This time last year

Robert — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:05:10 +0000

Those of you that have been following this blog for the last year or so may recall the trip report I posted on my visit to north west Lapland last September. It’s hard to believe that it was exactly a year ago that myself, my dad, brother and brother-in-law stayed in a small log cabin on the banks of the River Konkamaeno on the Finnish/Swedish border. It all stemmed from the fact that my dad had always wanted to stay in a cabin by a river in the wilderness. Quite a tall order but I knew Finland well and already had a number of contacts and colleagues living there that could help. After many weeks searching for the ‘perfect’ cabin, I eventually found it.

My brother-in-law Jim, my dad Roger, my 'daft' brother Malc and yours truly cooking sausages on an open fire infront of the cabin. Daytime temperatures were around 10 deg.C and at night would occasionally drop to minus 5.

Cabin at twilight.

50 metres from the cabin.

The cabin was basic, had an outdoor loo and no running water. Inside was comfortable with cooking facilities, no electricity (except for very weak solar lighting) and wood burning stove….perfect! The site of the cabin was fantastic. Just under a kilometre from the road down a track, you really did feel in the middle of no-where. To have a wash and brush your teeth, a short walk to the river was needed but this was all part of the experience. To add to this there was an adjoining sauna and rowing boat. The colours of Lapland at this time are absolutely stunning. The bright yellow of birch and aspen and the red of bilberry all combine to produce a kaleidoscope of colour. A day was spent exploring the Norwegian fjords (the size of which just blew us away) and to top it off, on the 2nd night, we had a full 45 minutes showing of the northern lights, all viewed just metres away from the cabin.

This was my sixth trip to Finland, the second during this season. In the past, in spring and summer, I have photographed bears, wolverine, orchids and owls but for landscape photography, nothing beats Lapland in autumn. Click here to see a temporary web page of many of the images taken on last years trip.

Frosty morning down at the river.

River Galggojohka, Norway.

Lapland Photography Holiday

I am looking at potentially running a Lapland Photography Holiday in Finland with a visit to Norway the same time next year and at this stage I am simply seeing what the interest is for something like this. The accommodation would be at a lodge not far from where I stayed where meals etc would all be taken care of. If, however, you would like to experience the basic, wilderness version then this may also be possible. As I said, I am merely ascertaining interest at this stage and would very much welcome your thoughts. Price-wise, you are looking at approximately £1200 for 7 days though this is just a ballpoint figure. This would exclude flights but include everything else, including transport.

One thing is for certain, this is quite unique. An adventure. There are no companies that do trips of this kind, anywhere. I will be putting up more details on this blog shortly but if you can’t wait till then and would like to register your interest, please contact me at rmcanis@msn.com or telephone, 07939 117570.

Czech Republic photography workshop

Robert — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:11:40 +0000

Prague bridges crossing the River Vltava at sunset

I’m in the throws of planning a 6 day photography workshop to the Czech Republic, taking in Prague and Cesky Krumlov, the latter being a beautiful medieval town with UNESCO world heritage status in South Bohemia. 3 nights will be spent in Prague and 2 in Cesky Krumlov. I haven’t booked the hotel or finalised exact details as yet, except for the dates, so I am just getting a feel for any interest out there before it gets put onto my website or advertised more widely.

Prague Castle

For around 5 years I made at least 40 trips to Prague and several to Cesky Krumlov, shooting images for my own library and agencies as well as for magazine articles (one of which appeared in Outdoor photography) and also for hotels in Prague. The result is that I know this place quite literally like the back of my hand and therefore know exactly where to go for dawn to dusk shooting. No time will be wasted on your part in getting your bearings, negotiating trams and the metro and potentially getting lost in the maze of medieval cobbled streets and alleys. This I would do on a regular basis for the first half a dozen trips to Prague!

Prague spires

Prague buildings

Prague at sunset

Accommodation in Prague and Cesky Krumlov will be taken care of as will transport to and from Cesky Krumlov. Numbers will be limited to just 4 participants to keep it small and friendly and it also means I can spend quality time with each person.

Cesky Krumlov at sunset

Cesky Krumlov

Dates will be September 6th to 11th 2010 and the price will be around £600 which does not include flights.

Please contact me to register your interest.

To see my full coverage of both Prague and Cesky Krumlov, please visit my website and use the drop-down Category box or in Collections.

Robert Canis Photography Blog » photography holiday

This time last year

Lapland Photography Holiday

Czech Republic photography workshop