Rick Sammon's Digital Imaging Diaries: Venezuela Workshop: Andes Mountains and the Floati...

Rick Sammon's Digital Imaging Diaries: Venezuela Workshop: Andes Mountains and the Floati...: Having "been there, done that, got the t-shirt," I thought I do an entirely different digital photography workshop. Along with my friend Kevin Pepper...

Winter Photo Tours in Iceland

One of our instructors at the photographers Lounge, Tim Vollmer also runs his own tours in his home country of Iceland. He has created a series of 7 day winter tours in Iceland. For the budget minded photographer that doesn't mind shooting in the winter, these tours are an option for you to consider. 

Date:  Departure: March 4th-9th 2012  /  October 16th-21st 2012  /  November 6th-11th 2012  /  January 8th-13th 2013  /  February 5th-10th 2013  /  March 5th-10th 2013  /  April 2nd-7th 2013

Price: EURO 1.900/US$ 2.580   -   Single supplement: EURO 120/US$ 160 Prices per person in a double room. Minimum 3 persons.

·         Included:

·         Transfer from/to airport upon arrival and departure

·         3 nights in a hotel in the country

·         2 nights in a hotel in Reykjavik

·         Full board from dinner on day one to breakfast on day 6

·         Flight from Reykjavík to Höfn

·         Boat trip on the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon

·         Entrance to the Blue Lagoon and towel

·         Expert photographer guidance (Tim Vollmer/Iurie Belegurschi)

·          

·         Not included:

·         International airfares

·         Drinks

·         Tips

·          What is not mentioned as included

Winter Photo Tour 2012/2013 with Tim Vollmer/Iurie Belegurschi

Day 1-Arrival Keflavik airport At Keflavík, the photographer Tim Vollmer/Iurie Belegurschi, will meet the group. We leave the airport and drive through the lava fields to our guesthouse in Reykjavík. Dinner and overnight in Reykjavík.

Day 2- Reykjavík Höfn Vatnajökull glacier We start the morning by taking a one hour flight to Höfn, a small fishing village in the southeast of Iceland. The contrast in the nature of the Southeast is breathtaking, with spectacular black beaches and dominating white glacier Vatnajökull. Serenity, energy and forces of nature combine to make the region of Vatnajökull a never-to-be-forgotten experience. We will spend the day exploring the region and if we are fortunate, we will see the Northern lights dancing above the glacier. Dinner and overnight in Smyrlabjörg guesthouse.

Day 3 Vatnajökull glacier – Jökulsárlón lagoon – Skaftafell Today we will visit many of Vatnajökull’s outlets and outwash areas and the Jökulsárlón, a famous glacial lagoon full of icebergs were we can take a short boat tour and sail among the huge icebergs, an unforgettable experience. The glacial scenery continues with a visit to the stunning Skaftafell, Iceland’s second largest national park were the landscape has been formed in thousands of years by different influences of fire and water (volcanic eruptions and the glaciers). Dinner and overnight at Icelandair Hótel Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

Day 4 Vík – Geysir – Gullfoss We leave Klaustur and drive towards the coast to the basalt caves of Reynisfjara were we take a small walk on the black beach and have a view towards Dyrhólaey. We drive to the small but high waterfall Seljalandsfoss and walk the path behind it. On we drive to the world famous Geysir region, where hot springs are in abundance, such as the famous great Geysir which has given name to hot springs all over the world. We will see one of the most active geysers in the area, Strokkur, spouting up to 30 meters. From Geysir we drive to Gullfoss the Golden waterfall, one of the most impressive waterfalls in Europe. Here you can see thousands of tons of icy water thunder majestically down in a double-fall into a deep gorge. Dinner and overnight at Hótel Geysir.

Day 5 Þingvellir – Reykjanes peninsula We leave the Geysir area and drive to Þingvellir national park. Þingvellir is a remarkable geological site, and the most historic place on the island, where the world’s oldest democratic parliament was founded in 930. We continue to the Nesjavellir geothermal area and on to the lava fields of Reykjanes peninsula. More then half of the peninsula is covered with lava flows and you will see lava cones and craters of different sizes and shapes. We will walk where the mid Atlantic ridge rises from the ocean and head for the lighthouse on the westernmost tip of the peninsula. We continue to the small fishing village Grindavík and end in the Blue Lagoon, a unique man-made pool of geothermal water (37-39°C) in the middle of a moss-covered lava field. The Blue Lagoon is a combination of many factors, the most important being the origin of the geothermal seawater from 2.000 meters beneath the surface. Dinner and overnight in Reykjavík.

