What camera do I need for Northern lights photography?

There are several different cameras and types to choose from, and this is just a general walkthrough. For a full article on northern lights photography go to our blog. For daylight photography all cameras sold today are sufficient. Ranging from small compacts as low as 50 euros, to the big DSLR cameras that can get just as expensive as you want. And nowadays most people allready have a very good camera in your pocket - your mobile phone. For low light photography and northern lights photography, the more money you throw at it is usually better, but you don´t need a 5000 euro Leica camera to get decent pictures. The main thing you have to look for is a camera where you are able to control the settings manually - this is because you are going to shoot in an environment most cameras are not used to, and you will have to tell your camera what to do. Ask your retailer, the manual settings are usually marked by the letter M on the settings wheel on the camera housing. The small compact cameras are better left at home. The menus rarely allow for manual settings, and if they do have manual settings they usually have limitations on shutter speed, ISO and aperture. With small sensors you also need a lot of light, meaning that even on good days you will have to use very long exposure times. Again, some of the mobile phones sold in the last couple of years are actually gonna give you nice pictures on nights when the lights are reasonably strong. Two of the models I have tried myself, and that gave me very good pictures are the iPhone 11 PRO and the Huawei P30 PRO - but there are probably also others out there. Bridge- /fixed lens cameras are another category where the camera is usually very versatile with its zoom capabilities ranging from very wide to very long. Some of these models are good for northern lights photography, but in our experience, many of the models have menu systems that limit how you set the camera manually. Some of our guests travel with GoPro cameras, and we have seen good results using the night-/low light mode both for pictures and timelapse. In weak lights, this camera will also have its limitations. The battery capacity beeing a very big issue in cold weather conditions. DSLR or mirrorless cameras in the same category are normally the best cameras for low light photography. They give you full control in manual settings and have big sensors allowing for short exposures even in situations where the lights are not strong. The challenge is of course that you need some practice to operate them. For years we have been using a Nikon D750 with the 14-24mm lens, and we are very happy with image quality and battery capacity in cold weather. The camera only does 50% of the work, remember to practice before you get up north.

What settings do I use?

Our blogpost on northern lights photography covers the basic and general settings for your camera.

Tips & Tricks for northern lights photography

Our blogpost on nothern lights photography covers some of the tips & tricks that are nice to know about. In short: - Bring tripod - Bring extra battery, keep it warm when out. - Bring wide ange low aperture lense (f2,8 and lower is good). - Remove strap/stuff that work as "sails"when outdoors. - Bring cable for thethered exposures if you have one - The Kp is not always the most important measure of NL activity - Learn your camera. Everything is harder in a cold and dark environment - Be careful with light, you need your nightvision. Turn of flash! - Be patience and lower expectations Good luck!

LEGAL ADVICE

K.C. FIRIAKIS SERVICES LTD has a great network of associated law firms that may provide legal advice on corporate matters in Cyprus and abroad. Our associates can assist you with the following:

• Reviewing and/or drafting, negotiating of loan agreements, shareholders agreements, share purchase agreements, subscription agreements, escrow, pledge and guarantee agreements;

CORPORATE SERVICES

Our Corporate Department consists of professionals that draws together many years’ experience in the services sector. This includes undertaking all the procedures for the registration of International Business Companies (IBC) and can give advice and support on registration of companies and other type of entities worldwide. Our Corporate Department will assist you in setting up a company in any jurisdiction you require in the quickest possible way. We have the knowledge to help you promote your business and expand successfully across borders by utilising the benefits that each country may offer. The following CORPORATE SERVICES are available

• Organize the annual general meetings;

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Our Company helps you manage your organization’s HR requirements with enhanced on-demand features. Our HR management functions improve your workplace efficiency in your operational relevant areas to become a professional organization and achieve great results of HR department. We expect to reduce recruitment conflict, hazard, challenges, and negative impact to protect your businesses with well-designed candidate background screening solutions to analyze capability in the workplace. The best talent acquisition outcomes discover true candidates’ personal history, professional qualifications, supervision capability to ensure corporate security by our HR Provision Services.
K.C. FIRIAKIS SERVICES exploits cost-effective and exclusive analytical tools to manage executive candidates appointments. We help you to manage your hiring process for best practices of talent acquisition with fundamental HR tools such as job evaluation, personal skill testing, and job performance and descriptions management with efficient process.

