Photo workshop Cinque Terre

Italy is a beautiful country and one of its jewels is a unique little area on the rocky and steep Ligurian coast called Cinque Terre. Five small towns that made the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

The romantic towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare are the destination of many lovers, tourists and, of course, photographers.

What will I show you and teach you?

We will visit all the towns of Cinque Terre, but also the port of Portovenere, the military port of La Spezia and the picturesque resort of Levanto. In each Cinque Terre town with a port we will spend an afternoon and evening taking photographs.

I'll teach you how to compose and take photos from a tripod, with graduated and solid ND filters, remote shutter release, long exposure. And we'll show how this technique can take most people out of photography.

In the theoretical part I will show you how I prepare for photographic expeditions with the help of the Internet. Together we will go through the photos of the locations we will be shooting at and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. I will also show you how I process the photos.

And why with me?

Liguria borders Tuscany and the Cinque Terre area has been part of several of my trips to Tuscany and French Provence. I quickly fell in love with the area and love to return. It has repeatedly been an inspiration to me, I have taken many interesting photographs and met many interesting people.

In the last few years I have been going to Cinque Terre twice a year to take photos and I am still tirelessly exploring new places to photograph the towns from. If you look closely at some of my photos, you'll see that they are not taken from the hiking trails like most others. And I'll take you to those places and we'll shoot from them together.

We will be a small group, maximum 5 participants. And you'll have plenty of room for all your questions.

Dates

October 1 - 6, 2024

Expected program

1st day: meeting at 3 pm (in October 2:30 pm), accommodation, erly evening and evening photo shoot
2nd - 5th day: morning personal free time, morning lessons, lunch, visits to Cinque Terre towns, erly evening and evening photo shoots
6th day: end of the workshop, departure home

Recommended equipment

- mirrorless or DSLR with interchangeable lenses
- wide-angle and standard lenses, primarily for coverage of the 12-100mm range (exceptionally up to 200mm)
- proper tripod and remote shutter release (wired, IR, BT or wifi shutter)
- graduated and solid ND filters - they are very necessary, if you do not own them, I recommend to rent them
- sufficiently sturdy boots for light terrain (rubber boots will not be needed)

Physical demands

Unlike Tuscany, Cinque Terre is all about walking every day. The elevation gain from the parking area in any town is no more than 110 vertical metres and the distance in one direction is 1 km, at the furthest parking area 1.6 km. If these heights and distances should be a problem for you, there is a solution in the form of using the local bus or train. However, timetables change every year so I would be happy to discuss any restrictions with you by phone or email.

Lecturer

Emil Čelustka, Cinque Terre Gallery

Price

CZK 6,990 (about EUR 297)

Price includes:
- 5x afternoon, evening and night photo sessions
- morning photo sessions on request
- visits to photo locations and towns during the day
- exper guidance in photography
- personal consultation during the photo shoot
- lecture on the theory of photography
- lecture on tripods
- lecture on photo management
- lecture and demo on photo processing
- detection of manipulated photographs
- practical packing list

Price does not include:
- transport to the venue
- transpor during the workshop
- accommodation cost and local fees
- meals and drinks
- travel insurance

What is the progress:
- you’ll be asked to pay the deposit CZK 1,000
- this payment will secure your place at the workshop
- 30 days before the workshop you’ll be asked to pay CZK 5,990
- if you register in the last 6 weeks before the workshop, you will be asked to pay the full fee at once

Transport

You can travel in your own car, but there are other options. More informations...

Carsharing from Czech Republic:
We drive almost 3,000 km and the cost is usually around CZK 4,000 per head in a fully occupied car. The exact conditions of carpooling must be agreed with the owner of the vehicle.
There are 3 seats in my car. Before departure I collect CZK 4,000 as a deposit for the carpool. The deposit will be subject to billing.

Transport by air:
You can also travel by air to Pisa International Airport. You can rent a car at the airport and drive the last 100 km in less than 2 hours. The other option is to continue by train to La Spezia station, where I will pick you up at least one hour before the workshop starts.

Transport by van:
But maybe you don't want to drive at all. It is possible that I will pick up the group of max 7 photographers in the Czech Republic or at the airport in Pisa and I will drive you in an 8-seater van for the whole workshop. The date and conditions must be agreed in advance.

Accommodation

For workshop participants I will arrange accommodation in a suitable location within the Cinque Terre or in one of the surrounding villages. Most of the photographic locations are within 30 minutes drive. The accommodation is usually double rooms and a fully equipped kitchen is available. The price per night tends to be around €50 per night, 5 nights for €250. Singles per room can be up to double the price.

Because I do not know in advance the number of participants, the composition of the group or individual requirements, I choose accommodation only after paying the full price of the workshop. You will be informed about the details and the exact price before departure.

Meals

First breakfast from your own supplies, for the next days you will have the opportunity to buy from the baker and the shop. Lunch and dinner in the restaurant or cook something. Everything you need can often be bought cheaper in Italy than in the Czech Republic.

Cancellation policy

A lot of things can happen in life, so it is important to know the cancellation policy. More informations...

If you have not yet paid to the full price:
The payment of CZK 1,000 for the registration confirmation is non-refundable. If you are unable to attend on the intended date and decide to attend another workshop or date of mine, I will transfer your registration and deposit to the new date free of charge. You will not lose anything.

If you don't pay up to the full price:
If you do not respond to the call for payment within the next 10 days and do not make the payment to the full price, I will be forced to consider this as a cancellation of your booking and will offer the place in the workshop to another participant. In this case, the amount of CZK 1,000 will be forfeited.

If you have already paid to the full price:
Then cancellation is made in the last 30 days before departure and I will be forced to deduct the amount for your share of the accommodation from the workshop price. I will refund the positive difference, and require you to pay the negative difference. I recommend taking out commercial travel cancellation insurance for these cases.

Something extra?

I'm open to your ideas. We will discuss plans for the next day together and we can visit places you you want to see that are not on the agenda. And since I cook daily in my everyday life, mostly Italian cuisine, I would be happy to cook for you in Cinque Terre. I understand everyone is a little scared and doesn't want to take chances, but so far everyone has been very pleasantly surprised and I end up handing out recipes every time. So take some courage and leave the unnecessary supplies at home. Plus, cooking is much less time and money consuming than going to a restaurant. Portions for EUR 4...

And if you wish and travel with me from Czech Republic, we can leave a day early for the night so that we can catch the sunrise at some of the interesting locations in Tuscany or Cinque Terre, for example the town of Luca. We'll be tired after traveling all night, but that morning photo shoot could be very interesting. We will get almost a whole extra day. And it's free for you.

If you arrive or depart on a different day than my workshop, I can give you tips for places of interest and help you find accommodation.

Photo Gear Rental

I am ready to lend you the necessary photographic equipment. Although the description of the offer is dominated by telephoto lenses, which we won't need in Cinque Terre, you will find Canon bodies or stable tripods for different heights. There are also lots of other useful things and bits and pieces that are not described on the page. Just ask me.

More at Photo Gear Rental. If you are interested in the service, the best way to do this is to add a message to the registration note.