Arctic Wildlife Tours is happy to announce that we will be able to offer another Polar Bear photography workshop in Churchill, Canada in 2023. We did a great trip in…
Svalbard photography - what to expect?
Svalbard, or also Spitsbergen, is the most easy accessible place in the High Arctic to travel to. The settlement Longyearbyen have a airport where regular flights is able to land. The city have hotels, restaurants and everything you need for a comfortable stay.
However, it is easy to forget that you are in the High Arctic when you arrive in Longyearbyen. The weather is cold most of the year. You can have fog, snow storms or strong wind that makes it impossible to stay outside and sometimes even land a plane on the airstrip. Even in summer you need to think about where you are. This is the High Arctic!
Svalbard summer in late June. Canon 5D mk III, Samyang 14 mm. 1/15 sec, f / 22. Tripod.
Polar Bear in front of glazier. Winter. Canon 1Dx, EF800 mm IS, 1/2500 sec, f / 6,3, ISO 800. Tripod.
The contrasts is for sure high. Between the seasons summer, autumn, winter and spring it is huge differences. In temperatures ranging from + 20 degrees Celcius in summer to effective - 50 degrees Celsius in winter. Svalbard photography expeditions is all about these differences during the seasons. Everything is constantly changing. We plan and schedule our Svalbard photography expeditions according to this.
Svalbard Photography in Winter.
The landscape and the light is the surroundings we think about for every expedition we plan into this wilderness. Different seasons and different possibilities. In winter-time from February the sunlight slowly returns, this could be the time to photograph Northern Light in Svalbard, or also in November and December when the darkness is total. In end of February we see the sunrises and sunsets. For a short time the sun rise over the horizon and creates som spectacular light scenes. Usually this is a very cold period of the year and clothing is important together with protecting the gear as you are traveling around there.
Northern light photographed in end of February. Canon 5Dmk III, EF16-35, f / 3,2, 8,0 sec. Tripod.
First light. Canon 5D, EF16-35, f/22, 1/13 sec, ISO 640. Tripod.
Shapes and light. Canon 5D, EF800, f/5,6, 1/1600 sec, ISO 640.
Sunlight returns. The sun was over the horizon for one hour.
Traveling around in Svalbard during winter is kind of extreme. Temperatures down to - 30-40 degrees celsius can occur. Just to illustrate the challenges for photography I use some pictures from one of the winter expeditions we have done.
Sometimes we charter ships also in winter-time. Next year we are chartering the yacht Arctica II for a expedition from April 22. April is not that extreme as February and March, but its still considered as winter.
Strong wind. Early March. Hard work keeping the photo equipment safe.
Keeping warm in -30 celsius.
Svalbard photography in summer
In summertime Svalbard can be like a warm summer day in central parts of Norway one day and like the High Arctic the next day. It is difficult to predict and all activities we decide to do is highly dependent on the weather. In summer it is very rare that we have bad weather that prevent us from doing what we plan, we only adjust the plans according to prevailing weather situation. Mostly because we want the best possibly light and weather for photography and wildlife viewings.
Summer in Svalbard. Still the mountains we sail by can look like this. From Forlandsundet. EOS 1Dx, EF 200-400 IS, 1/1600 sec, f / 7,1, ISO1250.
Depending on the year and ice conditions the situation around Svalbard will be very different from year to year. In June its usually still lots of ice, in July the ice starts open up and in August most of the remote areas around the archipelago will be accessible. Recent years though we have had some seasons when we could sail into areas that normally would be difficult because of the drifting ice. We are afraid this is because of the climate change and in the future it might change the concept for our Svalbard photography expeditions.
Late summer in the drifting ice. EOS 1Dx, EF16-35mm, 1/160sec, f/9,0, ISO400
Landscape in mid August. EOS 1Dx, EF200-400mm, 1/2000sec, f/10, ISO800
You can have everything in Svalbard. All the light, all the situations and all the challenges. The light changes during the seasons and during the day and nights. Even in summer when you have the midnight sun and daylight 24 hours you find the light to change. During our expeditions we usually try to do most of the photography during night because of a softer light.
Already in August the light is changing dramatically and in late August you will have colors on the sky and sunsets and sunrises. The light is still good and its possible to do some of the photography by handheld camera. Because of sailing by ship its usually not possible to use a tripod. That will be only possible when we do landings.
Upcoming Svalbard tours
OPEN FOR BOOKING
Golden Eagle photo hides 2023-2024
The Golden eagle hides are open for booking during the season 2022-2023. Please send us your inquiry and we will help you.
NEW! 12 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Svalbard Early Winter expedition 2024 MV Kinfish
Svalbard winter photography on Svalbard. Join us for this very early winter photo expedition and experience the breathtaking light and scenery. The cold environment will make wildlife encounters to something…
4 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Svalbard Winter expedition 2024
Svalbard travel photography on Svalbard, every day is different, and every year is different. Arctic Wildlife Tours guides leads this winter expedition on Svalbard, a remote area we know well…
6 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Svalbard Masterclass on board 2024
Join our photography masterclass onboard hosted by Nat Geo photographer Stefano Unterthiner and Arctic Wildlife Tours
5 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Early season May 1 – 9 expedition 2024 MS Virgo
Arctic Wildlife Tours do this early May expedition on Svalbard in 2022. We will be using the expedition ship MS Virgo for this wildlife expedition, which is a recently refurbished…
SOLD OUT!
Peak Wildlife season Svalbard June 10 – 19 2024
Svalbard photo tour onboard a small ship in early summer to enjoy the wildlife in typically lot of drift ice and lengthy daylight hours, providing more opportunities to see Svalbard's…
6 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Peak Wildlife season Svalbard June 19 – 28 2024
Svalbard photo tour onboard a small ship in early summer to enjoy the wildlife in typically lot of drift ice and lengthy daylight hours, providing more opportunities to see Svalbard's…
SOLD OUT!
Peak Wildlife season Svalbard June 28 – July 07 2024
Svalbard photo tour onboard a small ship in early summer to enjoy the wildlife in typically lot of drift ice and lengthy daylight hours, providing more opportunities to see Svalbard's…
3 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Main Wildlife season Svalbard July 07 – 17 2024
Svalbard photo tour onboard a small ship in early summer to enjoy the wildlife in typically lot of drift ice and lengthy daylight hours, providing more opportunities to see Svalbard's…
FULLY BOOKED
Main Wildlife Season Svalbard July 17 – 27 2024
Svalbard photo tours and small vessel cruises in mid summer to photograph and experience the wildlife in typically warmer weather with lengthy daylight hours, providing great opportunities to see Svalbard's…
1 SPOT AVAILABLE
Main Wildlife season Svalbard August 16 – 26 2024
Svalbard wildlife photography tour in the late summer and early autumn to spend more time in the drift ice searching for Polar Bears and other wildlife.
7 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Late Autumn season Svalbard September 05 – 15 2024
In September we expect to spend days into the drift ice far north and east of Svalbard. Our goal is to photograph polar bears and other wildlife in golden light.
FULLY BOOKED
South Georgia photography expedition 2023
Join Arctic Wildlife Tours guides Svein and Jens onboard the M/V Sea Spirit and visit South Georgia. As it is the first trip for Arctic Wildlife Tours visiting these parts…
