Autumn Gales, Gannets & the chance of Aurora

Autumn in Shetland is truly a wild and raw time of year. Gale-force winds, spectacular swells, and dramatic light—sometimes in the form of the dazzling Northern Lights—offer superb photographic opportunities of Northern Gannets, who are the last to leave the bustling seabird cities. ‘Autumn Gales, Gannets and the chance of Aurora’ offers unrivalled opportunities to photograph Northern Gannets against the turbulent turquoise Atlantic Ocean at the world-renowned Hermaness National Nature Reserve, where creative imagery is at the forefront of the workshop’s objective. This windswept workshop will allow you to take a step back, embrace the ever-changing weather conditions, and place gannets small in the frame, allowing your images to tell stories all by themselves. Combine environmental images with long exposures, ICM (intentional camera movement), pan blurs, and black-background studio-style portraits; you will begin to build up a mightily impressive and stand-out portfolio of Northern Gannets.

Northern Gannets of Hermaness

The awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping Hermaness National Nature Reserve is without doubt one of the most dramatic places to photograph gannets anywhere in the world. Its location, on the island of Unst, at the very far north of Britain, makes it feel like you are stood at the ends of the earth as you look out over the Atlantic from the towering 170m-tall clifftops. This raw and wild reserve, shaped by gale-force winds and a ferocious Atlantic Ocean, is home to an impressive 30,000 breeding pairs of gannets which can be seen across the rugged cliff faces, sea stacks, and islands, where the overwhelming sight, sound, and smell can leave you mesmerised. During a westerly weather window, which are conditions we hope to work in, big swells and high winds awaken Hermaness and allow it to work its seabird magic. As the turbulent waters below crash against the many reefs and stacks, creating big waves and splashes, photographing gannets small in the frame, as they effortlessly navigate their way around the bustling seabird city, with the beautiful turquoise ocean below, will allow you to create stand-out environmental images, which is the core purpose of this unique workshop. Hermaness also offers endless opportunities to push your creativity with chances to experiment with ICM (intentional camera movement), pan blurs, long exposures, and black-background studio-style portraits, which will be taught by our expert and professional photo guide. In short, Hermaness offers it all, and for us at Nordic Wildlife Tours, it never fails to amaze and impress us, so we have no doubt that it will leave you feeling the same too.

Northern Lights

Throughout your time spent with us, we will be regularly checking the many Aurora and space weather forecast apps, giving you the best opportunity to see natures very own firework display. It is around the Autumn Equinox, which coincides with this workshop, Aurora activity tends to peak due to Earth’s magnetic field aligning more effectively with the magnetic field carried by solar winds. Combine that with longer, darker nights, and the fact that the Shetland archipelago sits at 60º North, Shetland can see spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, or as they are known in Shetland, the ‘Mirrie Dancers’. As always with the Northern Lights, nothing is guaranteed, and a lot of elements need to fall perfectly into place. If the conditions align, getting to see a glimpse of green, or even an explosion of colours, across the night sky, will be a fitting end to an already incredible day. With lochs offering picture-perfect reflections, and dramatic coastlines not too far away, Shetland has the best chance of seeing the famous Northern Lights.

Other Wildlife

Across the islands and in the surrounding seas, Shetland is home to an array of incredible wildlife, and there’s every chance that we will come across many different species during your time spent with us. Along the clifftops, accompanying the gannets, we would expect to see common birds such as northern fulmars, and as we make our way along the boardwalk to the clifftops of Hermaness, there is a chance of seeing the last remaining Great Skuas (aka bonxies) before they leave for the winter. Around the shorelines, in the voes, and further out to sea, cetaceans like killer whales, minke whales, harbour porpoises, Risso’s dolphins, and Atlantic white-sided dolphins are also regularly seen. In the early morning, skies fill with skeins of Pink-footed Geese as they head southwards towards late September as bird migration gets fully underway. We may even encounter otters as they can be found all around Shetland; Ben, director and guide of Nordic Wildlife Tours, has even seen them on the clifftops of Hermaness before!

Cost & number of people

The price of this workshop is £350 on a one-to-one basis for one day.

Travelling in a group? The maximum number of people is three per group and is £295 per person.

Wishing to make the most of your time in Shetland? Two-day workshops are available to book by request. The price of multiple days is £295 per day.

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of 25% is required upon booking. The remaining 75% is payable thirty days before your workshop start date.

