Picture-perfect trips for photography enthusiasts
Wing Sze Tang offers some bucket-list expedition tips
Scouting for polar bears in the far north
Lighting is everything, and in Svalbard, from about late April to late August, the sun shines around the clock. You can explore the Norwegian archipelago — considered a prime lookout point for polar bears, reindeer and Arctic foxes — on a Secret Atlas micro cruise. Up to 12 passengers travel aboard their trawler-turned-expedition-yacht, a vessel compact enough to get close-ups of sights not reachable by titanic ships. (If you’d like to go exclusively with your own bubble of friends, that can be arranged, too.) In 2022, the company will launch a 15-day expedition, its longest yet, led by Canadian wildlife photographer and environmentalist Chase Teron; the tour will head for far-flung reaches of Svalbard, including the Austfonna glacier, where waterfalls cascade down vertical ice walls.
Capturing landscapes in the kingdom of the clouds
National Geographic has a long, glossy legacy of visual storytelling, so who better to guide photography expeditions around the world? Trips include an 11-day expert-led tour of Bhutan, with Pulitzer Prizewinning photojournalist Jay Dickman set to join the next departure, this October. Turn your lenses on historic temples, Himalayan peaks and verdant valleys, and expect a workout, too: It’s an uphill hike for clear views of the country’s most photographed sight: Paro Taktsang, also known as the Tiger’s Nest, the Buddhist monastery balancing on the side of a granite cliff.
Spotting penguin colonies in the remote south
Abercrombie & Kent’s luxury travel splurges include a 15-night photography tour of Antarctica, South Georgia Island and the Falkland Islands aboard a superyacht. Beyond sculptural icebergs and snowcapped mountains, your muses may include, with any luck, humpback whales, southern elephant seals and vast colonies of king penguins. Each expedition comes with tutelage from a pro, like award-winning photographer and conservationist Michael Melford, slated to coach the January 2022 sailing.