How to Travel Like a Photographer
There are people who document moments they stand and breathe in nature. Wild Photography Holidays teaches you new ways to navigate the world inside the lens off the beaten path.
Among many ways to travel back in time, photography is one of the older tools people have used. It is an act of transforming the transient to the eternal. At Wild Photography Holidays, travelers learn how to capture memorable moment more effectively. Ten or more people embark on a journey together and take on the world with their cameras as freely as they’d like-it is a rare scene to witness.
Iceland
“Our overall aim is to make learning interactive and fun.”
Italy © James Rushforth
It began in 2009. Mountain guide and tour leader Geraldine Westrupp and her husband Martin Sammtleben, a photographer and tutor, wanted to combine their different strengths and work together. Most of all, Geraldine wanted to provide people with an opportunity to really appreciate the beauty of the landscape in an intimate way, rather than rushing through it in an energetic manner, so that they can keep the memories more vivid to look back upon later on. With the help of their son Gary who has background in business and loves outdoors, they are successfully running Wild Photography Holidays (WPH) today using individual skill sets that complement one another.
Iceland
Taking pictures at Iceland workshop
In general, WPH programs are proceeded as follows. First, an information file is delivered via email to participants who have finished booking online. The file provides comprehensive information on the travel destination as well as guidelines for photo shooting, essential camera equipments and emergency action plans. In the first evening of the tour, the group meets for an introductory dinner at the hotel and talk about how the tour is going to proceed and what not to miss in that region as they go through the following day’s itinerary using a few images. The programs are often affected by weather. When the weather is poor, an indoor teaching session is given where they discuss how to take photographs more effectively in certain situations, give tips on post processing techniques, or answer questions that participants may have.
At least once during the program, there is a photograph sharing session. Images taken by the participants or the guides over the course of the trip are featured in a slideshow with carefully-selected background music. It is the highlight of the itinerary where the participants enjoy seeing all the different perspectives of the images taken in the same location. The rich, relaxing travel program, according to Geraldine, has one goal. “Our overall aim is to make learning interactive and fun. This is why we call our company Wild Photography Holidays and not workshops.” Brooding over her comment on the fundamental joy that travel gives, we asked her a few questions on the moments that bring people and nature together.
At least once during the program, there is a photograph sharing session. Images taken by the participants or the guides over the course of the trip are featured in a slideshow with carefully-selected background music. It is the highlight of the itinerary where the participants enjoy seeing all the different perspectives of the images taken in the same location. The rich, relaxing travel program, according to Geraldine, has one goal. “Our overall aim is to make learning interactive and fun. This is why we call our company Wild Photography Holidays and not workshops.” Brooding over her comment on the fundamental joy that travel gives, we asked her a few questions on the moments that bring people and nature together.
Dolomites in northern Italy © James Rushforth
Q. You have programs for various regions, and each program is led by an expert guide.
A. At Wild Photography Holidays (WPH), all our guides are friends and colleagues who we have known for many years. We know each other very well. They are assigned to workshops depending on their intimate knowledge of the photographic locations. When there are two guides with complementary skills, they can guide a program together. Without exception, our guides have a strong background in looking after the group’s health and safety in some very wild and often remote locations where more caution is needed. In addition to being pro photographers, our guides are climbers, skiers, and mountaineers who have worked and traveled worldwide often holding the highest qualifications in their field.
Q. Why is it necessary to make photographic records of travel?
A. I believe there is a human need to document travel. Travel photography has the power to inspire someone to visit that destination. In a way it serves as a medium to bring back the past most vividly or tell a story that would otherwise take hundreds of words to describe. Travel photography allows the photographers to stop, slow down, and really get absorbed in the subject whether it is a magical landscape or a busy market in India.
A. At Wild Photography Holidays (WPH), all our guides are friends and colleagues who we have known for many years. We know each other very well. They are assigned to workshops depending on their intimate knowledge of the photographic locations. When there are two guides with complementary skills, they can guide a program together. Without exception, our guides have a strong background in looking after the group’s health and safety in some very wild and often remote locations where more caution is needed. In addition to being pro photographers, our guides are climbers, skiers, and mountaineers who have worked and traveled worldwide often holding the highest qualifications in their field.