Duration & Time

This tour runs from September 1st through to October 5th and will typically last eight hours per day to maximise our time out in the field. Because the workshops requires multiple inter-island ferry crossings (unless you are staying on Unst), our days may last longer.

Fitness & difficulty

A relatively good level of fitness is required to access the seabird colonies at Hermaness NNR. From the car park, there is a 2km boardwalk that takes you to the clifftops. From there, to reach ‘Satio’, the main gannet colony, there is a further 0.5km - 1km walk. If we choose to head north towards Muckle Flugga, there is an additional 1.5 - 2km walk.

Please note that after the 2km boardwalk, walking paths may be uneven, boggy, and potentially slippery, especially in wetter, windier weather conditions.

What’s included & what’s not

What’s included: Professional photo guidance and tuition. Transport on the island to and from our workshop destination. Any inter-island ferry charges. A warm drink/breakfast roll from the Final Checkout cafe.

What’s not included: Transportation to and from Northlink ferry terminal/Sumburgh Airport to your accommodation. Additional food/drinks (please ensure you bring a packed lunch/drink with you). Photography equipment (tripod and filters can be rented). Personal and travel insurance (you must provide your own).

More details

A mirrorless or DSLR camera (with spare batteries and memory cards) coupled with either a prime telephoto or zoom lens, ranging from 100mm to 600mm, such as Sony’s 100-400mm f/4.5, Canon’s 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1, or Nikon’s 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3, will be perfect to create environmental and close-up images of Northern Gannets. For an even wider perspective, to place birds smaller in the frame, and to create long exposures, we recommend a 24-70mm or a 24-105mm lens. A sturdy tripod, cable release, and a set of ND (Neutral Density) filters will also be required for long exposures. Given the remoteness of this workshop location, a comfortable backpack that can carry your equipment, plus an extra layer of clothing, as well as food and water, would be advised.
In the case of clear skies and a good Northern Light forecast, a mirrorless or DSLR camera coupled with a 14-24mm or 24-70mm wide-angle lens will be perfect. You will also need a tripod and cable release.
For this workshop only, Nordic Wildlife Tours has available to rent a Gitzo GT5543LS Series 5 tripod coupled with a Gitzo Series 4 Ball Head. Additionally, we also have Kase Wolverine 100mm filter system, comprising several ND and GRAD filters, plus a magnetic polariser. Please note - to rent these filters, please let us know in advance the filter thread of the lens you wish to use them on.
Shetland’s weather can change in an instant, so it is important that, during your workshop(s), you bring and wear correct and comfortable clothing that allows you to spend prolonged periods of time out in the field, and in this case, on top of exposed clifftops, where it can be cold, wet, and windy. We recommend an insulated down jacket, a waterproof overlay/jacket, insulated /waterproof trousers, gloves, and a woolly hat. Given the location of this workshop, appropriate footwear is a must - hiking shoes/boots would be our recommendation that have some level of waterproofness. For afterwards, there are facilities at Hermaness carpark to get changed into a spare set a warm clothing if your clothing gets wet.
There are two ways to get to and from Shetland, and they are by ferry or plane. The overnight ferry, which is run by Northlink Ferries, departs from Aberdeen and takes between 12 - 14 hours before arriving in Lerwick. Cabins and sleeping pods are available; however, these book up extremely quickly. Flying is the quickest way to reach Shetland and Loganair offers a range of flights from all over Scotland and England. Transport to and from the Sumburgh Airport by taxi and bus is available. If you require any help on booking the ferry or a flight, please get in touch.
Accommodation in Shetland books up very quickly. Please ensure you have accommodation booked prior to arranging a workshop to avoid any disappointment. Accommodation can be found on Shetland Stays, Airbnb, and Booking.com, as well as various other websites. If you need help finding accommodation, or are wanting any recommendations on where to stay, please get in touch.
The safety of our workshop participants and guides is our highest priority at Nordic Wildlife Tours. At times, Shetland’s weather can become dangerous and unsafe for us to be venturing out onto the clifftops, especially at Hermaness. In the case of extreme weather, where gale-force winds will prevent the workshop from going ahead, you will be given the option to rearrange. Please carefully read our Terms and Conditions for more information.

Get In Touch

For general enquiries and bookings, please fill out the contact form below. Alternatively, please call or WhatsApp message on +44 (0)7896 23141. Please understand that due to the nature of our business, working in remote areas across Shetland and Iceland may result in limited phone service and internet access. We aim to reply to all enquiries as soon as possible.