Brown Bears in Karelia

Our photo tour takes place in one of the most beautiful and remote corners of Karelia, on the border between Finland and Russia, among endless forests and wildlife.

Bears are the most natural wildlife models. Perfect for photography. They are gracefully beautiful - every movement bears a streak of fashion and strength that can be so elegantly conveyed through the camera onto the real-life image.

Moreover, bears are extremely emotional, in that way - they resemble humans. To see for yourself, you'll have to observe little cubs playing under the supervision of their mother, who cares for them tenderly and wholeheartedly.

We organize our workshop at the most favorable time of the year: cubs have grown up a little, the forest keeps bears well-fed, everyone in the fauna seems friendly, and the forest meadow gets fully covered with a dazzling carpet of white cotton grass.

You'll not only merge yourself with nature but also take wonderful pictures and learn wildlife photography.

I'd like to emphasize that the safety of our customers is our top priority. All our photo workshops (including this one) are organized in cooperation with experienced rangers who have been living alongside bears for many years. Moreover, all the photographic sessions are done at a safe distance from a hide.

Day 1. (June 17)

The tour starts at the Helsinki train station at 10:30 am. Our path lies to the north, into the dense forests of Karelia on the border with Russia. On the way, we'll stop at a hotel, where we'll stay overnight before continuing our wildlife pilgrimage.

Days 2-4. (June 18-20)

The very next morning, we'll arrive at the wildlife observation center, which is located right in the middle of the dense forestry and swamps. However, there's a nice little hotel in the vicinity, where we'll stay for the next few days.

During the tour, every day, after lunch, we'll take off to the set, where we'll spend our evening and night in a comfortable and safe hide observing and photographing wildlife. In these places, rangers feed up the bears, so every evening, the animals come up to the makeshift barns in search of some food -- this is the perfect moment to take pictures. Moreover, if we are lucky, there will be wolves -- an amazing opportunity to shoot a complex wildlife relationship between bears and wolves.

During the day, after the shooting hours, you'll have plenty of time to relax and watch over the pristine wilderness. On one of those days, we'll have a lecture on wildlife photography.


Days 5-8. (June 20 - 23)

In the morning on June 16, after the photography session, we'll move to a new place, where we'll live for the next three days. We will take pictures of bears in a different environment. It can be a forest, a swamp, or a lakeshore. There is a good chance to spot another interesting representative of the local fauna - wolverine, an extremely cautious, strong, and cunning beast.

On the final day of our tour, on the morning of June 18, we will head back to Helsinki, where we'll be around 9 pm.

This is the end of the tour, and you can now venture home, hopefully with a stack of excellent images and positive emotions.