Bio.

I will start by saying that very little of what you read below would have been possible had it not been for the help and assistance of a great many people.

First and foremost my parents, of course, for introducing me to nature at a very young age, and for the huge amount of support and encouragement they provided during the “Neuropathy years”. Secondly to my team: my Son (Alex Keen) and my friend and colleague (Alan Napier), both of whom have remain steadfast in supporting me and the business; despite the huge impact that we, like many others, took during Covid when pretty much everything – apart from hope and a strong desire to continue – came to an absolute standstill. We’re still here boys!

With that said, here’s a little bit about my weird and wonderful life thus far, which will hopefully provide some insight into why we do what we do.

The journey thus far

Although I very much enjoy most aspects of photography, I have a specific interest – that being “chasing” and photographing one of our Planet’s most spellbinding natural phenomena, the Aurora Borealis. In fact, I’ve now spent over a decade doing just that.

I have been extremely fortunate to have witnessed and photographed the “lights” on many occasions and has spent easily in excess of 9,000 hours under the them. During this time, I’ve accumulated many thousands of images, some of which have been featured in many leading publications around the globe including National Geographic, China Life, Wanderlust, The Guardian and The Times newspapers, for example. I have also been published on the front page of Spaceweather.com on numerous occasions, and a selection of his images were included in the best Astronomy pictures of 2012 by the highly regarded Sky & Telescope magazine.

I have worked alongside BBC Scotland in the making of a TV documentary pertaining to the Northern Lights, “Little Stargazing”. The documentary subsequently went on to become runner up in the prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television) awards. Moreover, I have also assisted both French, German and Belgian TV on similar projects, as both a contributor and fixer.

Since my team and I started to lead tours way back in 2009, we have taken many thousands of people in search of the Northern Lights. During this time, we have successfully managed to maintain an impressive 95% success rate.

In March, 2023 my team and I also assisted in the production of a brand new TV documentary pertaining to the Sun and its’ effect on people around the world. The story follows me, Alex and Alan as, once again, we go in search of the Northern Lights.

In addition to the above, I have has also done a great deal of work for Charity. I was the former Chief Executive and Founder of The Neuropathy Trust (1998-2014), which was a UK based registered Charity that provided support and information to people who are affected by peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain. The organisation assisted many thousands of people around the world. Moreover, I have personally raised in excess of £2 million pounds (Sterling) for charitable purposes.

Who is Alex Keen?

Alex is Andy Keen’s Son and has been with the company since way back in 2009. As well as being a nature guide, he also possesses a Bachelors degree in environmental engineering. He loves being out in nature and sharing his passion for the Aurora and nature in general with our clients.

Who is Alan Napier?

Alan liked his first Great Aurora Hunt so much he joined our team. Alan and his family travelled to Finland for our very first Great Aurora Hunt. “We’d a fantastic time and were just amazed by the Northern Lights – and the adventure itself with Andy. Travelling as far as the Norwegian and Russian borders we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and took some memorable photographs”.

Now after ten years with the team, Alan has driven over 60,000km in the north of Finland, Norway and Sweden in pursuit of the Northern Lights, often in temperatures as low as -30°C. “It’s worth every kilometre to hear our clients’ reaction when they see the Aurora” says Alan. “Over the years I’ve learnt so much from Andy and Alex, including monitoring the ever-changing weather conditions to help guide each evening’s aurora chase. As a photographer for many years, most of all I enjoy helping clients with different levels of experience to photograph the Aurora and Arctic landscape, with compact cameras, DSLRs and now even mobile phones”.