Travel Diary: An Arctic Trip (Day 1)

Nikon D7200 | Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 | f/2.8

Living in Sweden and being interested in photography will take you to some more picturesque and exotic places in the country. One of these places is Lappland in the Arctic region of the furthest north part of the country. I have traveled there several times in different seasons and enjoyed each time.

DJI Mini 2
DJI Mini 2

A few years ago, some people I knew suggested that I would take them on a journey and show them some of nice places I knew and be like a guide for them. To check the general interest I posted an open invitation on my Instagram account encouraging anyone interested to join me. Despite my low expectations, the response was overwhelming, with inquiries pouring in from various countries.

Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 24-70/4 | f/13
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 24-70/4 | f/13

I started planning. As none of my companions had ever been to these regions, I tried to create an itinerary that would maximise their enjoyment and introduce them to the region’s most captivating places.

DJI Mini 2
DJI Mini 2

This was the year 2020 and the plan was to travel in the beginning of 2021. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic posed significant challenges, and ultimately, only three people were able to participate. Nevertheless, we made the trip.

My original intention was to make it like a photography travel but the other participants were not as photography-interested as I was, so it became a more or less experience journey. Despite this, I did manage to take a few pictures that I’ll share here.

Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2

I thought to share the experience in a series of videos and articles. I divided the travel report into 7 parts, one part for each day. As it became less of a photographic travel, the number of images did not become as many as I would have wished and you possibly will get more by watching the videos. I share some of the few images I took here and invite you to watch the video on our YouTube channel for more.

Youtube small iconAn Arctic Trip; Day One

Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2

Aurora Borealis

One of the primary reasons for visiting Lapland in winter is to witness the elusive Aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. To see it there are a number of factors that play a role.

  • Darkness: It must be dark and you should choose a very dark place for being able to see Aurora borealis best
  • Arctic regions: The phenomena is easier to see in the polar regions, that is a place beyond the polar circles in the north or south
  • Clear Sky: The sky must be free from clouds
  • Solar activities: The activities on the surface of the sun must be high so that the lights become visible on earth (I explain this in more details in the video)

This means that there is no guarantee that you will see the Northern Lights during your visit, as the control of two out of four conditions is out of your hands. In other words, you are left to your luck for the sight of Aurora borealis. Although we went out for Aurora hunting every night with clear sky, it was not during all the nights we succeed to see it.

In our case, Our first day was mostly spent on getting to our destination but we had a few hours in the evening to explore the surroundings and we were extremely lucky as we were able to see the Northern Lights during our first night of the journey.

Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 20/1.8 | f/2.2

Nonetheless, this region and trip offer much more than just the Northern Lights, and you will not be disappointed even if you do not get the chance to see the Aurora. It is a combination of an experience and an adventure.

DJI Mini 2
DJI Mini 2
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 24-70/4 | f/4
Nikon Z6 | Nikkor 24-70/4 | f/4

Follow the trip through the series (especially the videos) and you may like it so much that perhaps you will be my travel companion on my next arctic expedition to the northern most parts of Sweden.

Youtube small iconAn Arctic Trip; Day One

Gear

When I tell about the trips like this or any photography travel, a very common question is what gear do I bring with me on the journey. To answer this specific question upfront I list the gear I will take with me if I go today (what I had with me back in 2021 within parentheses).

Photography:

Camera 1:  Nikon Z7ii (Nikon Z6) (Affiliate links)
Camera 2: NIkon Zf (Nikon D7200) (Affiliate links)
Drone: DJI Mini: (DJI Mini 2) (Affiliate links)
Lens 1: Nikkor 24-70/4 S (Nikkor 24-70/4 S) (Affiliate links)
Lens 2: Viltrox 16/1.8 AF, Amazon (Nikkor AF-S 20/1.8) (Affiliate links)
Lens 3: Pergear 14mm f2.8 II ; (Voigtländer 15/4.5 Super Wide Heliar) (Affiliate links)
Lens 4:
L-bracket: 3-legged Thing Zelda for Nikon Z6/Z7 (Affiliate links)
Camera Grip: smallrig grip for Nikon Zf (Affiliate links)
Sturdy tripod:
Premium: Gitzo series 1, Feisol, Really Right Stuff (Affiliate links)
Midrange: Manfrotto Befree, 3 Legged Thing Punks Brian , Sirui (Affiliate links)
Small Tripod: Sirui 5C travel tripod (Affiliate links)

Video

Camera 1: NIkon Zf (Nikon Z6) (Affiliate links)
Camera 2: Insta 360 X3/X4 (Insta360 X2) (Affiliate links)
Camera 3: Sony ZV-1 (Samsung Galaxy S 20) (Affiliate links)
Drone: DJI Mini: (DJI Mini 2) (Affiliate links)
Lens 1: Nikkor 24-70/4 S (Nikkor 24-70/4 S) (Affiliate links)
Lens 2: Pergear 14mm f2.8 II,  Amazon (Nikon 10.5mm f2.8) (Affiliate links)
Mini Tripod: Gorillapod 3k kit (Affiliate links)

Further Reading

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Martin

Martin M.H. lives outside Stockholm, Sweden. He is a M.Sc. in Computer Technology but he has been a passionate photographer for over 45 years. He started his photographic adventures when he was thirteen with an Agfamatic pocket camera, which he soon replaced with a Canon rangefinder camera that his mom gave him in his teenages. After that he has been using Canon SLR, Nikon SLR manual focus and Autofocus, Sony mirrorless crop sensor, Nikon DSLR and Nikon Mirrorless. He has photographed any genre he could throughout the years and you can see all kind of images in his portfolio. During the later years though it has been mostly landscape, nature, travel and some street/documentary photography.

2 thoughts on “Travel Diary: An Arctic Trip (Day 1)”

  1. Sounds like fun, I definitely would’ve been all about the photo ops on such a trip heh, looking forward to the other parts!

  2. Heck, I didn’t even know there’s the YouTube channel!
    I would strongly consider going, so if there is any info on next trips (tours?), please do share. I’m also into photography (naturally, as a reader here for years), so I would happily make some company 🙂

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