Nikon School Adventures: Kingdom of the Musk Ox - Dovrefjell

Course Contents

This Nikon School Adventure is for photographers who want to experience and photograph prehistoric looking Musk Ox roaming in the natural habitat of the snow covered Norwegian mountains. This workshop is a true expedition as we will be hiking in to the mountains with snowshoes and dog sleds then camping overnight in the mountains to ensure we can make the most of the polar sunrise and the incredible lighting conditions this may bring.

This workshop is for the more adventurous nature photographer as we will be photographing these extraordinary animals in the harsh Norwegian winter conditions and with temperatures dropping well below -20 degrees and a good chance for a winter storms. However extreme this sounds our professional local guide will ensure we are safe at all times and Neil and Renato will be on hand to answer any camera and photography questions and share tips and tricks to ensure you come away with incredible images. This workshop is limited to 6 delegates maximum.

Dovrefjell has the only wild herd of Musk Ox in Norway and when trekking into their domain we will proceed with great care and respect for the for wildlife that have their habitats in the mountains. With the help of our guide who is experienced in tracking the Musk Ox we aim to get as close as we can without disturbing these shaggy survivors of the Ice Age. If the opportunity presents itself we will also photograph some of the other wildlife in the mountains such as golden eagles and artic foxes. We also have the stunning landscapes of Dovrefjell to photograph as well.

Proposed Workshop Outline (weather dependent)

26th February 2025

Arrival at the airport in Trondheim. After introductions and quick workshop briefing we will take a train from the airport to Oppdal. This is around 1 hour 45 mins on a scenic route and is by far the cheapest way and more sustainable way to reach the hotel. The train station at Oppdal is only 40 meters from our hotel. Once we are settled in at the hotel, we will then head to a local restaurant to continue the workshop briefing and cover camera setup and what to expect on the workshop. Return to the hotel to pack our kit for our upcoming expedition into the mountains.

Day 1 – 27th February 2025 - Dovrefjell National Park

After breakfast, the local guide will pick us up at around 8am where we will be transported by Minivan to the entrance of the National Park for our first encounter with the Musk Ox. We will pack our gear onto dog sleds which will then be used to transport us and our camera kit to our mountain basecamp. We will then swap to snowshoes (which will be provided) to finish our journey into the mountain territory of Musk Ox. Throughout the day we will have simple meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner as the priority is reaching and photographing the Musk Ox. Depending on the weather, we will be overnighting in a tented camp consisting of two tents accommodating 4 each. Tents, mattresses, sleeping bags will be provided. This will enable us to make the most of the mountain landscape at night including potentially some Astro Photography and maybe if we are really lucky a chance to photograph the Aurora Borealis.

Day 2 – 28th February 2025 - Dovrefjell National Park

After breakfast in our basecamp, we will then continue to use the polar light to photograph the Musk Ox and the mountain habitat they call home. After lunch and a quick Q&A, we will continue to photograph the Musk Ox perhaps using more advanced compositions or photography techniques. Late afternoon we will return to basecamp and then stow our gear on the dog sleds and descending from the mountain and return to our hotel in Oppdal. After a quick rest, we will head out to a local restaurant to discuss our Musk Ox encounters and experiences and review images.

Day 3 – 1st March 2025 - Dovrefjell National Park.

After breakfast at the hotel, We visit locations across the national park allowing us to photograph the magical snow covered forests and landscapes. After lunch in a local restaurant we will again head out into the national park looking frozen waterfalls and majestic mountainscapes to photograph. We will then return to the hotel before heading back into town for dinner.

Day 4 – 2nd March 2025

After breakfast, we’ll leave the hotel to catch the train to take us to back to the airport for where we will say our farewells and boards our homeward bound flights late in the afternoon.

Notes:

To book this wildlife adventure of a lifetime, e-mail us at Nikon School to reserve your space on this amazing photography adventure. To secure your place, a non refundable deposit of £1000 is payable when you speak with us. The balance for the workshop due around 3 months prior to the workshop starting. Alternativelty you can book and pay the the entire workshop online.

