Between Christmas and New Year I took a week off work to head on vacation in Northern Norway. One cab, three flights and a bus journey later and I had made it from New York to Alta, Norway. If you were following along with my Instagram Story then you’ll know that when I landed at 2pm in the afternoon it was pitch black. This was because I was visiting the region in the middle of their ‘Polar Night’. Norway’s Polar Night is a period of time between November 25th and January 19th where the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon. I was excited to experience this phenomenon, and I’m pleased I did (and also very pleased I only had to experience it for three days; it’s intense!). Each day at around 11am the sky would start to gently glow – as long as it wasn’t snowing – and there would be around an hour of this faint glow before the sky would start to glow pink from below the horizon line, which is a bit like that moment just after the sun disappears from view in a normal sunset. One one of the days the whole sky lit up in bright shades of pink (seen above) creating the most incredible contrast with the white snow-laden landscape below. By 1pm it would be pitch black dark again. Crazy, right?! Needless to say, photography was almost entirely off the cards during the three day trip due to the non-existant daylight. That said, I did manage to get my drone up into the sky for a few aerial pictures on the clearest and ‘brightest’ hour of soft light, along with some iPhone snaps. Check them all out and see more of Norway’s Polar Night, after the jump!
This is one of my drone captures that shows the landscape surrounding the Tipi I stayed in one the edge of a forest about ten miles or so outside of Alta.
If you look closely you can see me down there stood next to my tipi! Can you see me?
Here’s a look at the pink glow that comes from below the horizon line for around an hour each day during Norway’s Polar Night.
This was the Tipi I stayed in at Holmen Huskey Lodge, which was 1/3rd glass so you could lie in bed and watch the stars and Northern Lights. The left picture was taken around 11:30am at the ‘lightest’ part of the day; the right photograph was taken around 30 minutes later, showing how quickly the soft glow of light fades during Norway’s Polar Night.
Here’s the tipi at 3pm in the afternoon! Inside felt very cozy as there was a wood burning stove. It really was a magical experience and I’m so pleased I took the trip all the way up there. I’d never done anything like this before!
This was one of the huts close to the tipis, which had a central fire for people to sit around and drink hot blackcurrant as a way to stay warm.
I spent one of my mornings in Alta trekking and sledding though a snow-capped forest with a Sami family and their reindeer. The Sami are the indigenous people of Norway, and there are 60,000 of them in the country – the largest population of all the Sami countries; Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. It was such an honor to be welcomed into their life to learn more about their culture and day-to-day living. The family I spent time with are ‘herding’ Sami, which means they look after herds of reindeer, migrating with them through the mountains. Each Sami has their own herd which they migrate with and care for. Sami people speak their own dialect; each village has an individual style of clothing; and they have their own government that sits below the Norwegian government. The reindeers in their herds don’t have names but instead are marked by their ears. (P.S. The flare you see below isn’t the sun, it was a big lamp lighting a snow field!) Have you ever been to Alta or experienced Norway’s Polar Night?
//iPhone photography by Will Taylor
26 Comments
Hi love your blog. You are awesome writer and your posts are great.
Just started blog, follow me back.
@Armin – Kind of you to say, thanks. I’ll check out your blog now!
Love It! Will! Such Amazing Shots! Thank you for Sharing! Love your Blog!
@Rene – I’m so pleased you enjoyed these pictures. Thanks for following along on social, too!
Loved following along with this trip in your Insta story! Great pics.
@Carl – Thanks for following along! The darkness was kinda intense (and made it hard to capture the experience!) but it was a lot of fun.
Hi will..the images were magical. loved the view. it was such an amazing experience for u. thnks fr sharin wth us.
@Sarah – Of course, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for the lovely comment!
This is like a novel or something…totally magical! Thanks for sharing with us Will!! Love seeing the world through your eyes. 🙂
@Yanda – Grateful to have you following along with my adventures, thanks!
Will! These images are so stunning! Can’t wait to see what else you will create with your drone!!!
@Jenn – Thanks so much! So excited to capture more drone pictures on my travels this year!
It looked like such an interesting unique trip!
Thanks for sharing, Will.
Carrie
http://www.wearwherewell.com
@Carrie – It really was an incredible adventure! Thanks for following along. 🙂
Fantastic post! I really enjoyed your Instagram stories on this too. The image of the Tipi with the foggy background is fantastic, what an adventure, thanks for sharing!
Leanne
@Leanne – Glad you enjoyed following along. So grateful to hear such wonderful feedback from a talented photographer – thank you!
JEALOUS! Looks like such a gorgeous (albeit cold) trip.
@Josh – Thanks, man. It was an incredible adventure (and, yes, very cold!).
Love this album Will ! It is cold but warm 🙂 … So lovely <3
@Tuan – Thank you so much! 🙂
I love this! Thanks for posting pictures. This is totally on my bucket list now. What an adventure 🙂
@Matthew – Thanks so much, it was my pleasure to share them. I hope you get to visit one day, it really was a magical adventure!
Woah, Will – this looks amazing! I want to see the Northern Lights sometime and this looks like a great way to do it. Great shots!
@Melanie – Thanks so much for the kind words! So pleased you enjoyed the pictures and I hope you get to see them one day!
What a magical place, if I close my eyes I can imagine being there now!
Beautiful images. And the categories you cover on your blog are quite diverse and equally good. Kudos. Btw. Norway’s been my dream destination since I was a little kid and I’m going there soon 🙂