Photography: Autumn Colors of Swedish Lapland
Enjoy a week of photography in Abisko National Park! We offer amazing landscapes, as well as the northern lights!
In short
During this photography journey, you will photograph the most beautiful autumn landscapes in the mountains of Swedish Lapland! We will visit canyons, waterfalls and lakes that mirror the mountains – all painted in the yellow, orange and red colors of autumn. We will even fly in a helicopter to take photos from above! There will be good chances for northern lights in this time of the year. Our basecamp is in a comfortable mountain hotel in Abisko, right in the middle of the national park.
- Experience the beautiful autumn colors of Swedish Lapland
- A spectacular landscape with mountains, waterfalls, lakes and canyons
- Fly in a helicopter over the mountains!
- Photograph the northern lights in one of the best locations!
- Small group of maximum 6 participants
- Experienced local guide will take you to the best photography locations and help you with your photography
- Enjoy this autumn break in a comfortable mountain hotel
ABOUT THIS JOURNEY
Our hotel is located right in the middle of Abisko National Park, close to the spectacular canyon that made this place so famous! From here we will make excursions to photography locations a short walk away from the hotel, as well as with a minibus to places that are a little bit further away. The highlight of this journey is the helicopter ride that we will make over the mountains. We will also take the ski lift to the top of a mountain. If we are lucky, we might encounter a moose or some reindeer. In the evenings, you can see the northern lights right from the doorstep of your hotel!
WHO IS THIS JOURNEY FOR?
This journey is for those that love landscape photography, and want to take photos of mountains, birch forests, rivers, waterfalls and canyons, all in beautiful autumn colors, as well as the northern lights!
The program is aimed both at beginner and advanced photographers, and you will be able to work on your own level. You are of course expected to have a basic knowledge about your camera, but your guide Olav will be there to answer any questions about photography, both technical as well as with compositions.
You have to be able to make short hikes up to 5 km over narrow mountain trails, carrying a small backpack with your camera and tripod.
More information about this journey
ACTIVITIES
The mountain area of Abisko offers a spectacular landscape of mountains, birch forests, canyons, rivers and waterfalls! This landscape is at its best in full autumn colors. Together with your guide Olav, you will go out on several photo excursions every day.
Early in the morning we start on our first photography location, to catch the sunrise. This might be a canyon, a mirrorlike lake, or a waterfall. After our first photo session, we will enjoy a nice breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel. The remainder of the morning, you can choose to either work on your photos on your laptop, take a short hike, or perhaps take a power nap! After a warm lunch in the restaurant, we will head out with the minibus to our second photography location for the day. What about a small chapel hidden in the birch forest? Or a train station in the middle of nowhere? During this week, we will aslo fly in a helicopter over the mountains and take a ski lift up to the top of a mountain. We will come back to the hotel for a light dinner, before we head out to catch the sunset, or we prepare for the northern lights if the forecast is good!
We will adapt our program to the weather, depending on clouds and wind. We aim for a lake to be flat as a mirror, and we try to think ahead which place might be better in sunrise and which might be better for sunset. Your guide knows the area very well, and will discuss the options with the group.
HELICOPTER TOUR OVER THE MOUNTAINS
One of our excursions is a helicopter ride over the mountains. We will split the group up up over two small helicopters, so that we all have a window seat. The pilots will fly us over the mountains towards Vistas Valley, where we can enjoy the view of an iceblue river streaming through a yellow and red landscape.
We will take pictures through the windows of the helicopter.
NORTHERN LIGHTS
There are good chances for northern lights every night. The first day we will teach you all you need to know to be able to take beautiful photos of the aurora. We will also teach you how to find the northern lights by yourself, using apps and weather forecasts.
YOUR HOST
Your guide Olav has been living in Arctic Sweden for many years, together with his wife Kristin and their pack of 35 huskies. Olav is a nature photographer himself, with a passion for landscape photography and aurora photography! He will be your guide during all excursions, as well as helping you with your photography.
YOUR HOTEL
We will stay in a comfortable mountain hotel, right in the middle of the national park. The hotel is part of the Mountain Station, a buzzing centre of activity for hikers and day guests. Don’t worry, we will plan so that we are mostly alone on our photography locations – either because it’s very early in the morning, or because the locations are so isolated!
Apart from the hotel, there are also a hostel, a restaurant, a bistro, and a small shop, all owned by the STF, the Swedish Tourist Association. The Mountain Station has some cozy corners, where you can relax in front of a fireplace, or work on your pictures with a spectacular view over the mountains! There is even an interesting Visitors Centre (Naturum) where you can learn more about the flora and fauna of the national park.
