Or those magnificent northern lights on that winter night in Finland?

No?

OK, maybe neither of those amazing photo ops have passed in front of your lens just yet.

But when they do, you'll want to be ready.

The best photography tours not only put you in the right place at the right time to capture magic moments, they impart the skills to turn them into photos worth sharing.

The tours below feature award-winning photographer-instructors, exclusive experiences and even the use of $100,000 worth of camera gear.

Alaska's Coastal Grizzlies: Kodiak to Katmai Photo Tour

"Coming within feet of these giant creatures in 100% safety is difficult to fathom, and the photos you can get as a result are unparalleled," says Ted Martens of Natural Habitat Adventures, a travel partner with the World Wildlife Fund.

Those "giant creatures" Martens speaks of are Alaskan brown bears, the world's largest coastal grizzlies.

Natural Habitat Adventures' eight-day Alaska photo tour is a luxe, eco-friendly trip for a maximum of eight travelers that gets close to the famed and feared bears.

The draw is exclusive floatplane access to the remote waterways of bear-filled Katmai National Park and Preserve.

The tour also makes a stop on wild Kodiak Island, home to Kodiak bear (brown bear) and animals such as whales, otters and puffins.

Alaska's Coastal Grizzlies: Kodiak to Katmai Photo Tour, Natural Habitat Adventures; departures from June to September in 2015; from $8,895

Lane Nevares of Art Photo Expeditions, which leads a unique photo tour through Southeast Asia, talks about his company's equipment-laden tour in terms of a high-performance vehicle.

"It's like Ferrari offering a trip through southern Europe that allows participants to drive Ferraris in various locations," he says.

That's Nevares' description of the 14-day tour led by ace photographer Tim Gerard Barker, which features loaner gear provided by Swedish luxury camera brand Hasselblad.

"Photographing people in Asia is a wonderfully rewarding experience," says Barker. "A wave of the camera and a smile is often enough to gain acceptance into their space."

Participants get the benefit of Barker's years of experience.

"I frame dynamically and look for the best angles and the best light," he says. "I like to work with wide lenses, so I'm often in very close."

Travelers bring their own gear but they can try H5D-50c and CVF-50c medium format cameras, and all Hasselblad's H lenses on the trip.

Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia: A Photographer's Journey through Southeast Asia, Hasselblad Xcursions and Art Photo Expeditions; November 10-23, 2014; from $11,900

Torassieppi Aurora Photography

Even if you're lucky enough to catch the northern lights, you can't brag about it back home if you can't photograph them right.

Aurora Zone guarantees those bragging rights, as long as you're lucky enough to see the aurora in Lapland, the northernmost region in Finland.

"In addition to a passion for searching for the northern lights, our expert guides have a comprehensive knowledge of Lappish culture, people and landscape," says Alistair McLean, founder of the Aurora Zone, a company that specializes in northern lights tours.

Gareth Hutton, a Lapland-based photographer, will lead a tour to Torassieppi in early 2015.

"The tour embraces that quintessential feeling of what winter should really be like -- powdery snow, snow-capped trees and those amazing skies," says Hutton. "Not only are the northern lights spectacular, but the long winter sunsets are pretty magical, too."

Participants learn the most challenging aspect of photographing the northern lights -- having the right combination of camera settings and adapting these as the night sky changes.

The group stays in cottages on a reindeer farm during the trip.

Torassieppi Aurora Photography, Aurora Zone; departures from January to March 2015; from £2,108 ($3,440)

(CNN)