Finland in Winter: Golden Eagles and Winter Wonderland Full-Moon Landscapes

2 places remaining

Discover northern Finland on this 8‑day photography tour, focused on golden eagles and the otherworldly frozen tykky forests.
Date: Wed 20th Jan - Wed 27th Jan 2027
Price: £2,795.00
Deposit: £300.00
Group size: 5
Tutor / Guide: Robert Canis and Paavo Hamunen
Location: Kuusamo, Finland.
Duration: 7 nights
Cost includes: All transport within Finland including airport transfers. Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner. Single occupancy in private en-suite bedroom. No single supplement required. No discount for couples sharing.
Cost excludes: Flights. You will be advised which flights to purchase 6 months before the tour commencement (circa. £450), alcoholic drinks and the occasional cafe stop. The possibility of an additional fee of approximately 40 EURO total for a visit to a nearby reindeer farm.
Accommodation:

For the duration of this tour, we will be staying in a beautifully renovated former school in a wonderfully peaceful location where everyone will have a private bedroom and bathroom. For full details, please see Accommodation in the main body. 

Fitness level: Moderate. You must be of reasonable fitness and mobility, capable of walking up and down slopes (and snow-covered steps) in, potentially, very cold conditions. Should you suffer from serious knee, hip or age-related reduced mobility then you must advise me before booking so that I can judge whether or not I feel this tour is for you. This is as much for your benefit as it is for mine and the group as a whole.
Weather: Cold and snowy, but wonderfully dry and powdery. Temperatures typically range from -10 to -20°C.
Sunrise / Sunset: 09.30 / 15.00
Experience Level: Intermediate upwards. This is a tour and not a workshop where the emphasis is on getting you to amazing locations at the best time of the day. Paavo and I will, however, always be on hand to offer any advice you may require.
Equipment needed: A full checklist will be given 3 months before the tour but the following will give you an idea. Wide-angle through to telephoto, backup camera and tripod. A lens in the region of 300mm will be required for the eagles and smaller birds, with, possibly, a 1.4 / 2x tele-converter. It might be worth hiring such a lens, though this is not essential, especially if you have a fairly high (30 MP+) resolution camera where you can crop later in post-production.
Additional info:

Flights
In case of any unforeseen circumstances, such as flight cancellations/rescheduling, it is a condition of booking that you leave +/- 3 days free on either side of the dates stated.

2 places remaining

Join me for an 8‑day wildlife and landscape photography adventure in northern Finland, capturing the iconic golden eagle and the mesmerising frozen tykky forests. Led by two highly experienced nature photographers and refined over twelve years, this is, we believe, the ultimate Finland in Winter photography experience. Don’t miss what promises to be a true trip of a lifetime!


Mid‑winter in Finland is a truly special experience. Silence, deep snow, golden eagles, and unending views of snow‑laden, tree‑covered fells stretching all the way toward Russia combine to create a photography adventure like no other.

For the duration of the tour, we’ll be based at 65° North - just outside the Arctic Circle - in the extensive upland region of Kuusamo. Defined by its rugged canyons, fast‑flowing rapids, frozen lakes and high fells, Kuusamo has been a Mecca for Finnish nature photographers for more than 30 years. Indeed, I’ve been visiting regularly myself since the late 1990s! 

My co‑guide, and friend of more than 25 years, is professional nature photographer Paavo Hamunen. Having lived most of his life in this region and with a wealth of local contacts, there is simply no one better qualified to guide us safely and confidently into the Finnish wilds.

TYKKY: FROZEN FORESTS OF THE NORTH
Due to the proximity to the Baltic, freezing temperatures, altitude, and extreme snowfall, the fell‑top trees take on frozen, mysterious shapes each year, known by the Finns as tykky. A sight‑to‑behold phenomenon, you will be escorted, as a passenger, by snowmobile to the top of Kuntivaara Fell, which lies just 1 km from the Russian border.

WATCH THE SNOWMOBILE RIDE

I really can’t stress enough what an incredible experience this is. Comparable in awe to Iceland’s Jökulsárlón Ice Lagoon, no matter how many photos you’ve seen, nothing truly prepares you for it. My guests and I are always blown away by these Sentinels of the North.

FULL MOON
Among other things, what makes this trip so special and unique (the only one of its kind) is that the dates have been chosen specifically to coincide with a full moon. This means that, should we be blessed with clear skies, capturing the moon rising above a winter‑wonderland landscape is very much a possibility.

As is the landscape illuminated, solely, by the light of the moon. A very special experience!  

WILDLIFE
But let's not forget, this is also a wildlife photography tour where, from large heated hides, we will photograph the iconic golden eagle. Unlike many other such hides in Scandinavia, where you have to enter before daybreak, here, we can do so at 9am!

In the past, the eagles have arrived around 1pm, and so, while waiting for the star attraction, we can busy ourselves with smaller visitors such as woodpeckers, red squirrels, tits and siberian jays enticed by the food placed a few metres in front of us. 

HIGHLIGHTS
All-inclusive
Private en-suite bedrooms
Daily briefings
Tuition from two professional photographers
Small group size of just 5
4WD minibus transportation
Winter wonderland landscapes
Full-moon opportunities
Tykky: Frozen, snow-laden trees
Golden eagles from heated hides
Dipper, red squirrels and forest birds
Reindeer

To be confirmed nearer the time, we’ll endeavour to visit a nearby traditional reindeer farm, where portraits of these hardy, beautiful creatures can be taken. It’s a wonderful experience and an excellent opportunity to get close to - and photograph - this iconic mammal of the north.

We will also visit a river set in a beautiful landscape to photograph the numerous and very confiding dippers that frequent this stretch of water. It’s great fun, and amazing images can be captured here. In both 2019 and 2023, we even photographed otters from a distance of fewer than 20 metres.

And, while there, should you wish to have a break from wildlife, wherever you look, there are numerous intimate landscape opportunities. 

FINALLY...
Thank you for considering this tour. Should you have any questions - no matter how small or insignificant they may seem - please don't hesitate to get in touch. I'm here to help and to ensure you enjoy a wonderful week filled with inspiring photography.

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Workshop info

Thank you for dropping by and considering attending a workshop. I love nothing more than to pass on to others the knowledge I have gained over the last 30 years as a professional photographer and 15 as a workshop and tour leader. My group sizes are always small ensuring a fun and friendly group dynamic, lots of 'personal space' in which to photograph without too much fear of others getting in your way and as much tuition as you would like or feel that you need. I hope you can join me!

Although under the 'umbrella' of Workshops, please note there is a difference between the three types that I offer. To avoid any confusion, please see below.

Workshops

Those taking place in the UK are classed as Workshops where learning is the primary aim, and in the case of those which are multi-day residential, very often include image critique and post-processing sessions.

Tours

Overseas trips are classed as Tours where the logistics are all taken care of and where the emphasis is on getting you to great locations at the best time of the day. Since these may include hide photography and working in cold, windy conditions where one-on-one tuition isn't practical, these are less hands-on. However, prior to the hide session or upon arriving at a location, I will give advice and suggestions on composition, lens selection and exposure.

Creative Visions

Creative Visions is a new concept that I have designed to specifically nurture your artistic growth. They can take place in either the UK or abroad combining both workshop and tour principles. There will be critique and post-processing tutorials and, most importantly, you will be encouraged to go beyond the record and representational and instead produce more intimate creative interpretations.

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