You will stay in a shared double room, with two single beds. Each room has its own bathroom with shower and toilet. There is an option to upgrade to a single room.
There is a possibility to use the sauna in the afternoon.
FOOD
We will enjoy our breakfast as well as a warm lunch in the hotel’s restaurant.
On the first night we will eat our “welcome” dinner in the cozy bistro, and on the last night we will enjoy a 3 course “goodbye” dinner in the restaurant.
On all other nights, we will eat a light dinner in the big self service kitchen. In that way we will have maximum flexibility to adjust our dinnertime to a good sunset, or a spectacular northern light display.
And for the vegetarians: we do offer some tasty vegetarian options in the menus!
Day to day
Sunday: Your guide will pick you up from the Airport in Kiruna and together we will drive a good hour by minibus to our hotel in the national park in Abisko. During the trip, we can already enjoy the beautiful autumn colors. We will do an introduction and briefing, before we will eat dinner in the Bistro Restaurant. We will keep en eye on the sky for northern lights before we go to bed.
Monday: We start early so that we can be on our first photography location before sunrise. After about two hours of photography, we eat our breakfast in the restaurant. After breakfast you will have some time for yourself, to work on your pictures on your laptop, take a short hike, or perhaps take a powernap! We will get together for a warm lunch in the restaurant, and then we some time to talk about techniques for photographing moving water as well as the northern lights. We then eat an early dinner, so that we are in good time to catch the sunset, or the northern lights if they show themselves!
Tuesday: New locations today, and in the afternoon we will take the skilift up to a mountain to get a spectacular view over the national park!
Wednesday: Today we will fly in a helicopter over the mountains and do some aerial photography!
Thursday: More spectacular locations. Don’t forget to try the sauna…and more chances for northern lights!
Friday: Today we will head out on two more excursions in the morning and afternoon. In the evening we will enjoy a goodbye dinner in the restaurant to close of a spectacular week of photography and adventure!
Saturday: After breakfast, your guide will drive you back to the airport in Kiruna. We enjoy the views during this spectacular transfer on last time, and perhaps we can see a moose or reindeer!
Availability and price
Available: 13-19/09/2026; Also available on request for groups travelling together (like photography clubs)
Price: 2950 Euro pp Maximum 6 guests. Upgrade to single room +450 Euro.
This includes :
Other important information
You will need to bring your own camera and lenses. We also recommend that you bring a tripod, as well as some filters (eg: ND8, ND64 and a CP polarizing filter) to make the water silky smooth in your pictures.
For landscape photos we recommend lenses like a 24-70 mm or 24-120 mm that will cover most bases. You could also bring a wideangle lens and a telelens. (For APS-C: something like a 16-50 mm or a 16-70 mm and on M43 something like a 12-35 mm or 12-60 mm will be your most important lens).
For northern lights we recommend a lens of 28 mm or wider with a wide aperture of f2.8 or lower on fullrame; On APS-C 18 mm or wider and on M43 14 mm or wider.
The use of a drone is prohibited inside the national park and thus in the area around the hotel. However, we will make excursions outside the national park and you are allowed to fly a drone there. Please check if your drone is registred! Also, if it’s heavier than 250 gram, you will need a drone license to fly it.
If you would like to edit your photos during this week, you will need to bring a laptop. We recommend Lightroom as an editing program, and this is also the software that we can assist you with if you have any questions regarding editing.
You will also need to bring clothes suitable for outdoors, like hiking trousers, hikings shoes, warm socks, longjohns, a warm fleece or wool sweater, warm hat and gloves, and rain gear.
The weather can be unpredictable in the mountains; Expect anything from 15 degrees and sun, up to around zero degrees and rain and snow. The nights can be crisp and it is a good idea to bring an extra layer if you want to photograph the aurora!
The aurora truly is a wonder of nature and it will not let itself be steered by man. We can of course never guarantee the northern lights. However, if there is any aurora activity and the sky is not too clouded, we are in one of the best locations to see the northern lights!
You can extend your stay by arriving earlier or leaving later. In that case, you will have to book a hotel by yourself in either Abisko or Kiruna. In that case, you can travel between Kiruna and Abisko by train.
Ready for the adventure of a lifetime in Swedish Lapland?
Drop us a message to make a booking or if you want to know more! We’ll be happy to answers your questions. Welcome to Kåskats in Swedish Lapland!