Scenes from Arctic Norway

Scenes from our first Arctic Norway Adventure with Nat Expo Tours. Words don't aptly describe the topography, the culture expressed in the quaint Nordic architecture, and the scenery of Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I've visited and I look forward to returning next year!

We've scheduled next year's Arctic Norway Adventure 🇳🇴 - dates are March 11-21, 2024. If you are interested in spending summer solstice in Iceland 🇮🇸 this year, we have a few spots open on that venture (June 19-28, 2023). We do have spaces in the October 2023 Namibia Tour 🇳🇦 as well (Oct 16-27. 2023). More details and itineraries on our website: www.natexpotours.com

It looks like the February 2024 Cuba Tour is full...🇨🇺

Thank you for following and feel free to share!

Colin

 

Vestpollen

Aurora borealis near Tromsø

Reine

Reine, Norway. Lofoten Islands

I could not imagine a more idyllic Nordic town. We just spent 6 nights above the arctic circle in Norway - 3 nights in Tromsø and 3 nights on the Lofoten Islands, on our first trip to Norway with Nat Expo Tours. The landscape is unlike anything I have ever experienced. We will definitely be back next year!

In the meantime, we do have a few spots open on our June 2023 Iceland tour: https://naturalexposurestours.com/2021-iceland-tour/ Please message me if you are interested...

Cheers!

Colin

Svalbard

Svalbard, Norway.

I am fortunate to have visited this iconic destination, a place sought after by almost any nature photographer. We spent 9 days cruising around the archipelago with Oceandwide Expeditions, making land excursions (when there weren't any polar bears present) and going beyond 82˚ North latitude, within 500 miles of the north pole. We saw a total of 12 bears, one walking across the polar icepack. I will have more to share when I have time to edit through thousands of images & videos. I am now in Iceland, leading a photography tour with Nat Expo Tours.

As always, thank you for following along!

Colin

Polar bear on the icepack

Arctic plant life

Morning sky from the bow of the Ortelius

Earth Day 2022

Early morning aurora over Dillon Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska, March 31, 2022.

Happy Earth Day, 2022! Earth Day is significant to me for many reasons, and every year I make a point to explore someplace new on this date. I am currently in my home state of Minnesota and will be visiting a local wildlife refuge for the first time.

Thank you for following and I hope you take some time to enjoy the outdoors today...

Colin

 



Aurora over Sukakpak Mountain

Back to the Arctic for this one - the aurora dances over Sukakpak Mountain in Alaska's Brooks Range. Taken in the early morning hours of March 31, 2022 near the community of Wiseman.

Looks like I will be guiding one more aurora tour for the season with Alaska Photo Treks tonight. Fingers crossed we have a nice display for our guests!

Colin

 

M M M My Corona!

From the Latin word for crown, 'corona' refers to an auroral display that appears to be flowing from a central point, generally directly overhead. These were taken in the early morning hours of March 31, 2022 in Alaska's Brooks Range, well above the Arctic Circle. If you look closely, you can see the Big Dipper is at the center of the corona.

Thank you for following along, and please stay tuned for more arctic auroras...

Colin

 

Brooks Range Auroras – March 30, 2022

Just north of Wiseman lies what is likely the most recognizable and photographed mountain on Alaska’s Dalton Highway, Mount Sukakpak. The translation from Inupiat is: “Marten deadfall.”

We set up at this location for most of the night, the aurora was visible as soon as twilight arrived. It was faint at first but displaying a spectrum of color, the intensity continuing to build toward morning. These were taken early, with the brightest and most active period coming later, shortly before daybreak.  

 As always, thank you for following. More to come...

Colin

 

Arctic Road Trip

There is no place quite like the far north, the Arctic. I just returned from a 1,500-mile road trip to Alaska’s Brooks Range and the log cabin community of Wiseman. My goal was to capture arctic auroras and a bit of wildlife. I was joined by a good friend from Minnesota, Joe, and his daughter, Nadia, who was on spring break. While most spring breakers go south, we went well above the Arctic Circle to a beautifully remote landscape and our timing could not have been better - we witnessed a vibrant display last Wednesday night/Thursday morning that certainly was one of my best sessions in more than twenty years of aurora chasing! We also had great weather to drive over Atigun Pass onto the north slope, where we were welcomed by dozens of caribou.

I will be sharing more aurora images in the coming days, so please stay tuned…

Colin 

 

Joe and Nadia watching the aurora dance across the sky

A small herd of barren ground caribou in Atigun Pass

A dirty Four Runner with extra fuel on top is a sign of a great road trip to the far north…