Further joining instructions will be sent out closer to the workshop as well as an invite to an online Zoom briefing prior to the workshop starting.

Please do not book your flights or train tickets until we confirm the workshop has met the minimum delegate numbers to proceed.

Flights & Trains

Arrival date 26th February 2025 at Trondheim Airport, Norway.

Depart date 2nd March 2025 from Trondheim Airport, Norway.

Delegates are responsible for their flights to and from Trondheim, Norway and return train ticket from Trondheim to Oppdal.

Train tickets can be purchased here www.entur.no

PLEASE DO NOT BOOK FLIGHTS OR TRAINS UNTIL THE WORKSHOP IS CONFIRMED AS RUNNING

Meals:

Most lunches and dinners, snacks and refreshments / alcoholic drinks are NOT included. Around Oppdal there are several restaurant/cafes that we will be stopping by. When we are in the mountains, breakfast, lunch and dinner are included and on the day we return from the mountains breakfast and lunch are included. During our stay in the mountains our guides will prepare simple meals for us. Should you have any dietary requirements please advise accordingly. It is highly recommended to bring energy bars and snacks. The temperatures in Norway in winter can be cold. Average temperatures will be about -15 during the day and -20 at night or below at night. Due to these temperatures it is not possible to take regular food or drink into the mountains as they will freeze.

Luggage:

When we head into the mountains on, please be mindful when packing, only essential items needed for photography and overnighting in the mountains are needed. Please bring an extra bag that you can pack for the mountain adventure. We can leave our main luggage in the hotel while we are away.

Fitness:

This workshop requires a very high level of physical fitness as you may be standing or kneeling with your
camera for extended periods of time in very cold conditions. Although we’ll be using dog sleds as a transportation to reach basecamp in the mountains, we’ll be using snowshoes (provided) to reach the musk oxen and this can be a challenging walk potentially in deep snow on steep terrain. Please advise us before you book about any medical conditions you may have which may impact your participation in the workshop or
may affect the other delegates on the workshop. On arrival at the hotel, the workshop guides will decide on your fitness level and suitability to hike into the mountains for this part of the workshop.

Accommodation:

All rooms in the hotel are single occupancy, good sized rooms usually with a twin or double bed and all have private bathrooms. When venturing into the mountains, we will stay in a shared tents for one night in the National Park. (tents, mattresses, sleeping bags will be provided). We use high end expedition tents which can stand the toughest conditions. The tents insulate well, making the interiors about 5 - 8 degrees warmer than the outside air temps. Good winter sleeping bags will be provided. You only need to bring your own sleeping bag liner if you want. Please ensure the liner is made out of fleece for the best insulation. Feel free to bring your own sleeping bag if it is rated for arctic conditions. If the weather conditions are unsuitable for camping in the mountains we will return to the hotel.

Photography Tuition:

While on the workshop Neil and Renato will show you how to get the best from your Nikon camera and lenses and the best compositions to ensure you get amazing images. Alongside our guides we will also show you the fieldcraft skills needed to get close to the musk ox but at the same time being respectful and not impacting their natural behavior. Neil and Renato can also cover the best settings for landscape and astro photography as well as how to get front to back sharpness in your wildlife / landscape images and creative techniques such as shooting at slow shutter speeds, intentional camera movement (ICM) and shooting multiple exposures.

Photography Knowledge & Camera Kit:

To get the most from this workshop, you should have a good understanding of your camera and it's focusing modes and recommended that you are familiar with manual mode, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and some basic knowledge of wildlife / landscape photography.

Weather:

The weather can be extreme. While we will do our best to follow our planned route and itinerary we
will always put safety first and only travel or visit locations if it is safe to do so. Please bring suitable clothing and footwear for cold temperatures. We will cover this in more detail in the joining instructions and pre workshop Zoom call. The temperature will probably be around -15 on day time and around -20 at night time. These mountains are known for the strong winds which suddenly can pick up and disappear again. This means that the weather can changes rapidly from hour to hour. There is a chance that we will experience blizzard conditions so before we head out with our mountain guide we will give a full safety briefing to prepare you for this adventure.

If you have any questions about this workshop, feel free to get in touch at [email protected]