Tag Archives: tour

Travel, Workshops and Events

2025 Northern Lights Expedition and Workshop tour – now taking bookings.

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With another years tour completed and the Aurora seen on 3 out of the 7 nights I have decided to open up bookings for my 2025 tours a bit earlier than usual to help people wishing to come plan ahead and also spread any payments over a longer period.

Next year I will be running 2 tours, both will go to the same place and do most of the same activities. But I have decided to offer two different variations.

The first tour is an adventure tour for those wanting to see the Aurora (Northern Lights) and enjoy the experience of staying with a Sami family in cabins up on the arctic plateau in Norway. Although there will be people available to offer advice and guidance on filming or photographing the Aurora there is no formal photo or video training on this trip. This trip is not a workshop, it is a chance to experience a different way of life in an amazing location. It is suitable for anyone that is reasonably fit and healthy with a sense of adventure. You don’t need to be interested in photography.

Captured on the first night at the cabins in 2018.



The second tour will be a photo and video workshop tour. It will be based at the same cabins and do most of the same activities as the adventure tour but in addition there will be classes from 10am to 12 noon day on shooting the Aurora, using log gammas for video, colour grading with DaVinci Resolve. After each class you will be expected to go out and shoot some video or photographs of that days activities or you will be given a shooting assignment for the afternoon. Then the following day your work will be critiqued and ideas and suggestions on how to improve what you have shot will be given. The aim being to help you improve your shooting skills over the course of the week. This tour is best suited to those with a keen interest in video and photography.

For more information go here: https://www.xdcam-user.com/northern-lights-expeditions-to-norway/

HDR, Workshops and Events

Sony Pro Tour Oslo Feb 8th March 2018

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Sony’s Pro Tour is visiting Oslo, Norway on the 8th of March 2018. At this event there will be the opportunity to see some of Sony latest video production kit including cameras from the handheld range like the PXW-FS7M2, PXW-FS5, PXW-Z90 as well as a large range of monitors, vision mixers and related video production technology.

There will be 4 different product areas as follows:

Large Format Sensor

Showing PXW-FS7 II, FS7 & FS5

4K HDR Production

Showing PXW-Z90, PXW-Z150 & HXR-NX80 (TBC)

HD Production

Showing PXW-X70, PXW-X200, HXR-NX100

Live Event Production

Showing MCX-500, RM-30BP, HXR-NX5R, SRG-360, RM-IP10 and an RX0

As well as the exhibits there will be a seminar “HDR for all” from Alister Chapman with some great information on what HDR is, what you can expect from it and how you can use Sony’s cameras to create instant HDR content.
Admission is free. For more information and to register please CLICK HERE.

Travel, Workshops and Events

Aurora Tours winter 2018/2019 – Now better value than ever!

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Bookings are now open for my winter 2018/2019 Aurora hunting adventure tours. Click here for the full details.

I’ve been running my Aurora adventure tours for 11 years and so far every trip has seen the Northern Lights. This year I had a couple of guests that had already travelled to Iceland and Finland in search of the Aurora, but had not seen it. So it was wonderful to see their faces when the Northern Lights came out to play for us most nights.

2018 was yet another great year for my Aurora tours. This picture taken on January 20th.

For the last couple of years I have been basing the tours out of Alta in Northern Norway, travelling from Alta to some cabins far off the beaten track at very special place just outside of the very small town of Karasjok. We stay at the cabins for several reasons.

1: It’s very different – only accessible by snow scooter.

2: It’s truly beautiful – a chance to get back to a slower way of life for a few days.

3: Clear skies – this location seems to deliver clear skies when many other areas are cloud covered.

4: Adventure – where else can you stand on the top of a hill and not see anything else man made from horizon to horizon.

We always try to get up onto the plateaux at some point. This view taken from a drone shows how desolate yet beautiful it is. Nothing man made from horizon to horizon.

Another Aurora picture from January 2018. This time Jan 19th.

So why not come and join me for an adventure you’ll remember forever? I’ll help you take your own photos or video of the Aurora if that’s what you want to do. Or just come and enjoy a bit of Sami culture as our host Oskar cooks traditional meals of reindeer, elk and salmon before we enjoy a traditional Sauna. During the day we go ice fishing, head out up on to the arctic plateaux by snow scooter or go dog sledding through the snow covered trees of the forest.

I’ve worked hard this winter to get the very best deals on the hotel and cabins that we stay at. As a result the cost of the tours is now lower than the past couple of years and I am even able to offer a really amazing early bird deal for those that book and pay 6 months before the tour. Full details here.

