A solo expedition · Northern Norway
The plan was a year and a half in the making. Ever since I explored the majesty of Senja Island in the depths of winter, I was obsessed with seeing this land in its autumn coat. A dream of returning to Senja, quickly spiralled into a solo expedition to the fjords on the edge of the world. Arriving in Tromsø, the rain started to fall the moment the engine of my rental car came to life — and so began a battle between self determination and the relentless torrents offered up by Northern Norway.
What follows is a story of six days — alone above the Arctic Circle — battling arduous conditions and the urge to give up. Some days I came back with shots as rich as the autumn foliage surrounding me. Some days I came back with nothing at all. Both are part of the experience.
The Route
Tromsø → Balsfjord → Senja
Map tiles © CARTO · Data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Day One
Arrival in Tromsø
Tromsø · Troms
Entry I
Return to the North
My excitement of solo travelling in the far North ahead of the trip was fast turning to hesitation, threatening to escalate into neurosis as I started obsessing about the weather conditions and light levels that I would be met with in Tromsø. Hours went by on the flight from Dublin to Oslo, and from Oslo to Tromsø with me imagining how I would contend with my first foray in a left-hand drive car.
There was plenty of light left in the sky as I exited the plane — by the time I dragged a metric ton of camera gear through security, waited to be reunited with my suitcase and forced to take a substitute electric car for my rental — dusk was beginning to fall. I quickly snapped a few photos of my new ride, just in case I drove it into the fjords, and made a run for my first stop.
Entry II
Light Falls on the Road to Nordkjosbotn
While planning I had a choice — for my first experience driving in Norway and driving on the right — I could heroically charge forward for three hours into the dark island of Senja, or I could wait until morning. Instead, I completed a smaller skirmish — ninety minutes toward Senja, I stayed in a small village that we had sought refuge in during the depths of winter the previous year.
Nordkjosbotn welcomed me in darkness. When I left the village in the light, I received my first glimpse of the astonishingly vibrant colours of the mountains around me. The scale of the mountains and the vibrancy of the woods was like Killarney on acid.
Day Two
Onwards to Senja
Senja · Troms
Entry I
Across the bridge
One of my favourite things about landscape photography, particularly on my forays to the South-West of Ireland, has been the driving — observing new locations as I streak past like an astronaut in transit. Driving to and into Senja was this dialled up to one hundred — the challenge was avoiding a pit stop every five minutes to look at a new fjord, a new perspective of mighty peaks or the saturated autumn foliage.
After picking up supplies in Finnsnes and making one of what would turn into painfully frequent stops to charge the car — I traversed the arching bridge off the mainland and onto Senja Island to start the photography in earnest.
Entry II
Adventure in the deluge
With time to spare that morning, I decided to explore the West of the island — unseen land from last winter's expedition. Driving through quiet country roads and climbing high mountain passes, I was already falling in love with Senja all over again. Then the rain descended ominously.
I stopped on a pass, trying to pick out lone trees now separated from the background by the downpours — but the rain fell so heavy without pause, I had to retreat back to the car to try and wait it out.
The rain fell, and it fell some more. I decided to continue further down the road to Sifjord, stopping briefly to take a shot of the road as it passed through the saddle between two towering mountains. Without a pause in the rain, I spent some time shooting the spiralling descent to Sifjord — a composition I dreamed of — in conditions I feared would not relent.
I was hoping the far mountains in the mist might be a strong point of interest, but without light, the result was flat and unimpressive.
Entry III
Alone in the fjord
Beating a retreat from the wind and rain, I made my way into the fjords to where I would call home for the next few days. As I exited the tunnel at Ørnfjord, I slipped past the manicured road towards Fjordgård and descended down a pothole infested track to my base camp.
Sat alone in this corner of the fjord, except for a small fishery, I lugged my suitcase up a wooden staircase implanted into the mountainside until I reached the hytte — a cabin with just the basics, meant to bring you closer to nature.
A modest structure, but with everything that I needed — a quiet place to rest, somewhere warm for the nights and most importantly, an unparalleled view of the fjord — not hard to achieve when you're the only cabin there.
Entry IV
God rays by the sea
After settling into my cabin in the woods, on the mountain, in the fjord — I had to make one of many frustrating trips from the East of the fjords to Skaland in order to charge the car. The electric car experience was nice, but without any access to charge it from the cabin was a real torment.
The sodden afternoon had me doubting my chances for light at sunset. However, while I walked through the quiet village, the clouds on the horizon began breaking up and some almighty crepuscular rays started to streak across the sky.
Limited in immediate compositions and not wanting to miss the light, I dived down to an old jetty and started capturing the god rays moving across the mountainside. A quick swivel round and a double rainbow was visible as some opaque rain clouds travelled up the fjord towards Bergsbotn.
Entry V
Into the Devil's Jaw
The last destination on Senja today was at its most popular photography destination — Tungeneset, which provides the quintessential view across to the Devil's Teeth — a series of jagged peaks which seem to rise vertically from the sea below.
Not much light to enjoy here, with fierce winds and choppy seas — I beat a retreat after a few frames back to my cabin.
With no activity on the aurora front and a full cloud forecast regardless, I ended my first day in Senja in good spirits, but desperate for more.
