Polar Bears and Aurora in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.
After I take into consideration locations that mix uncooked wilderness with once-in-a-lifetime photographic alternatives, Churchill in northern Manitoba rapidly rises to the highest. Perched on the sting of Hudson Bay in Northern Canada, this fantastically distant Arctic gateway provides a uncommon mixture of luminous night time skies, uncommon wildlife sightings, and distinctive methods to expertise them. After studying concerning the area over espresso with the staff from Journey Manitoba, I began researching and exploring the adventures potential for photographers (and myself!) who’re eager to go to in 2026.
I already understand it’ll be a vacation spot that fills my reminiscence playing cards sooner than the northern lights dance throughout the sky!
Listed below are the experiences which have firmly positioned Churchill on my radar for 2026.
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#1 Aurora seen as much as 300 nights annually
Churchill sits instantly beneath the auroral oval, making the northern lights a close to certainty, somewhat than an opportunity encounter, seen as much as 300 nights annually. Having photographed aurora in Iceland, Greenland and throughout Scandinavia, plus the Aurora Australis in New Zealand, the idea of a neater hunt sounds very attractive! I don’t assume I slept a wink on my first journey to Iceland, continuously checking the forecast map and looking out exterior in any respect hours of the night time.
There’s a number of excursions accessible from Churchill, and I like the sound of the Nights Underneath Lights expertise with Nanuk Operations. Over 5 nights, you keep at a distant lodge with devoted dark-sky viewing platforms, becoming a member of knowledgeable guides for 3 prolonged aurora classes. Days are stuffed with actions that hold the artistic spark alive and supply quite a lot of pictures alternatives from canine sledding to snowshoeing and nature walks via the boreal forest.
Extra data on witnessing the Aurora magic in Churchill might be discovered right here.
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score – Journey Manitoba
#2 {Photograph} Polar Bears in Their Pure Habitat
Churchill is called the ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World,’ so it’s very clear why that is maybe the highest purpose most individuals go to. In Churchill, the presence of polar bears provides extra than simply iconic imagery, it presents a uncommon likelihood to look at these Arctic giants going about their very own rhythm.
Churchill sits on the sting of Hudson Bay, and every fall, polar bears collect close to the shoreline, ready for the ice to type and their looking season to start. Mid-October to mid-November is the height of this migration, providing excessive probabilities of sightings and the proper backdrop for intimate wildlife pictures.
For photographers, there are a number of methods you may give your self the most effective likelihood of documenting these beauties.
Tundra Automobile Excursions: Specifically designed automobiles drive you throughout the tundra, permitting protected, close-range commentary and framing of bears towards sweeping landscapes. There are indoor areas, and outside viewing decks so you’ll be able to safely observe and never disturb the polar bears…though, from among the movies and imagery I’ve seen, they’re fairly curious so you might find yourself having an in depth encounter!
Strolling Safaris and Lodge-Based mostly Entry: Wilderness lodges, resembling these operated by Churchill Wild, supply alternatives to {photograph} bears on foot from a respectful distance. This ground-level entry can yield portraits with extra private connection and nuanced compositions, utilizing the setting and pure components to assist body your photos.
For the final word expertise (in my view), the Nanuk Emergence Quest by Churchill Wild stands out. This 14-day winter expedition locations you within the coronary heart of denning areas, the place you might witness a mom polar bear main her new child cubs from the den onto the frozen coast. Requiring persistence and shut commentary, it’s a charted and guided expertise, providing the possibility to seize wildlife photos that almost all of us dream of, to not point out the chance to easily witness this second!
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
#3 Expertise Beluga Whales Beneath your Kayak
Each summer time, hundreds of beluga whales migrate into the Churchill River estuary, remodeling the water right into a residing canvas of sound and motion. Photographing from a kayak provides a perspective few wildlife locations can match, eye stage with playful, curious whales whose pale, shapely figures glow towards the deep blues of the river.
Having photographed a collection centered on split-level underwater imagery, I’d truly researched methods to {photograph} belugas earlier than, and Churchill is the one place I had marked on the map!
Whereas it’s essential to take care of your distance and to not leap within the water with them, there are excursions accessible the place you’ll be able to paddle board, kayak, and even float whereas drifting behind a ship, an expertise I believe would lend itself properly to these eager to capturing underwater imagery.
Picture Credit score: Construct Movies, Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Construct Movies, Journey Manitoba
#4 Mix a visit with Arctic Expedition Crusing
There’s now a further technique to attain Churchill, and it entails crusing throughout Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea, via the Hudson Strait and into Hudson Bay.  In 2024, Silversea turned the primary expedition ship to sail into the port, opening a brand new route throughout the Canadian Arctic and offering the choice for travellers to reach through Greenland and the Excessive Arctic areas.
Hapag-Lloyd has since joined with its personal itinerary, which begins in Churchill earlier than crusing throughout to Kangerlussuaq with a constitution flight via to Zurich. Canada, Greenland and Switzerland in the identical itinerary…sure, please!
I can solely think about how particular it have to be to reach or depart by sea, photographing shifting ice floes and bergs below an countless midnight solar, and the joy of thrilling wildlife viewings alongside the best way.
Picture Credit score: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Picture Credit score: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Picture Credit score: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises / Christian Wyrwa
#5 Distinctive Wilderness Stays for Immersive Experiences
Distant eco-lodges and progressive tundra lodging permit photographers to base themselves inside the panorama, prepared for regardless of the gentle or wildlife brings. Churchill Wild Lodges, resembling Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge and Seal River Heritage Lodge, place you the place wildlife roams freely. Guided walks start at your door, and panoramic home windows imply the aurora can seem if you are reviewing the day’s photographs by the hearth. No lengthy transfers, no crowds, simply the possibility to reply immediately when nature calls, in a photographic sense.
Lazy Bear Lodge provides a special however equally photogenic keep. Constructed from reclaimed timber, it has the heat of a northern cabin with fast entry to beluga excursions, Arctic Crawler journeys, and coastal aurora viewpoints. Its cosy interiors, lamplight towards rough-hewn logs, are as atmospheric to {photograph} because the wildlife past its doorways.
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Picture Credit score: Journey Manitoba
Will you be including Churchill to your want listing in 2026? Or perhaps, you’ve already been, in that case, depart a remark and share your expertise!
I’d like to attempt to organize a pictures expertise for readers of The Wandering Lens and members of The Journey Images Membership to attach and are available collectively in Manitoba for a wildlife pictures journey in 2027.
Proceed Your Images Journey
If studying about Churchill’s wild north has sparked concepts to your personal pictures adventures, you would possibly love what I share inside The Journey Images Membership. It’s a web-based group and studying house I created for photographers who wish to refine their abilities, join with like-minded travellers, and hold their creativity alive between journeys.
Members obtain a fantastically designed month-to-month journal, entry to a rising library of location guides, photograph itineraries, modifying assets, and unique challenges that encourage you to maintain capturing wherever you’re. You’ll additionally discover a personal discussion board the place photographers around the globe share photos, swap recommendation, and encourage each other.
For a deeper dive, the self-paced Journey Images Programs information you step-by-step via every little thing from composition and storytelling to constructing a portfolio or launching a print retailer. Whether or not you’re simply starting or able to take the subsequent skilled step, these programs are constructed that will help you develop as a photographer whereas staying true to your personal artistic imaginative and prescient.
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Good day! I’m the founder and photographer behind The Wandering Lens.
With 19+yrs expertise as an expert journey and panorama photographer, all recommendation discovered on this website is from my private expertise, or that of contributors, on the highway. I hope it’s helpful to your personal travels and would love to listen to within the feedback about your journeys and experiences around the globe.