Q. Why is it necessary to make photographic records of travel?
A. I believe there is a human need to document travel. Travel photography has the power to inspire someone to visit that destination. In a way it serves as a medium to bring back the past most vividly or tell a story that would otherwise take hundreds of words to describe. Travel photography allows the photographers to stop, slow down, and really get absorbed in the subject whether it is a magical landscape or a busy market in India.
State of Kerala in southwestern India
Q. Most of the destinations in your programs are located near nature. Where do you focus on when photographing nature, differently from other subjects?
A. For example we choose a location, maybe a beautiful beach, hoping for a seascape. Then we choose to spend time. There are factors beyond our control that constantly change the scenery including natural light. Light is everything in photography. In travel destinations, natural light allows us to take photographs. Of course the weather is also important. It can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. It works as a dramatic tool. A violent wind can make for some dramatic seas, or a sudden blizzard can make the sky majestic. We accept that we do not have the power to change it and choose our locations well to make the most of the situation.
A. For example we choose a location, maybe a beautiful beach, hoping for a seascape. Then we choose to spend time. There are factors beyond our control that constantly change the scenery including natural light. Light is everything in photography. In travel destinations, natural light allows us to take photographs. Of course the weather is also important. It can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. It works as a dramatic tool. A violent wind can make for some dramatic seas, or a sudden blizzard can make the sky majestic. We accept that we do not have the power to change it and choose our locations well to make the most of the situation.
Western Greenland
Q. What kind of attitude do you need as a nature photographer?
A. All travelers and photographers should respect nature at all times. We encourage guests to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines. First, when out in wild places, we must keep erosion to a minimum, keep to footpaths and avoid stepping on or picking native flora. Also we avoid buying plastic bottles of water, but use our own tumblers to refill with water from a safe source as recommended. Some of our destinations offer water sources that are pure. Do not contaminate the water supply by washing in it. It is also important to understand the region as it is and help its sustainability. Respect local customs, religions, and traditions. Do not take photographs of local people and places of religious significance without permission. Read the labels and buy local products such as food and souvenirs so that money directly benefits the community.
A. All travelers and photographers should respect nature at all times. We encourage guests to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines. First, when out in wild places, we must keep erosion to a minimum, keep to footpaths and avoid stepping on or picking native flora. Also we avoid buying plastic bottles of water, but use our own tumblers to refill with water from a safe source as recommended. Some of our destinations offer water sources that are pure. Do not contaminate the water supply by washing in it. It is also important to understand the region as it is and help its sustainability. Respect local customs, religions, and traditions. Do not take photographs of local people and places of religious significance without permission. Read the labels and buy local products such as food and souvenirs so that money directly benefits the community.
Icebergs in Greenland in winter
Q. What is the ultimate goal of Wild Photography Holidays?
A. Our goal is to continue to produce high-quality travel photography experience for our guests in both new and old locations. We want our participants to have a memorable holiday, learn about a new culture, produce some fabulous photographs, and have a lot of fun in the process.
A. Our goal is to continue to produce high-quality travel photography experience for our guests in both new and old locations. We want our participants to have a memorable holiday, learn about a new culture, produce some fabulous photographs, and have a lot of fun in the process.
Information Wild Photography Holidays Program for April
Wild Seascapes of Asturias and Galicia, North Spain
This holiday is for those of us who love being close to the sea. The program is filled with great activities such as exploring the unknown world of the empty seaside, collecting shells, surfing and witnessing sea stacks and arches. Begin your journey at the tip of Spain, listening to the murmur of the sea and engraving beautiful sceneries in your memory.
Dates April 10-18, 2019
Group Size 10
Price £2,200 per person (KRW 3,280,000)
Homepage wildphotographyholidays.com
Dates April 10-18, 2019
Group Size 10
Price £2,200 per person (KRW 3,280,000)
Homepage wildphotographyholidays.com
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