Explore Journeys > Geography Tours > Travel Photography

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY

The aim of this tour is to improve your travel photography in practical instruction that takes places in milieus that are photographically inspiring. The journey is open for everyone ranging from complete beginners to advanced amateur photographers – most of the instruction is hands-on, conducted on a one-to-one basis, a kind of coaching that is adjustable to the level of each participant in a disparate group.

We will visit a variety of exotic attractions – oasis of culture as well as pristine mountainous landscapes – that are outstanding in their own right. Then you learn to interact with the location through the lens, developing a knack of seeing the world through your camera. Aside from one-to-one coaching, we will have optional evening discussions that cover more aspects of photographic principles, theory, and techniques. The itinerary is designed to offer a range of subjects that lend themselves to different sub-genres of travel photography – this includes techniques invoked in photographing landscapes, people, action, food, nature, historical monuments and more. 

Instruction is by Victor Paul Borg, a freelance travel writer and photographer of 18 years, and now the creative force behind Pepper Mountains. Victor’s writing and pictures are published by some of the most respected magazines in the world – you can see some of his pictures in Pepper Mountains, or in his portfolio website. 

The tour is also open for your spouse or partner who isn’t interested in photography; he or she will also find the tour engrossing and rewarding. The places we visit are outstanding destinations in their own right, and your partner will find plenty of absorbing things to do that don’t involve photography. 

For a list of suggested equipment, as well as more detailed background on the techniques ad principles covered throughout the trip, please click on the Photography Dossier link at the bottom of this page. 

The itinerary will take us to the following places:

Wanglang

Set at the core of the Min Mountains, Wanglang consists of dense mountains and steep slopes and granite summits – the highest peak rises to almost 5,000 metres. The habitats are among the most pristine in the world; the trees, which rise six or seven stories like ancient mammoths, have never been cut. Wanglang indeed presents a tapestry of landscapes and features that allow us to practice landscape and nature photography. We will practice several techniques: how to compose and use slow shutter speed to create curtains of water in waterfalls; how to shoot close-ups of flowers; how to capture nature and wildlife; how to create mood and composition in forests that seem too cluttered and flat. On one day we will go to a vantage point at the core of the mountains for sweeping landscape panoramas of a vast valley and peaks tumbling towards the horizon – then we will practice landscape photography.

Baima villages

Living in a scatter of villages in one vast valley, the Baima minority are among the smallest ethnic groups in the world, numbering just 3,000 individuals. They are a subgroup of Tibetans, and practice a hybrid of Animism and Buddhism. Their wooden houses are ornate with carvings and colourful mythological figures, as well as talismans. They wear a highly distinct costume of bright-coloured clothes and white head-dresses in which a single white feather is attached. It’s a great place for pictures of an exotic ethnicity, with their costumes as dazzling as peacocks, and the mythical symbols on the houses highly evocative.

Baoen Temple

The Baoen Temple, almost 600 years old, used to be called the hidden city due its location in the mountains away from hubs of civilisation. It is full of ancient artistic treasures such as unique Buddhist frescoes that cover the walls of the main temple hall, a statue of Guanyin that has 1000 hands, a cluster of stone statues, a duo of wood-carved flying dragons, and stone carvings partly embedded into the walls. Here we will learn more about taking pictures of historical monuments, especially the techniques involved to enliven static pictures by clever composition that suggests mood, creates continuity by what lies outside the frame, and fires the imagination in a way you would have never thought possible.  

Songpan

A former garrison town protecting the bottleneck of the vast valley that stretches down to Chengdu along the Minjiang River, the former defensive wall and gate-towers of Songpan survive to this day. There are also some other evocative historical structures – most eminent is a covered bridge whose roof has intricate carvings of dragons and other symbols, and an old wooden mosque. The town is also exotic and colourful in its own right, with an array of bizarre shops catering for the Tibetan and Qiang inhabitants. Here the photographic potential is of outdoor historical features (such as the bridge, old mosque, and town wall), as well as the bustle in town and the small features in shops.

Sergu

The Tibetan-Qiang village of Sergu is a tight-nit village of stone houses rising three stories high and arranged in alleyways. There are no roads in the village, only alleys, and the village is situated at the outer mouth of a valley in high and steep rocky mountains. We will base ourselves in the village, staying in the home of one of the villagers and eating with our host family, and then we will spend two days of exploration. One day will be dedicated to photographing the village – we will picture houses, architectural features, panoramas of the landscape with the village in it, and local life and people. On the second day we will trek along the valley upstream, past fields where we take pictures of peasants working in their fields, and also great natural features and forests. At the highest point, we will be able to take landscape pictures of the valley and entire mountain-scapes.

