Wildlife action workshop in what is possibly the world’s best
place to photograph wolves and bears.
In these far-away forests in the Finnish borderlands with Russia we find some of the best locations in the world for photographing wolves, bears and wolverines. The track record of fantastic pictures taken from the photo hides here is very impressive and attracts photographers and film makers from far afield.Join Better Moments and award-winning photographer Staffan Widstrand, "one of the 40 most influential nature photographers
in the World” (Outdoor Photography Magazine 2010), and Managing Director of the Wild Wonders of Europe initiative, who also has 12 years of experience of photographing the large predators in this area.
Day 1 (4/8)Arrival in Finland.
Staffan Widstrand and the Better Moments staff pick you up at the Kajaani Airport in central Finland and a transfer through the very sparsely populated forest land to the Kuikka lodge, almost on the Russian border.In the bus, a detailed briefing for the coming week by Staffan Widstrand and our local host, nature photographer Lassi Rautiainen, also one of the Wild Wonders of Europe Dream Team of European photographers.At arrival in Kuikka, we have a hearty meal and then go straight out to the photography hides, to spend the night there with the bears and wolves, who are most active during the darkest hours. However, at this time of year the night is not very dark and the darkest period is also quite short, so there should be lots of time to observe and photograph these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.
Day 2-5 (5-8/8) In the Kuikka lodge and in the hides.
We change our rhythm of life and turn night into day, sitting in the hides each night, coming back to the lodge for a big Finnish breakfast, maybe a sauna bath and a dip in the wonderful lake right beside the lodge, and then sleep during the day, have dinner in the afternoon and then go back out to the hides.
Our host has 15 different photo hides in the area and you can vary your chances and backgrounds every night. The hides are relatively comfortable, with chairs or benches, insulated floors, sturdy planks with ready-made holes in which to amount your ballheads or swivel-heads/camera mounts, and bait laid out outside for the predators. So it is just to sit down, enjoy the wilderness and hope that the large carnivores will come your way, in the right light and doing the right thing whilst there. There will be sleeping bags available for those who dont want to bring