It must have been the coldest day when we arrived in Tromsø in February 2022.

Located in the north of Norway, I planned to visit the city and capture the Northern Lights with my lens. Thankfully, this objective was fulfilled at a unique location two hours away where the temperature was a shocking -26 Celsius!

After a few days and walks around Tromsø, I discovered places like Polaria, which has an Aquarium. Polaria is in the High North Center for Climate and Environment Research building. This popular attraction is home to two playful bearded seals from Svalbard and two harbour seals born in Lofoten Aquarium.

The seals were under the care of Stine Fiskaa, Head Seal trainer. I had the pleasure of seeing her in action when it was time to feed them. I was also able to experience Stine performing a health check on these gracious animals - a sight to behold!

It was time to prepare myself and the equipment to head towards Karasjok - a location further northeast and almost on the border with Finland. I took a flight east to another airport, then a drive about two hours south to finally reach the Engholm Husky Lodge. Here, Sven, the head of the farm, carried around fifty highly-trained sled dogs.

As I arrived late, I met up with the group early the following day. And what fun we all had! All the dogs wanted to play and show me around - but unfortunately, they had to wait until the next day.

Sven and his team trainer prepared the sleds and set the dogs accordingly. So, we left the lodge and rode for about three hours on a tour around the mystical frozen land. Our journey took us everywhere, sometimes under the snow or thick ice, and we enjoyed every minute of the beautiful landscape and the silence of it.

On the last day of this fantastic adventure, a Karasjok Sami called Lemet was waiting for me, ready with his snowmobile. He drove me far away from the lodge to find a reindeer herd. I was looking forward to photographing these wild animals in their own habitat, and at -17 Celsius, this would be a challenge.

Lemet’s uncle was already in the area, watching where they could possibly stay for the night - attempting to make our encounter easier. The reindeer were timid animals but, at the same time, very curious. Luckily, they posed for me in the distance, and for an hour, we stayed quiet.

While reindeer watching, Lemet made coffee and fire. We began to talk about life under these weather conditions, climate change, family, and friends. No matter where you are in the world, there’s always time to chat, and we had a great time.

On the way back to the lodge, I was surprised to meet a group of wild moose running south from our path. No doubt I will return to photograph them soon!

I want to thank Stine from Polaria in Tromsø city, Sven, and all the staff at Engholm Husky Lodge for their amazing attention. Thanks for letting me enjoy the magnificence of the landscape and the cabin - created from homemade interior furnishings and elegant decorations.