8 Most Beautiful Northern Lights Shots from Finland

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8 Most Beautiful Northern Lights Shots from Finland

8 Most Beautiful Northern Lights Shots from Finland

Did you know that Finland is one of the best places in the whole world to see the Northern Lights? Seeing the Aurorae light up the sky is often at the top of the bucket list of travellers arriving to Finland. As the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon, their appearance cannot be guaranteed, but the norther you go, the better are your chances.

Although the amazing lights are always there in the earth’s atmosphere, they can only be seen when the conditions are right. The best aurorae watching season starts at the end of August when the nights get darker – and ends at the beginning of April when the nights start to get lighter. The further away you are from the cities’ light pollution the better – and this is why Finnish Lapland’s vast wilderness is the best place of all.

Witnessing the phenomenal night sky above you is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many. But in Finland, some photographers are lucky enough to have witnessed the dance of the Northern Lights on many memorable occasions, season after season. We asked eight Finnish photographers to share their most beautiful Aurora shot of all time and tell the stories behind these mesmerising photos.

Lapland

In Lapland, swapping the hustle and bustle of ski resorts and cities to the peace and quiet of the wilderness takes mere minutes.

Lapland

“In 2017, right after New Years Eve, the temperature in Lapland started to get pretty cold. This particular night it ended up being –44’C but I still wanted to go outside. I was staying in a remote cabin in the woods and noticed the sky was clear. I wore all my clothes – like 3 pairs of socks, 4 shirts, 2 jackets and 3 pairs of pants – and stepped outside from the cabin. There was no wind at all and I saw the Northern Lights rising from the horizon. I put on my skis and skied to the lake nearby to see this epic view. As soon as the show started I totally forgot how cold it really was and enjoyed every minute of it. After a couple hours of skiing in the wilderness I was ready to go back and jump into the sauna”.

Eeva Mäkinen, Pallastunturi

“Surrounded by fog and tranquility, we started slowly moving ahead. Only sound was the scrunching snow under our shoes. Swaying shafts of light from the headlamp guided us. And there, above the Arctic Circle, in the dark and cold, we found the most beautiful scenery of all”.

Joonas Linkola, SALLA

“Autumn can be such a magical time in the Finnish Lapland. We were fortunate to see a clear sky when the Auroras were dancing above us. I was so in awe of the beauty of this phenomenon, that I almost forgot to take photos. This has happened to me at times – luckily, I remembered my camera. This boat had been left behind and had seen its best days, but it sure had the most beautiful landscape surrounding it”.

Mikko Lagerstedt, kilpisjärvi

“February is quite an exciting time for aurora hunters. Nature is so beautiful as the trees are covered in thick, heavy snow and all the shapes are so round and soft. I remember February 2016 being an extremely cloudy month. I was happy to see that the forecast promised 24 hours of clear skies for the next day. I woke up early that day and hiked to Kuertunturi fell to shoot the sunny and snowy landscapes. I also did some location scouting for that evening. I went back home just to pack my bags again, filling them with camera gear and extra clothes. I pulled all my gear in a sleigh all the way up to the fell and waited. I was rewarded big time. The night was magical! I think I will always remember the 16th of February as THE Aurora night of 2016. The Northern Lights were so strong and they covered the whole sky, in each direction I looked.”

Markus Kiili, YLLÄS

“I had the idea for this photo for over a year before the right moment finally came. My brother owned this car, but he was about to sell it. The time was now or never. The night before Christmas was cloudless, so we decided to try our luck, even though the Aurora activity level was zero. We found a proper, vast place near Ivalo Airport in Northern Lapland. I tried different camera angles and settings, we practiced how to climb on the roof, where to stand, and after that we waited. Everything was ready, but only the stars were sparkling in the sky.

Suddenly we saw a green haze in the horizon, and a green ribbon started its wild dance across the sky. We were prepared, but the Aurorae were in a totally different direction than what we had assumed, so the car had to be turned. I moved the camera to a different spot, climbed on the roof, and my brother hit the shutter button. The Northern Lights danced away as quickly as they had arrived. I jumped down and realised I hadn’t focused after moving the camera, but when I checked the photos, they were unexpectedly sharp. I have to say, that night, luck was on our side”.

Terhi Tuovinen, Ivalo

“This photo was taken in the beginning of April in Kaunispää, Saariselkä. It was around midnight and I had already decided to head back home because it seemed like there wouldn’t be any activity. As I was walking down the hill, the Northern Lights suddenly started dancing above me.

During that night I got so many good Aurora shots in all kinds of shapes. Many of them look like birds, like an eagle ready to attack or a hawk ready to fly off”.

Jani Ylinampa, Saariselkä

“August was just about to turn to September when me and my friend Sami went to the shore of Äkäslompolo lake in Ylläs, Lapland. Couple of months earlier they had built a nice swing there, and ever since I found out about it, I had this vision of a photo with someone swinging under the Northern Lights.

Unfortunately, it looked like there wouldn’t be any aurora that night. We could only see the stars above us and beautiful mist rising from the lake. Regardless of the forecast, the Northern Lights are very unpredictable, you can never tell what will happen. That night, luckily, we didn’t have to leave empty handed in the end. Suddenly the lights just filled the whole sky and I was able to take the photo I had dreamt of for so long. When something like this happens, you forget about the cold and everything around you. My advice is to always remember to look up when the sky is clear – you might miss something incredible otherwise.”

Eetu Leikas, Ylläs

This photo is from a spring evening when I accompanied reindeer herders to the fells near Kilpisjärvi. As soon as the last rays of sun disappeared Northern Lights painted the whole sky and a pack of reindeer surrounded us. The vast view over the fells with the Aurora in the sky and the reindeer around us was for sure once in a lifetime experience – and I will never forget it.

Antti Pietikäinen, Kilpisjärvi

Aurora Adventures

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8 Most Beautiful Northern Lights Shots from Finland