Perfect Pelicans of Lake Kerkini
Dates - 2nd to 6th February 2025
Group Size - 6
3 days immersive photography
Full mentoring throughout
£1750 per person fully inclusive except flights, hotel single supplement £120
6 / 6 Places available
After the wonderful success of the 2024 tour we are again running this wonderful trip as clients loved it so so very much. We made a few changes this year, we will only shoot from the boat now as we get better results, we shoot extended times after sunset for the atmospheric light, we use two different areas of the lake depending on the light and the weather and we visit a different taverna for dinner every night so it's a real social experience! Working with me will guarantee you a inspiring experience, I will push and encourage your photography to take better action shots that you thought you could, better backlit and of course those dreamy atmospheric pictures. Lots of operators offer these trips, some at discounted prices, we pay for the best team, the best boats and you get the benefit of my 25 years of professional experience.
During the winter the spectacular Lake Kerkini in Greece is home to hundreds of Dalmatian Pelicans (and a couple of Pinkies too) in full breeding plumage. They are fantastic characters and make beautiful photos. Our tour will have 6 boat sessions on the lake to allow us to get the maximum variety of behaviour. We will shoot pre dawn and after dusk for those moody exposures, lus do plenty of action and portraits when the light is good. I have worked with the local contacts before, they are superb, and both said that I did things different from others and my help made a difference to all there. That is what you get really, many people run this tour and some are probably cheaper, but I have the experience, knowledge and inspiration to ensure that you get the maximum from the trip. Apart from the pelicans there may be a few other things we can do locally too, more on that closer to the time.
You may wonder if 6 sessions is overkill with these birds, well it is not. We need this many sessions to get the range of behaviour and of course favourable weather conditions on the lake. It maybe that we have 6 amazing sessions and perfect lake reflections and action, or it maybe that we have less. Nothing is guaranteed with the weather which is why we opt for 6 sessions.
This will be an outdoors tour where we are limiting it to 6 people to work best together on the boat, cooperation is the name of the game. We will shoot in the golden hours of the day, morning and evening, plus have a sunset session too. We will stay at a local taverna that offers simple accommodation and homely greek cooking. It's a lovely trip with some of the most engaging and photo friendly birds you could ever wish to see.
Interested?? Read on!
Extra bits
Kit - Everything from a fisheye to a 500mm, you will use it all!!! A 70-200mm or 40-150mm lens will be the most useful.
Accomodation - We will be staying in a hotel that is 20 minutes drive away in a nearby town. It's a very nice family run place and will be a comfortable base.
Food - Local greek food is hearty and plentiful. We can cope with basic dietary requirements if we know well in advance but please check for more specific requirements before booking. Every night we will eat out at a traditional taverna, this is a really social and lovely thing to do!
Weather - Colder than you might expect for Greece. At dawn it will still be low minus C rising to a max of 10-12 during the day then falling away quickly at night. We will give you a heads up on the expected weather a week before the trip.
Group Size - 6 people will make up our group. All accommodation is quoted on a sharing basis, a single supplement is available for those who wish to have their own rooms and is recommended!
Pre-departure guide - We will send you a comprehensive pre departure guide twop months before the trip which will give you all the info that you need.
Mentoring - this goes without saying on my trips but you will be well prepared! I will be there with you all the time, will be controlling what we shoot and how we shoot it, plus will be giving you constant advice and help. I lead on all of my trips, I am never led by anyone but I work with experts whom I trust.
Itinerary
Here is the itinerary for the workshop:
2nd February 2024
Fly to Thessaloniki (Greece) and then it's a 4 hour drive to the hotel
3rd - 5th February
Same plan every day, early start for a morning shoot, back for breakfast / lunch, afternoon and sunset boat shoot, dinner and bed
6th February
Depending on flight times there may be something else we can do else it's an afternoon departure from Thessaloniki to home
A word about fitness and attitude
This is an outdoor tour so you will have to carry your kit for a few hundred metres to our shoot locations. That's it nothing strenuous.
Attitude is a simple one. You will need to be friendly to others, be willing to help and co-operate and not be selfish.
Flights
The tour will start / finish at Thessaloniki in Greece. There are regular flights daily from London and Manchester in the UK. After booking we will send you our recommended flights to get and the ones NOT to get!!!
Booking
The price of the workshop is £1750 on a shared basis.
This includes everything except your international flight, insurance, alcohol and personal items.
The single room supplement is £100
Therefore the final prices are:
Shared accomodation - £1750 per person
Single accomodation - £1850 per person
All transport will be via a 4WD minibus.
Payment will be immediately the tour is full, we will tell you when this happens! You must take out adequate travel insurance in case something unforeseen comes up. Your money will be held in a co-signatory trust bank account and will not be touched until the tour is completed, funds to pay for the tour in advance will come from our main business bank account. This is in accordance with UK travel regulations for non flight operators.
To book your place - if you are 100% good to go then click here to email us, include how many places you want and any dietary considerations. We will then reply with full BACS details for the transfer.
Refund / Cancellation policy - Things come up we know that and sometimes you may have to cancel a trip even though you want to go. So we have this simple policy for this trip. Please only sign on if you are sure you want to go. If you cancel then we will only refund your money if we can replace you with another client. We will do our best to do this and if we can do it we will do it, but of course you have to understand that we have to protect the tour first and foremost so a refund might not be possible. By booking this tour you understand and agree to these policies and no further discussion can be entered into.
After booking we will send you a confirmation and further details.
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We, us or our is a reference to ARWP LtdYou or your is a reference to the person to whom we are providing our services and who is required to pay for the services we provide. Services means the trips ( including abroad ), tours, tuition or workshops we will organise. The precise services we will be providing to you will be stated in the literature including website(s) and newsletters advertising the services on offer and as we may agree from time to time.
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