The Northern Lights above snowy forest. — Named after the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, are best sighted during the Arctic winter months in Finnish Lapland. They also appear around Antarctica, where they're called the aurora australis, but the more severe weather and lack of human population there means they're rarely spotted. Although the lights sometimes appear grey and hazy to the naked eye, they're often vivid shades of green on camera. This is because our eyes are poor at detecting colours at lower light levels, so photographs more accurately represent what’s up there.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

TRAVEL

Photo story: long nights and polar lights in Finnish Lapland

Blessed with crystal-clear nights, ultra-low humidity and a perfect location directly beneath the Earth's band of maximal auroral activity, Finnish Lapland is the ultimate aurora-hunting region.

ByInghams

January 28, 2022

5 min read

The Northern Lights above a snowy field. — The indigenous Sámi people, native to Finnish Lapland, traditionally believe the aurora are caused by a fire fox running across the sky, or the magical spouts of giant whales blowing in the heavens. Throughout other Arctic regions, various communities have different beliefs. The Vikings believed they were the Bifrost, a bridge between our realm and that of the gods, while some Native American tribes interpreted them as the spirits of their ancestors glittering from the afterlife, or as mystical ravens, or fires being burned by a dwarf tribe.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

Northern Lights above silhouettes of tall trees. — It’s thought there are more than 20 billion trees in Finland, which can occasionally obscure the Northern Lights, but at other times they provide some useful framing. During lesser activity, the aurora usually appear in a single area of the sky, but during stronger instances caused by solar storms, the lights can appear to rain down. Colours, shapes and patterns all vary as particles are sucked towards the Earth by its magnetic poles and smash into our upper atmosphere, igniting the sky.
Photograph by Inghams

A starry sky. — Clear nights, although necessary to see the aurora borealis, do not always guarantee the presence of the famous lights, even in the depths of an Arctic winter. Here the camera has taken a photograph for almost an hour, capturing the Earth’s rotation and the fixed position of the North Star. However, despite the remarkably clear conditions, the aurora borealis remain unseen — strong solar activity is just as important as having a cloudless sky.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

Pentti Nikodemus. — Today, about 10,000 Sámi peoples live in Finnish Lapland. Pentti Nikodemus, pictured, identifies closely with the culture and is seen here in bright traditional dress after riding on a sleigh pulled by reindeers. While these experiences are for the benefit of tourists, reindeer continue to have huge cultural and economic importance for the Sámi, who have herded, traded and slaughtered the animals for centuries.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

Taking a fairytale reindeer ride with the Sámi, through a snowy field. — Taking a fairytale reindeer ride with the Sámi is one of the best ways to experience the Northern Hemisphere's most electrifying show. Visitors can listen to ancient stories, find out why these beautiful creatures are partial to the odd magic mushroom and learn the secret of the suopunkki (Sámi lasso). If you’re lucky, you may even be treated to a spontaneously sung joik, a rhythmic poem conjuring the spirit of the Sámi peoples’ ancestors.
Photograph by Inghams

Two huskies investigate the camera. — Alaskan and Siberian huskies are also adept at running in Arctic conditions and have pulled sleighs for thousands of years. Even when the temperature drops below -30C, their thick double coats and bushy tails allow them to thrive in icy conditions and they can sleep outside on simple beds of straw. A bigger challenge for the animals is climate change — they do very well in the cold, but if the temperature climbs too high, running can be unsafe.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

A cabin covered in snow. — Cabins located by lakeshores make for popular aurora-hunting retreats. In winter, they require more work to make them habitable — with no electricity or plumbing, there’s a big focus on lighting fires and collecting water from nearby lakes and rivers. The reward is an extremely picturesque and cosy hideaway. Because these cabins are so remote and away from light pollution, the chance of seeing the Northern Lights here increases, especially if you head out onto the frozen lake and away from the trees.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

Sunset over a snowy forest. — In late December, either side of the winter solstice, the sun will not rise for days inside the Arctic Circle. However, although the sun won’t breach the horizon, the sky will not be entirely dark. For many people, the most spectacular days are those with partially cloudy skies, when the conditions provide what’s almost a sunrise rolling straight into a near-sunset. As beautiful as this is, aurora-chasers need clear skies and long nights to spot the polar lights.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

The Northern lights. — Travelling between October and March improves your chances of seeing the Northern Lights, but still offers no guarantees. Thankfully, these days, technology makes both the pursuit and photography of the spectacle a little less arduous. Free apps can help predict not only the weather, but the level of solar activity expected each night. Additionally, modern cameras cope extremely well with the cold, and many have remote-shooting functions, meaning you can retreat to your cabin to try to capture the aurora from there.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

A remote cabin covered in snow. — No matter how remote you find yourself in pursuit of the Northern Lights, snowbound cabins such as these, will nearly always have a sauna, which, after a long day of dogsledding or an evening spent gazing at the stars, can feel incredibly reviving. Throwing water on the sauna’s hot coals will generate clouds of steam and send the temperature skyrocketing. And once you feel uncomfortably hot, the idea is to run outside, preferably into the snow, before quickly getting back into the warmth.
Photograph by Jamie Lafferty

For more information and to book a trip to Finnish Lapland, visit Inghams.co.uk

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