The temptation is to fork our bit extra and just book a whole trip with a company that offers Alaska Photography Tours but I’d think twice about this and just do a bit of research beforehand and do it yourself.

Alaska is one place where you’ll want to take all your gear.  A wide angle for all the epic landscape shots through Denali National Park and actually, all over Alaska.  A telephoto for all the wildlife, and of course a tripod if you’re going to see the Aurora.  There’s several (probably hundreds) of companies that do Alaska Photography Tours but really, this is a place you can make your own itinerary and with a bit of a research and some help from the locals, you can see all the best places to photograph in Alaska without having to spend thousands with any of the companies offering Alaska Photography Tours.

Some (not all) of these companies are making thousands and thousands of dollars doing these Alaska Photography Tours and basically adding on significant amounts to the actual tour costs (hotels, transport etc).  There’s nothing wrong with this, they’ve got to make a living, but for me personally, if I’m going to see the Aurora Borealis, I don’t want to see it with 10-20 other people all photographing the same thing.  This page here tells you some of the best spots to view the Aurora Borealis. And as usual, if you’re sneaky enough, just do some googling for “alaska photography tours” or “where to see the aurora borealis in alaska” and you’ll come up with all the best places.

If you insist on doing an Alaska Photography Tour, go with one of the local ones because they’ll know the place inside out and will give you a much better idea than the guys located outside of Alaska who might only go there once a year, if that.  Also note, it’s never guaranteed, and the locals are pretty friendly and will always be willing to give you some advice. There’s loads of tips and help out there on how to photograph the Aurora borealis.  Obviously you need a tripod, but probably the most important thing is to get out of the city and away from the light pollution.  Some nights you can see it from wherever, but it’s best to travel a bit out of the city to get a clear shot without any light from the city. Dress warm because you won’t be moving much at it’s freezing.

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