BANK ACCOUNT OPENING SERVICES

Once a company is incorporated the most popular requirement from the client is the opening and operation of bank accounts for their company. A company needs to maintain a bank account in order to be able to transact its business effectively. In light of this, we have cultivated competence and banking network that allows us to open accounts for all types of companies. We also have a great expertise on the requirements of each bank that we work with and as a consequence, opening an account is straightforward. Once that bank account is opened, we directly transmit the bank account details and any related information / electronic devices (security token) to our client.

ACCOUNTING SERVICES

The experienced and qualified professionals of our accounting team can provide all of the accounting and bookkeeping services needs of any business. Our accounting and bookkeeping services can be hand-crafted exactly to fit each of our client’s specific requirements. Out Team’s Accounting and Bookkeeping services can include, but are not limited to the following:

• Accounting and bookkeeping services are provided for international companies;

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

We can make your business better! We have the ideas, expertise and initiatives to help you increase your revenues and profitability and expand your business, by building strategic partnerships, and making strategic business decisions. Let us help you to have the right fit!

• Sales;

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

The mission of this department is to plan, develop, implement, manage and maintain the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems which modernize the functioning of an organisation with a goal to: ​

• Improve the services offered;

SERVICE MONITORING

Service Monitoring and Control (SMC) is the real-time observation of and alerting about health conditions (characteristics that indicate success or failure) in an IT environment. It helps to ensure that deployed services are operated, maintained, and supported in line with the service level agreement (SLA) targets agreed to between the business and IT. ​ The goals of service monitoring and control include the following: ​

• Observe the health of IT services;

How do I dress for the Arctic?

Basically, dress in layers. 3-4 should be enough for an evening out north of the Arctic circle. The layer against your skin should be wool. Silk and synthetic will also work, but Merino is our favorite. Avoid cotton - it will not dry if you get sweaty, and is not warm when dry. We use wool from producers Aclima or Devold. It is possible to do two inner layers on extra cold days, for example, mesh-wool and a normal wool sweater. The idea is to transport moisture from the skin before you get cold - this is especially important if moving, e.g. getting warm. The mid-layer should be a thicker sweater or jacket made from for example wool or down - something that is warm enough to keep the heat in. We try to stay away from fleece - not because it is not warm, but because it is made from plastic. Fleece around the bonfire can be a bad idea. The outer layer should be wind and waterproof. A gore-tex jacket and some insulated ski pants are normally enough. If you have a big down jacket that will fit over everything you will stay warm on even the coldest days. What about gloves and mittens? It is a great idea to bring at least one pair, maybe even two pairs when staying outdoors in the north. It can be wet and windy, and it is hard to get your hands warm once they have gone ‘cold’. A pair of knitted wool mittens (that you can get in our shop) is not only sustainable, they normally keeps you warm the whole evening. Another possibility is to use hand-warmers, small bags with a chemical solution that gives heat to your hands and/or feet. Footwear is also important, and we don´t recommend the cheap kind, even though you are only going to use them a couple of nights. The main things to look for are a good sole and that they are waterproof. Buy them a number or two bigger than your trainers to fit thicker socks, and remember that air also insulates. You can also buy spikes, a very cheap "life" insurance. They slip on the bottom of your boots so you do not slip and fall. On your head, you put a wool hat. There is a lot to choose from - the hats and headbands from "Haddock" are local, warm, and a nice memory from Tromsø. You will get them in all the bigger sports stores. A good hat retains about 25% of body heat in an adult, up to 75% for a small child. Remember that the coast of Northern Norway is normally not that cold, with an average temperature of about -5 degrees Celsius during the winter. The biggest challenge for many guests flying in is overdressing, and as we see it, being to warm is worse than being a bit cold. A blog post on how to dress also covers the essentials.

What are your Terms and conditions?

