About
Photography tours built
around real experience.
Small groups. Considered locations. Eight years in the field.
Hi, I’m Tyler.
I’m your guide, the person who answers your emails, books the accommodation, does the driving and the guiding, plans the routes, watches the forecasts, does the marketing, maintains this website, packs the snacks, and somewhere in between all of that, helps you with your photography.
Chasing Light Tours is just me, running small-group photography tours across Europe since 2017.
If you spot a typo on this website, I apologise. There’s no one else to blame.
How it started
From web developer to photography guide
In 2017 I was working as a web developer with a serious photography habit on the side. I’d moved companies twice in a year, and when the last one failed to pay me on time two months in a row, I decided enough was enough. With the support of my then girlfriend, I quit and went all in on photography.
I ended up applying for a northern lights guiding job in the Arctic. Thousands of people applied. I got it. One season out there and I fell completely in love with it all. The proper Arctic winter, the people, the northern lights. It was while I was up there that I organised my first photography tour to Iceland.
That was eight years and more than 80 tours ago. I still do a small amount of web design for a select number of clients, which is where this website came from. But photography and the tours are what I’m here for.
How the tours work
Small groups, proper attention, no rushing
Every tour runs with a maximum of five or six photographers. That’s not a marketing line, it’s the whole point. Small enough that everyone gets proper attention, small enough to be flexible when conditions change, small enough that it stays personal rather than feeling like a group holiday with cameras.
Everything is built around the light. Morning and evening shoots, each lasting six to eight hours, with the middle of the day yours to rest, edit, or explore. If the forecast shifts, the plan shifts with it. I aim to arrive at locations up to an hour before sunrise so everyone is set up and ready. Some days that means a 4am alarm. It’s always worth it.
Every person on a tour will be at a different stage in their photography, and that’s exactly how it should be. I don’t run a one-size-fits-all experience. I pay attention to where each person is, what they’re trying to achieve, and what’s holding them back. Some people want to push their technical skills. Others want to develop their eye for composition. Some just want to slow down and really see a landscape for the first time. Whatever that looks like for you, that’s what we work on.
I do take my own photographs on tour, but if you call me, I stop. I’ll put my camera down and come straight to you. Watching me work through a scene in real time, hearing me explain my thinking, my settings, why I’m standing where I’m standing, is often one of the most useful parts of the whole trip. Before we even set off, I’ll have read through what every guest wants to get from the tour. The personalisation starts before day one.
“Senja with Tyler was amazing. He made sure we were always in the right place at the right time.”
Kate Thompson via Facebook
are these right for you?
Who these tours are for
These tours suit people who want to slow down and actually engage with a place. Who’d rather spend two hours in one location than rush through ten. People who want honest feedback on their photography, not empty praise. And people who are happy to get up before dawn, stand in the cold, and wait for the light to do something worth photographing.
They’re not for everyone, and that’s deliberate. If you want a packed itinerary, a large group, or a guarantee that every morning will be golden, this probably isn’t the right fit. If you want a small group, considered locations, and a guide who genuinely cares whether you go home with photographs you’re proud of, then it probably is.
My guests come from all over the world. UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, the United States, Canada. Genuinely all over. A good number have come back for a second tour, which I take as a reasonable sign that I must be doing something right.
The destinations
Places I keep going back to
Every location I offer is somewhere I’ve spent significant time working in myself. Not places chosen at random or added to fill a calendar, but destinations I return to again and again because I know how the light behaves, how the weather shapes things, and where to be when it all comes together.
Most tour companies grow by adding destinations. I went the other way, cutting back to five places I know deeply, so every tour is better for it.
what guests say
Don’t just take my word for it
I loved the high level of intensity from early mornings to late nights waiting on the aurora. Most importantly, your advance location work meant I could give ample time and full attention to the play of light on the vistas before me~without the distractions of logistics planning or renting a car. I appreciated your flexibility and sense of timing to drive us to ideal locations at the best moment for the light. An added plus was being in the international company of three other dedicated photographers who were jolly good companions!
It is the second time that I join Tyler on a workshop, after my Lofoten trip in 2020 I did not hesitate for a second tour to the Faroe Islands. It continues to amaze me how many places we visit to photograph in such a short time, and again tyler manages to find the northern lights 😎 He also takes the time to show the tricks of Lightroom in order to create beautiful images. Tyler's workshops are top class for me, you go home tired and satisfied with many beautiful memories and photos.
Senja with Tyler was amazing! He made sure we were in the right locations to make the most of the changeable weather each day. Tyler’s experience as an aurora guide was invaluable and meant that we were able to capture any Northern Lights activity. Tyler ensured everyone had the right settings to capture scenes and he also took time to assist and suggest compositions. He also paid particular attention to the less experienced landscape photographers to ensure they got the best from the workshop. Self catering gave us the most flexibility and it was great being able to photograph the aurora from our base. It was also clear Tyler has considerable experience driving in artic conditions which meant we all were very comfortable and felt safe at all times. Thank you for a fantastic workshop Tyler. I’m still reminiscing! I would thoroughly recommend a workshop with Tyler. This was my second workshop with him and I am looking forward to another one later this year and more next year with Tyler.
I throughly enjoyed my tour of North and West Ireland with Chasing Light Photo Tours Tyler's knowledge and history of the area is something you just do not get on the average photo tour. His guidance and selection of photo locations was just so unique. We not only visited known landscape locations but also some locations that I had not known about, which were equally as stunning as known locations. He is also very attentive with the group and safety. In addition, his good-naturedness and humor just add a unique and very enjoyable trip. There were 6 photographers including Tyler and we all got along fantastically. I highly recommend Chasing Light Photo Tours and look forward to another adventure with them. Michael
a but more about me
13 years behind the camera, 8 years leading tours
I’m Northern Irish, based in Derry, and I’ve been photographing landscapes for 13 years. I shoot mainly landscapes but honestly anything that piques my curiosity. My back garden for photography is Donegal and the Causeway Coast, though I’ve spent enough time in Norway, Iceland, Finland and Italy at this point that they feel like an extended backyard too.
I shoot Fujifilm and I’m a Haida and F-stop Gear ambassador. I’m also certified in Rescue and Emergency Care Level 3, which means if something goes wrong in a remote location, I can take care of the people with me.
Outside of photography I’m a father to two kids, Finn and Bella, which is a big part of why I scaled back the tours. I love riding my motorbikes. I have two Royal Enfield’s, and I’m the kind of person who looks at a simple problem and finds the most adventurous way to solve it. My girlfriend, who I met on one of my Iceland tours, will confirm this. I also enjoy writing, journaling, and I’ve recently started drawing.
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