Senja 2016

Ecstasy under the northern lights

My first guided photography trip! I jumped right in–into the waters of amateur photography. Together with Christine Sonvilla and Marc Graf as expert tutors the re-entry into the craft was thankfully easier than expected. Senja is situated in the north of Norway, circa 300km above the arctic circle–hence good chances to see the aurora borealis, the northern lights. On the way from Tromsö to Senja we experience–for this time of the year typical– cozy -14 degrees Celsius. The Senja sea, however, thanks to the gulf stream, is a lot warmer. The island offers almost everything that Norway as a whole brings to the table except in a smaller format. In comparison to the southwest bordering Lofoten it is also more comfortable tourist-wise. Especially captivating was the magical light at the long “blue hour” after sunset, and a personal highlight for me were the two fantastical northern lights nights in a row. They were so intense that, eventually, we just laid down in the snow to look up and marvel. Nearing the end of the second time that the lights were this spectacular I remember being so euphoric I pulled out my phone, attempting to film the green arch above me, which, at the time, was technically not yet possible with smartphones. Later, when I looked at the footage, I took that night it just shows darkness, yet our exhilarated cries of surprise and awe are audible, a reminder of the glorious nighttime spectacle. Needless to say, this winter-wonderland serves as the perfect backdrop scenery for my first serious photographic attempts. One afternoon, looking out from our bus we notice a heavy amount of seagulls and an agitated sea. It turned out that several impressive Orcas were on the hunt for mackerel, skillfully having guided the fish towards the blind fjord so that there is no escape. To our immense fortune a female was among them, her calf in tow, appearing only meters away from us. It was an unbelievable experience to watch the whales hunt so closely by. Later, two humpback whales turn up to take on the “leftovers” of the mackerel feast held by the Orcas.