Day Three
Crossing Off the Bucketlist
Senja · Troms
Entry I
A dip in the wilderness
Waking up this morning to the pelting of hail on the cabin exterior was another reminder of the cruel cards I was dealt in terms of the weather. There was some light about, but not much. I decided to head to the South-West of the island, to Ånderdalen National Park — hoping that the open expanses would give me similar conditions to yesterday in Skaland.
As luck would have it, that was the exact conditions that I was met with. Without much research on that park — I stuck to the trails, looking for interesting silver trees and windows out of the birch forest to the open plains and distant mountains.
No moose, no reindeer to be seen on my visit, but plenty of rainbows loose in the wild.
Entry II
On the edge
Day three had one goal — Segla — the dream shot from my winter trip that we didn't manage to get to due to heavy accumulation of snow. It was the image that haunted me for a year and a half, but today I was going to feel what it was like teetering on the edge of those sheer cliffs.
The climb started in Fjordgård, just within view of my hytte — what started as a walk through a vibrant yellow woodland, turned into a slippery mud trail before eventually reaching the mountainside. As I clambered up towards the summit of Hesten, Segla became sharper and sharper the more side on you came to it — turning from an oblong mountain, into a jagged blade that shot up from sea to sky.
Senja was very quiet at this time of year as I travelled around — turns out everyone was waiting for me on top of Hesten. I delicately made my way down the cliff edge, dodging fellow travellers on the way and looking for an overhanging angle of Segla. When found, I nestled down for my 3 hour wait to see if the sun could break through that irritatingly omnipresent cloud.
The sun would have set at a beautiful angle at this time of year, however after the slightest flickers of side light, the cloud never cleared and I made my descent back to the car. This time not disappointed in the lack of light, but with a strong sense of achievement — this trip seemed like a distant dream for so long and despite many reservations, I made it to Segla.
Day Four
A Golden Morning on Senja
Entry I
Race against time
After days battling with the wind and rain — the clouds finally looked to clear for a sunrise on day four. Returning to my favourite location from that winter expedition, the sun was slowly creeping up from the mainland, slowly pulling itself into a position to cast light into fjords of the distant north.
There it was again though, a dark cloudbank ominously emerging from the sea, threatening to turn the lights off for another consecutive day. Mercifully, the clouds seemed to halt their advance just in time as the sun, at last, reached an altitude to throw light into the valley.
The dull trees that stood in front of me on this cliffside turned into radiant yellow and orange lights, while the prominent mountainside I looked across began to shine in the morning sunshine. Then those menacing clouds began to close in, but before they put an end to the show, they produced another rainbow for me to enjoy on this trip.
Entry II
Scouting for stills
As quick as it came, it disappeared even faster. The forecast offered no hope at all, with mounds of cloud cover swirling around the north. So with time running out on my flash trip, I took the opportunity to visit some places for the first time, and returned to some favourites.
I started by heading further West, walking around the villages of Hamm and Gryllefjord, taking in some new sights. Returning to previous favourites in Ersfjord, Husøy and Medfjordvær. I took lots of flat shots, sometimes through the hazy rain, but these are some of my favourite ones to look back on. Liberated in the knowledge that the day would end in a washout, I took some camera shots, the odd phone shot and sometimes just soaked it all in without the need to capture anything.
Ending the day with dinner in Fjordgård — I weighed up my options for the last day proper of the trip — do I continue exploring more of Senja, or do I see what else the Troms region has to offer.
Day Five
Goodbye Senja
Balsfjord and Storfjord · Troms
Entry I
No turning back
Unfortunately, this decision is one I reflect on still. With no prospect of the weather on Senja improving — I packed up my things, locked up the hytte and made my way off the island. I beat a slow path on the way out, stopping to admire the boat houses that lined the coast here. They were stunning in winter, their colourful painted shells contrasting starkly with the pure white snow that carpeted the fields. In autumn, with fields still grazed by sheep and cows - they didn't demand the same attention, but were no less pretty.
After being stopped for a breathalyser test alongside the locals in Finnsnes, I made my way back along scenic roads and beaten tracks, circling back to my previous pit stop in Nordkjosbotn.
Entry II
Thwarted again
With Segla, it was a case of not having the opportunity to take the shot that made me want to return. With Signaldalen, it was the disappointment of failing to walk away with the shot that drove me back.
We visited this frozen river that snaked through the valley towards a prominent tri-peak mountain. The foreground was treacherous, but beautiful — the mountain peak, however, forever encased in clouds.
Last autumn I returned to the same conditions — for 4 hours I trekked up and down the riverside, bathed in the sounds of the wind shaking the trees and the river flowing below. I walked in the river. I sat on the riverbank. Nonetheless, the cloud dispiritingly never loosed its grip on that epic mountain peak.
Day Six
Loose Ends
Tromsø · Troms
I leave Norway again with a score still to settle. Landscape photography often is a perpetual chase for perfection.
I loved every second of this trip. The colours of Autumn, the peace I found, the humbling scale of the mountains.
The trip didn't go the way I planned, none of them ever do. That, I continue to appreciate, is exactly the point.
Trip Highlights
Six days, in frames
Limited edition print
Senja Golden Rainbow
The frame from the golden morning of Day Four — the moment the light finally broke through.
View print →Stay in touch
Have a question?
Whether you've got a question about the trip, you'd like to join a small-group tour to Senja, or you're after something else — drop me a line and I'll get back to you within 48 hours.