Day 6 Departure from Keflavík airport Transfer to Keflavik airport.

To learn more please contact Tim through his website at www.timvollmer.de. Please mention PROMO Code, "WINTER MAGIC" 

Photo Tour Choices

So it looks like the tours are all planned out for the next couple years. Its been 6 months of planning and negotiating with local tour operators, guides and hotels... but its all planned out... I think... LOL.

November 10, 2012 - Lake Maracaibo - On this tour we will visit the Andes Mountains, but the focus will be the Catumbo Lightning. I will be leading this tour with Rick Sammon. To read about this tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge.

April 24, 2013 - Tanzania - This is more of a holiday where I received special pricing for friends and family. For $3880, this all inclusive Safari to lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Central Serengeti is an awesome one week safari deal. To read more abou tthis tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge.

On June 6, 2013 Rick Sammon and I will be leading an awesome tour to photograph the lavendar fields, Provence and the Carmargue stallions in the south of France. To read more about this photo tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge.

Then in September of 2013 Rick Sammon, Tim Vollmer and I will be leading a group of people around Iceland to capture all the highlights of this awe inspiring country. This one is going to be an excellent venue to learn because of the PRO photographer to attendee ratio. You will receive lots of one-on-one mentoring whiel photographing this beautiful country. To read more please visit that photo tour at the Photographer's Lounge.

October of 2013 proves to be a busy month with a trip first to Venezuela with a repeat of the 2012 trip to photograph the Catatumbo lightning. Joining me again will be Rick Sammon. To learn more about this tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge.

Later on in October of 2013 I will be travelling to a country that I have always wanted to visit, Namibia. Namibia offers both a desert environment and a traditional African Safari. Please join me on this trip. To see more information about this photo tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge.

To finish off my 2013 photo tour year I will be headed back to Kenya to visit Lake Nakuru, Thompson Falls, Samburu, Masai Mara. This is another photo tour under $4000. Please check out the details at the Photographer's Lounge.

In 2014 I have already planned to awesome trips... one a bucket list trip for me and the other a trip back to my favorite city to photograph.

In March of 2014 rick Sammon and I will be goign to see Petra, the dead sea and travel by camel back into the desert to spend time with the local nomad tribes to capture the essense of the culture and awesome landscape of the desert and mountians like My. Moses. To learn about this 12 day tour please visit the Photographer's Lounge. 

The in September of 2014 I will be running back-to-back workshop and photo walk for 6 days in Paris... join my in the city of love and lights as I make my 7th visit back to the city that has a photo opportunity around every corner. To laern about my Paris workshops please visit the Photographers Lounge.

Please contact me if you have any questions or want to join us on one of our tours.

Thanks for reading,

Kev

Summer Photography Ideas

Summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere... In Canada we just celebrated Canada Day and our American cousins are about to celebrate Independance Day on July 4th. Families start taking holidays and the camera shutters are clicking off different types of images everywhere you go.

I thought i would dedicate todays blog post to my TOP 3 things to photograph in the summer...

#1... at the lake early in the morning...

I love getting up eary in the morning and going down to the lake before sunrise... as the blue hour ticks away it introduces us to the golden hour of shooting just after sunrise. The solitude and the awakening of a new day is an awesome way to spend a few hours with yoru camera.

Check out my tips on long exposure photography here... http://kpepphotography.blogspot.ca/2011/09/long-exposure-landscape-photography.html

#2... fireworks...

In North American we have plenty of opportunity to shoot fireworks... Canada has the May 24 and July 1st, the USA has July 4th ... plus we have an International fireworks competition that happens in Toronto and Vancouver where the potographic opportunities for fireworks displays are endless.

If you live near Niagara Falls there are also weekly firework displays one can go and see every week.

Fireworks is just not about taking photos for me, it usually means I get to spend some time with my teenagers as they love to see fireworks as well...

#3... street photography...

Living so close to Toronto I have the luxury of headed down to Toronto to photograph the people and architecture of one of the largest cities in North America. Every time I go it ends up being something different. From the atmosphere because a different summer festical is on, or the type of people you meet... it is a cornucopia of opportunity when you wander into a large city with a camera.

Check out my street photography tips here... http://kpepphotography.blogspot.ca/2011/12/street-photography.html

You can also check out my workshops or photo tours page. I run a few workshops and photo tours where we focus on the techniques used in these types of photography. Or come see Rick Sammon this fall in Kitchener. Rick is putting on a weekend seminar at Bingeman's Park this September.

What are your favorite things to photograph in the summer?