bit high but the above are just about ok .
Looking at February 2013

So....has anyone been on either of these trips ?

Can you recommend or advise me what other companies may be worth looking at ?

I'm aware that the lights aren't guarenteed so think maybe the cruise would be the better option, apparently the ships have some sort of intercom system you can switch on in your cabin & they'll make an announcement in the night if the lights are visible

Thanks in advance for any info (y)
 
Been to Reykjavik, with my wife for her 40th. We had a great time saw the Northern lights , The Blue Lagoon, Gulfoss and Geysers. It's very expensive to eat out especially if you like a glass of wine with your meal.

Reykjavik was very safe . They'll be lots of other tourists about too
 
I've been on a couple of aurora trips with www.tatraphotographyworkshop.com
I'm going with them again in feb/mar to Lofoten Islands, Norway.
I think they are now fully booked but worth asking about cancellations if you're interested.
Its pretty much all solo travelers/photographers but very friendly and you get a single room with no supplement, all travel, some meals, tuition etc.
I've always felt very safe travelling with them.

Feel free to pm me if you need more info for future reference :)
 
We went on the 12 day Hurtigruten round trip in Feb/Mar this year. We saw the lights on 4 nights, but a moving ship isn't the best place to take photos. Knowing what I know now, I'd recommend spending a few nights in the Lofoten Islands or Vesterålen instead. Even if you don't see the lights, the scenery there is amazing.

You are correct that they call on the intercom when the lights appear. You can turn the intercom off if you'd rather sleep.

This is one of my better shots, taken in a flat calm. Note the motion blur of stars and land.


lights2 by griddle7, on Flickr
 
Thanks for all the info , much appreciated...leaning more towards a land based trip rather than the ship having taken on what you said & showed Gridlock (y) Still a great shot though :clap:

Marie...that trip looks brilliant , just a bit out of my budget though :crying:
Gonna scout round the web a bit more me thinks

Thanks again all :)
 
Unfortunately nothing is cheap in Norway . (Apart from the trains, curiously. The seven hour trip from Oslo to Bergen cost about £20)

You could try a quick trip to Abisko in Sweden, which apparently is the place the Northen Lights are seen most frequently.
http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Regions--Cities/Northern-Sweden/Abisko-National-Park/
http://www.svenskaturistforeningen....d/Fjallstationer/STF-Mountain-station-Abisko/

Alaska is another possibility.
http://www.alaska.com/northern-lights/
 
Iceland is pretty risky for the lights to be honest. We got to see them one day but it was the only time is about a week they'd been visible and many other people on 3-4 day toys missed them. Plus they were really dim.

That said it's perfectly safe, the Golden Circle ( and south shore) were well worth seeing even in a snow storm. Is the D7000 weather sealed? Our cameras got extremely wet.

As has been said I think movement on a ship could be an issue with exposures of a few to many seconds, not done a lights cruise but tried on smaller sports any even anchored there is a lot of movement.

We're doing a Norway photography trip in February. Again that's full currently but the chap is considering doing another if there is enough interest.... Google Alister Chapman (is a bit cheaper than tatra, flights can be cheaper IF you don't mind lots of transfers)
 
Cheers again guy's n gals......had a rething followed by several hours scouring the web...settled on & have booked a Norway trip....getting well giddy already & I don't go for 3 months :LOL:

Got rain covers for the cameras so hopefully they'll be safe :thinking:
 
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