2015 Whales of Norway

In the autumn I got in contact with my friend Jonas Beyer Petersen from Denmark and we decided to do a whale photographing tour to Norway. I had dreamed about swimming with the orcas for quite some time now, and this seemed like the right time.

In the early November we arrived to Tromso and started to execute our plan to see the whales. My friend had some contacts and we ended up going at the sea with some new friends, including Audun Rikardsen, who was just honoured in the Wildlife Photographer of The Year –competition (check out his website, the pictures are amazing!).

During the week we did see a lot of whale activity as the animals were migrating up north after the herrings. Humpback whales an orcas are the most common.

My friend had a dry suit, so he went into the water with the whales. I didn’t have a proper gear and I must admit that it sure looked intimidating when the big cetaceans were right next to my friend in the open water. Maybe next time.

The weather varied a lot during the week and some days we did get rain, snow and hail and we were freezing in the tiny open boat. But it was totally worth it! We also did get Northern lights one night, but we couldn’t get on a best location quickly as we were staying in the city.

I was hoping to catch the whales in beautiful pink light, but the time wasn’t quite right.
It is a big part of photography that the weather is not how you wanted it to be and you just have to deal with it. These are my masterpieces during this trip, but I definetily have to back to search for better lights and maybe dip into the water.

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