Everyone have terms and conditions - we have some. Please go to our Terms & Conditions page to read our updated terms & conditions for our excursions. Get in touch at booking@arcticmoments.com if you have any further questions.

How do I get to Tromsø?

You reach Tromsø easiest by flight. The airport “Langnes” (TOS) is located on the west side on the Tromsø island, a short 10 minutes ride with bus or taxi from the city center. The main airlines flying in and out of Tromsø is Scandinavian Airlines, Wideroe and Norwegian Airlines. There are direct flights during the winter from several cities in Europe. If you traveling from outside Scandinavia the easiest way is often to connect in Oslo. There are no trains north of Bodø (Narvik has a connection to Sweden).

Where to sleep in Tromsø?

Tromsø is a medium-sized city in Norway, but the biggest in the north. Tromsø is also among the largest cities above the arctic circle, only beaten by two cities in Russia. This means that the hotel capacity is reasonably good, and all hotels in Tromsø have a good standard. During the main winter months it can, however, get crowded, so get your room as early as possible. A helpful hint is to try to get as close as possible to the Raddison BLU hotel, or the Scandic Ishavshotell as the main pickup point for most excursions is in this area. To save some money on a place to stay there are also a lot of Airbnb apartments in Tromsø - about 800 at the moment. The quality may vary a bit, so make sure you choose one with good feedback. Since the Airbnb´s might be spread out all around the city also check that you don´t end up in the countryside (you might want that too - getting away from the city lights is a good idea during the winter). The distances to get into the city center might be quite far, and the busses don´t run like in the big cities in Europe. If you rent a car that is, of course, no problem, but again, check if there are parking spaces next to where you are staying - in the winter there are some challenges due to snow.

What are the average temperatures in Tromsø?

The average temperatures in Tromsø - with precipitation and wind. September: 9.6°C / 88 mm / 2.3 m/s
October: 4.5 °C / 89 mm / 2.9 m/s
November: 0.1°C / 30.3 mm / 3.8 m/s
December: 0.5°C / 235.6 mm / 4.4 m/s
January: -1.5°C / 166.2 mm / 4.9 m/s
February: -2.9°C / 108 mm / 3.6 m/s
March: -1.6°C / 148 mm / 3.7 m/s

How are the northern lights excursions with Arctic Moments?

The excursion pages found on our homepage will always be updated with the essentials that you have to bring with you. It is of course dependent on the weather, season and type of excursion. Basically always bring a bottle of water, proper clothing and something to change into if you get sweaty, good shoes and a weather proof jacket. If you need appropriate mittens and socks you can get something sustainable and supporte local businesses by getting it from our webshop. Also check out our blogpost on how to dress. If you have any questions do not hesitate to get in contact with us at booking@arcticmoments.com or on Facebook.

What languages do your guides speak?

All our guides speak fluently norwegian and english. In our team we also speak german. English is the main language spoken on all our excursions, unless we have agreed on something else.

Are children allowed on the excursions?

The short answer is yes - children are allowed on the excursions. Depending a bit on what tour we are doing we can accomodate children as young as 5 years. Please give us a heads up if you are bringing children younger that 12 years old as we sometimes would like to make adjustments. Our experience is however that children down to 8 years old are just as eager to do hikes as adults - they stay active so that they don´t get cold and the are able to enjoy the view just as well as adults. We don´t reccomend bringing infants on our main excursions, but booking as a group we have several suggestions that will be suitable also for parents with children younger than 5 years old.

What do you provide on your excursions?

It depends a bit on the excursion. For the shorther excursions we bring snacks. This can be everything from bisquits and chocolate, to a local soup. On longer excursions we bring a full meal and snacks. If time and the excursion type and weather permits it, we also bring firewood for a bonfire. On all excursions we bring the proper safety- and season gear, and a camera for pictures that we share with you after the trip. Something hot to drink is included on all our hikes and northern lights safaris. On our homepage you will always find updatet information on what is included on the different types of excursions by navigating between the excursions that we offer. We do NOT bring extra clothing on our excursions. In our experience that is also not necissary. If you have further questions on equipment and gear feel free to contact us on booking@arcticmoments.com.