Finland Two – photography time

Now then, where was I?  Ah, yes…

It was time for a change.  After a leisurely, nothing in particular, week (see Finland One) the Finland trip that Margaret and I undertook kicked up a gear.  Leaving our holiday accommodation above the Arctic Circle behind us, we drove hundreds of miles south (just over two actually) to Kajaani airport, where we joined a Northshots photographic tour.

This exciting tour had a very specific brief: two of the most charismatic predators that Europe has to offer, bears and wolves (with maybe, but only maybe, wolverine as a bonus).

From Kajaani we headed due east until we almost crashed through the Finland/Russia border.  Here the woodland was mostly plantation stock and noticeably different from what Oulanka National Park had offered.  Finland has well over 80% of tree cover and is its most significant natural resource, so it’s not surprising that forests are exploited in this way.

Base camp was a lakeside, modified woodsman’s cabin kitted out to accommodate as many photographers as possible.  Facilities were basic, but acceptable because we weren’t there for a five-star luxury experience.  We were there to see and photograph bears and wolves, and the setup that Finnish wildlife photographer Lassi Rautiainen has developed over several decades is designed with that single purpose in mind.

There are four sites, each furnished with multiple hides.  One in a woodland area that is frequented by bear and wolverine, but not wolf and another three in more open terrain that are visited by bear and wolf, but not wolverine.  Obviously wolves and wolverines aren’t on speaking terms.  Each hide is unique in design, convincing me that this is an operation that has grown hand-in-hand with the expanding ecotourism/photo-safari market.

Photographing bear and wolf is an activity that doesn’t sit well with someone who enjoys regular sleep, a situation that most wildlife photographers will already be familiar with.  As these animals are most active from dusk to dawn I had prepared myself for a week of nightshifts.  Fortunately things weren’t quite that bad.  Typically we entered a hide at about 5 pm and left after 7 am, sleeping on mattresses during the short hours of darkness.  Actually it was more like dimness than darkness as there were only a few hours between sunset and sunrise.  Tiredness quickly became my constant companion, but by catching up with a short sleep during the day I kept it at a manageable level.

It’s nice to have a setup such as this to make use of, where somebody else has done the hard work.  But wildlife is, well, wild and will do what it wants, or nothing at all.  So even with the best of efforts there are no guarantees, and ultimately it’s up to the individual photographer to apply their skills and do the best that they can.  Along with other photographers our group rotated around the different locations and hides, never sure of what we were going to see, but always hoping for the best.  Every night was different.  This unpredictability added to the excitement and drove me on to make the most of every opportunity I had to photograph a bear or a wolf, even when it was dull and raining.  I pushed myself to my photographic limits, not knowing if I’d have another chance later.

My final hide session was very special.

I wasn’t expecting much.  It had been raining for over a day and a half and although it had finally stopped, it was still very grey.  A couple of bears seen early on had passed by too far away to photograph and I was settling in for a ‘try and make the most of it’ session.  Later a third bear showed up, following the same route as its predecessors.  Suddenly it stopped, turned and began ambling along a course that would bring it close enough to photograph.  Things were looking up.

Another bear came in, then another.  Delicious sunlight tore apart the layer of grey cloud, transforming the view in front of me into photographic heaven.  Shortly afterwards a very large bruiser of a bear sauntered over and claimed pride of place.  It all became a bit of a blur and somewhere in the proceedings yet another bear joined the party… and a wolf.

Trying to keep up with the ebb and flow of wolf and bears as they waltzed around each other, created what can only be described as a couple of hours of frantic photography.  Cameras were in danger of overheating and I wasn’t the only one in our four-man hide wondering if I was going to run out of memory cards (who was it that said that the great thing about digital photography is you never run out of film?).

Unnoticed overhead, cloud once again began to sneak its way back in, but with perfect timing.  The warm light started to fade in harmony with the bears’ interest and the party began to break up.  The lone wolf also began to slowly wander off, heading towards distant trees.  Then it stopped, raised its head and howled.  Not once, not twice, but three times.  Each howl sent an electric charge down my spine and set my hairs on end.

I couldn’t have planned for a finer climax to a trip.