Workshops and Events

Sony Pro Tour – Glasgow 7th December.

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Just a very quick note that the last UK event of the Sony Pro Tour for 2017 will be in Glasgow on Thursday the 7th of December. I’ll be there to answer any questions and to give an in depth seminar on HDR including how to shoot HDR directly with the Sony cameras that feature Hybrid Log Gamma.

The event is free, there will be a wide range of cameras for you to play with including FS5, FS7, the new Z90 and X80 as well as monitors, mixers and audio gear.

More info here: https://www.sony.co.uk/pro/page/sony-pro-tour-2017

Workshops and Events

Sony European Workshop Tour.

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The PXW-FS7, Sony best selling pro video camera.

Just to let you know that from next month Sony we will be holding a tour in selected European countries to showcase their Handheld camcorder range,  and as a result starting from November they will visit 4 locations across the UK, as detailed below. I will be in attendance at the UK events offering free advice and info, so if there is anything you are struggling with why not drop in and see me:

07/11/17              KitPlus Show, MediaCityUK Studios, Manchester, M50 2HQ

14/11/17              Vanilla, Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 5BB

21/11/17              Principality Stadium, Cardiff, CF10 1NS

07/12/17              Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow,G51 1EA

Sony will be exhibiting kit and I will be holding “HDR for All” seminars in all the above. The registration page can be found here:

http://m.info.pro.sony.eu/webApp/SonyProTourUK

4  different product areas will be on show as follows:

Large Format Sensor

Showing PXW-FS7 II, FS7 & FS5

4K HDR Production

Showing PXW-Z90, PXW-Z150 & HXR-NX80 (TBC)

HD Production

Showing PXW-X70, PXW-X200, HXR-NX100

Live Event Production

Showing MCX-500, RM-30BP, HXR-NX5R, SRG-360, RM-IP10 and possibly an RX0 (TBC)

 

shoots, Travel

Norway and the Northern Lights 2018.

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After a test run starting and finishing in Alta last year I have decided to run the trips from Alta again next year. The hotel is nicer and the itinerary more relaxed. Starting and finishing at Alta gives us more time at the cabins.

2017/2018 Northern Lights Expeditions to Norway, travelling by road and snow scooter, staying in mountain cabins. Including food for 4 days, ice fishing, snow scooter use and optional photo/video tuition. You must book your own flights to Alta, Norway.

2018 Tour 1: Arctic Dawn. On this tour we will see the very first sunrise of the year. The moon will be absent during the night, so best suited for shooting and viewing faint Aurora.  Arrive Friday 12th January 2018, depart Thursday 18th January 2018.   £1,350 per person. Max 8 people. (cost of flights NOT included).  You must arrange your own transport to and from Alta, Norway.

2018 Tour 2: Moonrise Tour. On this tour we will have a rising moon (after new moon) The moon will start at 18% illumination and increase to 53% illumination over the course of the tour. This will provide interesting possibilities for moonlit landscapes, but if the Aurora is very, very faint it will be harder to see. The days will be longer during this tour than the first tour. Arrive Thursday 18th of January 2018, Depart Wednesday 24th of January 2018. £1350 per person max 8 guests.

These really are amazing adventures. Not just a chance to see the Northern Lights but also a chance to experience some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. Full details can be found by clicking here.

Travel, Workshops and Events

Storm Photo and Video Tour. 1 Place left.

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Shooting a Supercell Thunderstorm
Shooting a Supercell Thunderstorm

I have one spot still open on my storm chasing photo and video trip.

This is NOT a trip where we will try to get as close to a tornado as possible. The aim of this trip is to capture some of the incredible beauty of mother nature when she is angry. So we will be trying to capture incredible stormscapes, lightning, supercell storms and maybe tornadoes from a safe distance (at least 1 mile). Full details are here: https://www.xdcam-user.com/tornado-chasing/

Supercell Thunderstorm in South Dakota
Supercell Thunderstorm in South Dakota

You will get to spend 10 days between June 6th and June 16th with me as your guide and mentor. I will help you get the very best images. There is no guarantee that the weather will play ball and there will be long hours in the car travelling. But if you spend a week in “tornado alley” in June and are prepared to travel, then it would be very unusual not to see some incredible weather and storms. If that happens then we will make good use of the time shooting some of the spectacular scenery that states like Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas have to offer. Use the contact form if you are interested in joining me.

Bennigton Kansas Tornado from about 2 miles away.
Bennington, Kansas Tornado from about 2 miles away.

Dying Supercell Thunderstorm at Sunset in Nebraska.
Dying Supercell Thunderstorm at Sunset in Nebraska.