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October 2021 Newsletter

Freedom, at last...

Greetings!

It's been a very long time coming: No, not the latest newsletter; the COVID-19 restrictions finally being removed! International travel is now possible again, with only minor obstacles.
For the last year, like many of you, Saskia and I have been keeping our heads down and getting on with life as best we could. In recent months, though, we have been able to run a handful of tours and workshops including two abroad, one in Norway and the other in Ireland. The airport experience was much better than we expected and border controls were very straightforward (in fact getting back into the UK was the hardest part!)
Our next trip is a long anticipated return to the Picos de Europa in northern Spain. We were supposed to be there this time last year but, like many other tours and workshops, it had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic.

On that note, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of you who very patiently dealt with the numerous changes.

Your forbearance made a difficult time much easier to cope with. Thank you!

We're Good to Go!

The safety of all tour and workshop participants has always been of paramount concern to me. The current pandemic has thrown safety procedures into stark relief.

I want to make sure that no unnecessary risks are taken by attendees. To this end Saskia and I have been doing extensive research on best practice for both teaching and catering.

We have both completed the process of certification for Visit Britain's Good to Go scheme.

Whilst COVID-19 still poses a threat we will follow all precautions. Hand sanitiser will be provided. For anything longer than one day classes, participants will need to take a lateral flow test prior to joining a workshop.
Please read on to find out more about three foreign tours
coming up in the early part of '22.

Full details of next year's programme can be found on my website
NAMIBIA
There’s a faint chill in the still pre-dawn air as we climb into our 4x4 for the 60km drive into the oldest desert on the planet. Soft light falls across high dunes as we begin the final leg, walking across the cool sand. Reaching the top of a low rise we look down on the baked, white bed of a long dead lake. Its surface seems to glow. Dotted across it are the evocative, darkly skeletal remains of camelthorn trees dead for a millennium. Towering deep-orange dunes enclose the bowl and, as we watch, the first rays of dawn kiss the slopes to our right. Time to make some photographs…

This hauntingly beautiful place is Deadvlei; just one of the many wonders we will see on an incredible journey into some of the most amazing landscapes on Earth. I first visited Namibia in 2008 and was immediately smitten by its austere beauty. Since then I have returned as often as I can and it still holds its allure.

This new itinerary includes some of Namibia's iconic destinations but we will also be visiting amazing areas well off the beaten track! Two nights will be in a very remote spot on the Hoarusib. We will stay in an exclusive, fully catered mobile camp.
When, Where, How Much?

Dates: 22 January - 5 February 2022

Base: Namib-Naukluft NP, Damaraland, Kunene Region

Including

  • Full board accommodation
  • All ground transport during workshop (incl. airport transfer for recommended flights from/to Windhoek).
  • Carbon offset
  • Internal flight
  • Tuition from David Ward

Excluding

  • Flights to Windhoek
  • Travel insurance
  • Additional optional activities (e.g. balloon flights)
  • Beverages and other personal expenses

Price: £6,750

Booking fee: £800
NEW! ICELAND in WINTER
Extra workshop added due to high demand!

Co-led with Daniel Bergmann

This intense photography workshop will take place in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Vatnajökull region of Iceland.

We have chosen these two locations as they offer unlimited opportunities to explore and photograph coastal scenery and ice formations. These are some of the most dynamic and ever changing subject matters to be encountered in the landscape.

We will also be in the presence of iconic vistas. The challenge will be to see and interpret those iconic landscapes in new ways!

The limited daylight hours, this far north in winter, will be dedicated to working together in the field making images. In the evenings, we’ll review the day’s images and work on post processing.

If the weather closes in I will present a variety of talks to further inspire your passion for landscape photography.
When, Where, How Much?

Dates: 12 – 22 February 2022

Bases: Snæfellsnes and Vatnajökull, Iceland

Including

  • Full board accommodation
  • All ground transport during tour, incl. airport transfers from Keflavik to Reykjavik.
  • Tuition from David Ward and Daniel Bergmann

Excluding

  • International flights
  • Travel insurance
  • Alcoholic drinks and other personal expenses

Price: $6,750 (Single en suite room)

Booking fee: $1,500

Bookings for this tour are handled by Daniel Bergmann
GEORGIA
Rescheduled from October '21

One of Europe's best kept secrets.

I confess that I knew next to nothing about this incredible country before I visited in 2019. What I found truly amazed me. Just the short drive from the airport into the centre of Tbilisi was a culture shock. Soviet era buildings, in varying states of decay, stand alongside a modern six lane dual carriageway - one can't be sure if they were ruined or never finished. Every so often the 80kph traffic has to dodge a babushka in headscarf sweeping the road with a besom broom. It feels like late twentieth century Europe has been mingled with the Middle Ages. The architecture is by turns dizzyingly modern and like some relic from Gormenghast. I was hooked before I even got to my accommodation!
Our tour concentrates on the western and northern regions. From the capital, Tbilisi, we will journey to Vardzia, a cave monastery carved out of a cliff face. The next day we will travel north and traverse the high Zekari Pass, entering the pristine wilderness of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park.
Next we pass through Samegrelo, a region of bucolic smallholdings. Each house is surrounded by an orchard and vegetable plot. Pigs, geese, cows and goats freely roam across the roads. Entering the foothills of the mighty Caucasus, the road climbs for over 100km, switchbacking deeper into the forested hills until we emerge in the high pastures of Svaneti.
The highlight of the trip, for me, will be a two night stay in Ushguli. This remote mountain village lies 20km beyond the end of the paved road. At 2,100m, it is one of the highest continually inhabited villages in Europe. The harsh winters make this village inaccessible for six months of the year. Its collection of medieval stone buildings straggle across high pastures under the towering mass of permanently snow clad mountains. This will be like stepping back in time and provide an insight into a traditional way of life.

Returning south we will spend two nights near Martvili. The focus here will be the famous canyons, where numerous falls plunge into beautiful green water flowing through deep clefts in the limestone.
When, Where, How Much?

Dates: 19th – 30th June 2022

Bases: Samtskhe-Javakheti, Samegrelo & Svaneti


Including

  • Airport transfers for recommended flights from/to Tbilisi
  • Carbon offset
  • All transport during tour
  • Full board accommodation
  • Photo tuition from David Ward

Excluding

  • International flights
  • Travel insurance
  • Alcoholic drinks and other personal expenses

Price: £3,025 (Single en suite room except in Ushguli)

Booking fee: £500
Christmas is coming...
This is the perfect gift for the photo-obsessive loved one in your life.

These tokens can be used to buy prints, book a place on a one-day workshop, buy an online critique or editing session, book a day's 1-2-1 tuition or to go towards the cost of a UK or foreign photo tour or workshop.

The tokens are available in a number of denominations from £150 up to £1,000. Unlike many other vouchers, there is no time limit for using the token.

You can even add a personal message.

Go on; treat somebody!
And finally...
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and click on the links. I look forward to seeing you with your camera soon.

Please take care and stay safe!
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