In Search of Giants: Whales and Orcas of Northern Norway
In November 2026, I set out on a journey into the Arctic landscapes of Northern Norway, with one goal in mind: to photograph some of the ocean’s most impressive predators and giants in their natural environment. My journey began in Tromsø, where I picked up a rental car and headed north towards the small island community of Skjervøy.
The drive took around four and a half hours, winding through snow-covered mountains, narrow fjords and remote Arctic landscapes. Parts of the route crossed the fjords by ferry, turning the journey itself into part of the experience. Wildlife appeared along the way, including white-tailed eagles soaring above the coastline an early reminder of just how wild this part of Norway remains.
I reached the final stretch of the journey late in the evening, but about fifteen minutes before arriving in Skjervøy, the sky suddenly came alive. Green light began moving across the mountains as the Northern Lights appeared above the fjord. I stopped the car and spent around half an hour photographing the aurora as it shifted across the sky, surrounded by snowy peaks and almost complete darkness. It was an unexpected ending to an already remarkable journey north.
The following morning, the real reason for travelling to Skjervøy began. I headed out by boat in search of humpback whales and orcas. Conditions on the first day were difficult. Heavy snow, strong winds and rough Arctic water made both photography and entering the water challenging. We eventually had an opportunity to get into the sea, but the close encounter I had travelled for never quite happened. After hours in the cold, the first day ended without the images I had imagined.
The second day could hardly have been more different.Early in the trip, we encountered several humpback whales moving through the fjord. After following them from a respectful distance, one suddenly launched its enormous body clear of the water. For only a few seconds, the whale seemed suspended above the Arctic sea before crashing back beneath the surface. I managed to capture the breach one of those wildlife moments where preparation, patience and luck come together at exactly the right time.
Later that afternoon came the encounter I had travelled all the way to Northern Norway hoping for. We found orcas gathering around a large concentration of herring. The animals were actively feeding, working around the fish as the activity intensified around us.When the opportunity came to enter the water, the world above the surface disappeared almost instantly. Beneath me was a large group of orcas more individuals than I could realistically count moving through the dark Arctic water. Some remained deeper in the blue while others passed much closer. After the difficult conditions of the previous day, I finally had the close underwater encounters I had hoped for.
These encounters are closely connected to one of Northern Norway's most important seasonal wildlife events. During winter, huge concentrations of Norwegian spring-spawning herring gather in the fjord systems of Northern Norway. In recent years, the waters around Skjervøy and the outer Kvænangen fjord have become an important overwintering area for these herring, attracting both killer whales and humpback whales to exploit this temporary abundance of food.The phenomenon is highly seasonal. Humpback whales have been documented gathering in the fjords of Troms from late October into the winter months to feed on overwintering herring.
For many humpbacks, Northern Norway acts as a feeding stop before they continue their extraordinary southward migration towards tropical and subtropical breeding grounds, including areas such as the Caribbean and West Africa. Some tracked individuals have remained in the northern fjords for several months before beginning this journey.Orcas are drawn to the same resource. The enormous schools of herring create feeding opportunities that can bring multiple animals together, producing the intense hunting activity for which the region has become known. In places like Skjervøy, you never really know what the next few hours will bring.
