A Forway To Norway

I remember saying many years ago when I started Five Freedoms Photography that I wanted to photograph dogs on an international level.

What I couldn’t have imagined was how all of that would come together…

Back in 2023, I attended the Shutterhound Conference, the very first conference for Dog Photographers ever.

At that conference, I met my roommate, Vill Foto, including many other friends, such as Crystal Coast Dog, Dog Haus Photography, DogtographerLA, and Pet Project By Jess.

In the past two years, we’ve all met virtually monthly to talk shop, share wins, work through struggles, and just generally gush over how much we love dogs.

At some point, Katie casually mentioned that we should all come to Norway (at least that’s how I remember it) and that’s how the idea was born.

So, over the past 6-8 months, we’ve been plotting, planning, hiring dog sitters, and prepping our camera gear! We even formed our own little group for our trips called the Wild Lens Collective. You can follow along with that here.

*Five of us hiked up to the top of Mount Hesten to photograph Norwegian Search + Rescue Dog, Alvin, as pictured here; yes, it was cold, wet, and very steep!*

Honestly, it’s hard to outline all that we did, because in just eight days, we traveled to twelve different locations in Northern Norway, worked with 36 dogs, and took almost 40,000 images collectively.

I think the big stand outs to me on this trip were:

Taking in the breathtaking beauty of Norway including mountains, ridges, waterfalls, fields, beaches, bays, and woods
Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time
Photographing a variety of new dog breeds including a Musterlander, Finnish Vallhund, Afghan Hound, and Finnish Lapphund
Getting the opportunity to watch Flat Coat Retriever, Alvin, practice his Search + Rescue work as a budding Norwegian Search and Rescue Dog
Learning more about sled dogs and the importance of sled dogs in their culture for both tourism and necessity
Staying at the number seven most popular destination for trolls and troll folklore in Norway (it’s a thing! Look it up.)
The abundant rainbows that existed all throughout our trip
Fireside chats in the traditional Norwegian grill house
Cozy evenings snacking on charcuterie, talking business, and sharing more about ourselves
Our group coaching session with Heather Lahtinen from The Flourish Academy
Snuggling with Katie’s pack
Jamming out in the van to our group Spotify playlist
Trying out a traditional Norwegian lunch which consisted of Reindeer!
And so much more!

*A group photo taken at a lookout point on the island of Senja*

I think as artists and professionals, it is so important to have a chance to experiment with our work, test out new techniques, and photograph in new places without the pressure of client work. It was truly fun to watch everyone work totally in their element!

I am so grateful to have had this opportunity both to strengthen my relationships with these incredible women, but also to have learned so much that will enable my client / rescue work to be stronger than ever. As I always say, it’s important to be a lifelong learner.

This is definitely not the last trip we plan on doing! We’ve already been talking about our next trip, but haven’t made any firm plans yet.

You will be able to find us at the upcoming Imaging USA Conference coming up in Nashville in January 2026, so be sure to say hi if you plan on being there. Follow along with all updated for the Wild Lens Collective over on Instagram.

Also, stay tuned for our dog photos from this trip because they are are absolutely epic!