Jinchuan

Jinchuan is famous for its pear orchards; the pear trees have evolved into a distinct subspecies after hundreds of years of selective breeding – most strikingly, the pear trees are unusually tall. The pears are succulent and sweet, and the area makes a quaint rural scene: the pear orchards ensconce the farmhouses that are built in a style that’s a hybrid of Tibetan and Chinese styles, and the straggle of settlement make up the lower parts of the slopes. Orchards and fields are terraced up the slope, and higher up, the steep mountains are semi-arid – the orchards are watered from water channeled from the Dadu River, which courses through the area – but high up in the mountains there are ancient groves of pine forests on south-facing slopes. The orchards are most photogenic in spring and autumn – sprinkled with pure white flowers in spring and the leaves turning into a deep red and orange colour in autumn. But the rural scenery in the mountains is a great palette for a variety of pictures any time. We will spend two days in Jinchuan: in the mornings we will wake up early to get in a position for sweeping mountain pictures taken at dawn from vantage points, and then we will drive and walk around the villages for the rest of the day, visiting orchards and farmhouses for pictures. We will also climb a hillock where local Tibetans affix prayer flags, a spot that provides good contrasts and views for pictures.

Danba

The drive between Jinchuan and Danba meanders along one of the most dramatic valleys in the world (the magazine Chinese Geographic has named the valley as the second most spectacular gorge in China). We will drive this route slowly, stopping a various Tibetan villages that are ranged up the hill from the river, and taking pictures of villages and landscapes and architectural features. Eventually we will stop at a village in Danba, where we will stay overnight and spend one day of doing different photography. We will practice capturing atmospheric pictures of the famous turrets attached to the houses – these towers, rising some 40 metres high, were formerly used by the inhabitants as an inaccessible place to lock themselves in if there were bandits or other warring tribes in the area. Now the turrets are distinct and exciting features that dominate the villages, and will present us with challenging subjects for pictures – we will try to catch a good sunset shot by framing these turrets in silhouette in the frame in order to locate the picture and add drama to sunsets. Aside from pictures of the turrets and village, we will also walk upslope until we are able to see the Dadu River valley stretching to infinity: this spot will present another opportunity to hone out landscape photography. 

Tagong

Tagong, part of ancient kingdom of Kham whose inhabitants were renowned warriors highly skilled in riding horses, is the nerve centre of the Tagong grasslands. The town has old style Tibetan buildings and a massive monastery, and the undulating grasslands and marshes are the domain of vultures and Tibetan nomads. We will spend two days in the area – we will visit a nearby monastery where sky burial is practiced, we will hike along the river and visit Tibetan nomads and have the opportunity to take pictures of the nomads in their tents and the herds of yaks in the grasslands. We will introduce several photography techniques in Tagong, including pictures of the array of features in the temple, and buzzing pictures of the town with its frontier spirit and bustle: herders on horses coming and going, trading yak hide and butter and buying supplies, nomads on pilgrimages doing circumambulations of the town temple, and so on. 

Siguniang Shan

The second-highest mountain in Sichuan, peaking at 6250 metres, Siguniang is famous for its series of spectacular granite peaks. It’s a massive mountain and a protected wilderness that’s crisscrossed with sweeping valleys hemmed in by forbidden summits. There is a range of habitats in the mountains, with broadleaf forests in the valleys, pine forests higher up, and a mix of scree and grasslands and lakes beyond the tree line. We will do a trek and spend a day walking and taking pictures of the mountains. We will start early and come back after sunset in order to catch the best light in at both ends of the day for great landscape pictures. During our hike, we’ll have frequent stops to photograph the many vistas that beckon to be photographed – we’ll get lots of spectacular landscape pictures here of rivers, granite peaks, glaciers, forests, grasslands, and lakes.

Start & Finish: Chengdu

Duration: 15 days

Trekking: 3 separate day-hikes

Difficulty Level: Treks are relatively easy; longest daily hike is 6 hours. Travellers only need to carry personal belongings such as camera during treks. No special fitness is required. 

Prices: Highest-end prices start at RMB21,000 (€2,150 or US$3,000) total per person for two travellers; RMB17,000 (€1,750 or US$2,500) each for three travellers, and then continues to fall commensurably thereafter depending on the size of the group. The price is all-inclusive; the only things that aren’t covered are incidental or superfluous personal expenses.

Crew & Vehicle: Vehicles range from a jeep (SUV) or seven-seat aircon van for a group of up to 4 travellers, then 10-seater or 17-seater mini-bus for larger groups. The crew consists of professional driver, photography instructor, tour leader and guide, as well as local guides where needed. 

Accommodation: Three-star hotels on seven nights, guesthouse on three nights, homestays on four nights.  

Dynamic Prices & Flexible Arrangements: Since we mostly cater for private groups, the itinerary here is a default or suggested itinerary that we usually alter depending on the clients’ budget and preferences. The prices quoted above are for a full complement of crew and mid-range hotels. You can change these arrangements to something that suits you better – find out more about ways with customised arrangements at Dynamic Pricing.

Other Photography Tours: Private groups can also combine any other tour featured on this website with photography instruction. In such cases we would organise travel photography tours that are completely customised for the participants in the private group – this includes customising the level or depth and type of photography instruction. Write to us to include photography instruction, at the level and type of photography you desire, with any customised tour.

Detailed Info: For any questions or more details about this tour, please write to us.

Terms & Conditions: For the general terms and conditions that govern our tours and operation, and Frequently Asked Questions, please go to Nitty Gritty (FAQs).