DISCOVER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR : Beyond Arctic
While on trip to Rovaniemi my wife booked a night time excursion “Discover the northern lights photography tour by Beyond Arctic”.
This was my first ever guided trip to see the Northern lights. Usually I guide myself. Or because of my location I open the front door and I setup my photography equipment.
Being that I was in a location that I had not pre scouted and had little experience in. A tour was a logical choice.
WHy a guided trip to hunt northern lights is advised.
- Safety
- Experience
- Local Knowledge
- “No Pressure”
- The right equipment
- A group of like minded people
7. Photographs….
A Logical choice that paid off
OK the trip cost…
I was not sponsored by the company to attend, even though it was tempting to ask for a discount because of this website and the 5.8k members in the northern lights group on FB that I started.
125€
125€ is a lot of money. What i got for this fee was:
- Pick up and drop off from the holiday village I was attending. (Check before booking if you are in Rovaniemi)
- Warm Clothes. (Most sizes are available.) But I wore my own and I tested a new pair of wrist warmers.
- A guide. Juhanni (excuse the spelling). A local with good knowledge of the area. Handy with a camera. Friendly. Talkative (rare for a Finn.)
- Hot drink and some sausages for a typical birch wood open fire.
- A trip of 4 locations but this could be different for you because it will change almost every trip. Weather being the key factor for locations.
- Rally Mini Bus. Ok its not really a rally van but we drove according to the conditions and at speed (not to fast) and in a safe manner.
- Some photographs.
- Being with Like minded people! (2 South African ladies who live in Holland, 2 American ladies (Colorado I think.) 2 German ladies from Heidelberg.)
- Extras – Camera gear rental (I did not need this but they are very nice Sony cameras with a wide Samyang lens.)
Location Location Location in Rovaniemi
Location 1: A nice river location would have been super cool (and cold) If we had Aurora at this time. But we spent time setting up cameras and we all got some pictures to remember of the trip taken.

Location 2: this was a picnic area I think. its hard to be 100% certain it was dark. We had snow. So we had a picture taken on the road! great fun. Just as we was getting in to the “Rally Mini Bus” The Green Lady appeared. Everyone got out and photography commenced.


Location 3: Grill and wait. This was a lay-by near a lake according to Google maps. This was a great place to have hot fruit juice and a sausage. Waiting for the northern lights at Kp0 to Kp1 is tricky. Luckily I had my FB friends tracking the data and I had some alerts and warnings. Bingo! the lights turned on. We was photographed by “DISCOVER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR”. We managed to photograph our own special pics.


Location 4: Was a pit-stop to see if anything was going to happen. Nothing did. To be honest we got very very lucky. But being so far north gave us an opportunity.
Synopsis
A good guide. Good locations. Safe. Good company.
Would I do it again? Yes. Why? Safety in numbers. No driving to worry about. Great locations. Guide was really knowledgeable and… (Don’t think I need to say this.. Maybe shout it.) I SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!
Thank you “DISCOVER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR”! It was a great experience. Hope to visit Rovaniemi again in February or March!
Would you like the chance to see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi? Follow this Link for a great service!
Not sure of what to wear check out How to survive the Northern Lights