Join Roger Brendhagen on this wildlife photography workshop at one of the most iconic places for photographing bears and wolves in Finland, the baited hides of Lassi and Sami Rautiainen. For many years this location attracts lots of bears, wolves and wolverines. A wolf pack has established in the area, which means that there is a chance for getting the young puppies in front of the lens as well. These hides have been used by the BBC and other large movie production companies for filming their documentaries. 

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Photographing from the hides. 

During the summer period, every evening we leave at 17:00 to the hides. In October this will be at 12:00, due to the earlier sunset. From the accommodation it is a 10 minute drive. Depending on which hides we will use, we need to walk 20 to 200 meter to get to the hides. Most hides are for 2 to 5 persons. There will be some single person hides for those who wish to use those. In the hides every photographer has at least 2 photo holes available. You need to bring your own tripod heads, which can be screwed into place in front of the photo holes.

 

When arriving in the hides, we directly set up our gear. The animals can arrive at any moment. The animals don't mind the sound of the shutter or the movement of the lenses. But sudden sounds or people talking can scare them away, so we have to keep quiet the entire time we are at the hides. We can leave the hides again at 08:00 in the morning. This means that we spend the nights in the hides. The hides are equipped with bunk beds and matrasses. But we need to bring our own sleeping bags. 

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There are 5 locations with hides. The distance to the animals will vary between the different locations. Depending on the location, the bait is put out between 80 and 2 meter from the hides. We advise you to bring a wide range of lenses to cover the different distances. We will stay 5 nights in the hides and switch location from day to day. 

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The seasons

During the summer months the sun barely sets this far north. This means that we have many hours of beautiful light to work with. There are good opportunities to photograph bears, wolves and also wolverines. The wildlife is mainly active from the early evening until the morning. You can expect action from the moment we close the door of the hides.

 

During the October tours the sun sets already around 17:00 and gets up again around 8:30. The nights are long and dark. Therefore we head out to the hides at 12:00 already. The last bears are preparing for hibernation and are bulking up on as much food as possible. Also the wolves and wolverines need an extra layer of fat for the cold winter months. The main target species during our October tours are the wolves. With lower numbers of bears active, the wolves dare to spend more time in front of the hides. Depending on the weather, there still can be autumn colors in the surrounding forests. Or the landscape can be covered in the first layer of fresh snow.  

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The workshop

During the week Roger will help you to get your photography to the next level. He can assist you during and after the photo sessions. There will be some photo editing sessions at the accommodation to show you how to get the maximum out of your images. Roger is Nikon ambassador and has been running these workshops for over 18 years. 

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Itinerary

 

• ​Day 1. Flight to Kajaani or Kuopio airport. At the airport we will be picked up by bus which will take us to our accommodation for the week. The drive takes about 3 hours and we will arrive in the evening. A warm meal will be waiting for us. During the summer months we will go to the hides straight after dinner. In October we will spend the first night at the accommodation. 

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• Day 2. During the summer months, at 09:00 breakfast will be ready. After the breakfast Roger will give you an introduction for the week and will discus how to photograph from the hides. Afterwards we pack our gear for the first night in the hide. At 16:00 dinner is served. At 17:00 we leave to the hides. In October we already leave at 12:00 to the hides. At 19:00, after the sun has well set, we head back to the accommodation to our warm beds. 

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• Day 3 - 5. At 08:00 we leave the hides and travel back to the accommodation. At 09:00 breakfast is served. After breakfast there is the chance to back up images, charge batteries, enjoy the Finnish wood sauna or catch some sleep. Through the week, Roger will give each a presentation and there will be the possibility to discus your images and get help and tips for photo editing. ​​At 16:00 dinner is served. At 17:00 we leave to the hides. In October we already leave at 12:00 to the hides. At 19:00, after the sun has well set, we head back to the accommodation to our warm beds.

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• Day 6. We leave the hides either in the middle of the night or in the early morning and pack our bags. Breakfast is served at 7:00. At 08:00 we will be driven back to the airport and fly home again. 

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Fill in the booking form.

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Or contact us for inquiries for other dates and other questions.