Svalbard in Autumn

Polar Bears, Seals, Walruses, and Birds in Sweet Autumn Light

August 29 – September 8, 2024

Svalbard’s location between continental Norway and the North Pole places it squarely in an area with some of the most impressive displays of wildlife in one of the largest undisturbed arctic environments on the planet. Glaciers, snow-covered mountain ranges, and fjords cover much of the archipelago. We hope to see and photograph polar bears, many types of seabirds, reindeer, arctic foxes, whales, walruses, and other marine mammals.

Since it is a series of islands, Svalbard is best explored by a private expedition ship. We’ve limited this workshop to 12 guests on our own private, ice-strengthened ship. With such a high instructor-to-guest ratio, there will be plenty of time for one-on-one instruction and our signature image reviews. We will work with you in the field to capture better wildlife and landscape images. Back on the ship, we will show you how to process your images so that you’d be proud to hang them on your wall.

The main subjects on this Svalbard autumn light photo expedition will be wildlife and landscapes in stunning late-season light. Svalbard is the best place to photograph polar bears, and we hope to find some of them in the best light available. The ice condition at this time of year usually allows us to explore the northeastern parts of the archipelago, making this an extraordinary Svalbard photo tour. September is a great time for watching and photographing big whales. We have good chances of finding blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales, minke whales, beluga, and white-beaked dolphins. The light conditions are excellent at this time of year, so get ready for some stunning wildlife photography. This is the Svalbard photo tour for nature photographers focusing on exceptional light. Join us for an unforgettable experience!

As usual, on all our Svalbard photo tours, we will plan for longer stops than typical tourist cruises when going ashore to provide participants with enough time to get excellent pictures. We use two zodiac boats to get ashore or search for wildlife at sea.