Our adventure starts at noon 6 May in the Marseille airport. Please note that to meet our schedule, we must leave the airport at noon sharp. For this reason, newcomers are advised to book morning flights or stay in Marseille overnight. I recommend flying KLM or AirFrance.
Day 1 – 6 May
Arrival in the Camargue National Park (Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue), in the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. After lunch and a brief on photographing horses we’ll drive to our first shooting session. This evening we’ll photograph horses running through water on sunset.
Day 2, 7th May
Early in the morning we’re taking equine pictures in the water again. The ranchers will help us get a beautiful show of white horses galloping on a sandy beach or a shallow water. During the day, we’ll analyze the photos taken, and in the evening we’re off to the park again for another session. This time, in addition to the evening run, our helpers will bring together two stallions, and we’ll see them in all their passionate glory. Have no fear, the situation is absolutely harmless but these noble animals can’t probably be more expressive than when two males rear up and start their power play.
Day 3 and Day 4 – 8th, 9th May
Just like yesterday, we’ll have two shooting sessions, one in the morning and another in the evening.
Each shooting session with horses will take 1 to 2 hours. In total, there will be five of them: two in the mornings and three in the evenings (one of them can be moved to the afternoon). Each of these sessions will be in the open, with a whole herd of horses and several ranchers at our disposal – it’s a real feat that’s neither easy nor cheap to arrange outside of a big group. And believe me, the results are worth every penny!
Besides horses, our second favorite activity will be birdwatching. Camargue is a true bird paradise – there are about 340 species of birds in there, including the most famous of them all: pink flamingoes. A small island near Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the largest colony of pink flamingoes in the Western Mediterranean – and the only one in France. The park is very accommodating for birders as well as birds, with paths and observation booths in major locations.
Day 5 – 10th May
This morning we drive back to the Marseille airport and say our goodbyes. We drive from Camargue at 10:00 a.m. arriving at airport at 12:00 – 12:30 a.m.
Pricing:
Total price: 3200 USD per person twin share
Single supplement: 300 USD
Maximum Number of Participants: 15 (3 guides for our group and 3-5 riders)
Difficulty: easy
Included in the price:
– All transfers
– Lodging
– All meals
– Instruction and master classes by three professional guides
– Services of crew that helps to guide horses
– Carrot for horses to run faster 🙂
– 7 runs
Not included in the price:
– Lunch on arrival and departure (first day)
– Airfare
– Visas (if applicable)
– Single supplement
What to bring
Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm. One of the most important for horse photography. Be sure to have additional tripod mount to this lens
– An ultra-telephoto lens like 200-400 mm or 500 mm/300 mm with TC. That is optional, but useful if you have 2 cameras
Wear:
– Waterproof and windproof jacket (for the muddy shootings)
– Waterproof pants (keep change)
– Wellingtons or fishing boots
– Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops
Tour leaders
Daniel Kordan
Daniel was born in Moscow area. In his childhood he graduated the art school. After that, he is studied in Moscow institute of Physics and Technology and became an optics physicist. During the study he gain experience not only in physics, but also in mountain climbing and hiking, guiding tourist groups in winter and in summer in Russian mountains. Right after graduation he became a guide of photo-workshops and chief editor of “Continent expedition” magazine. This magazine is about travel and adventures all over the world. He has got several awards in photography: Golden Turtle’ 13 Nature nomination winner, National Geographic Russia contest 2013 and 2014 finalist, Best of Russia’13 and ’14 winner, best photographer’13 finalist and others. He is spending most of his time in Norway, Lofoten islands and in Tuscany at villa Gaia, guiding groups of photographers.
Iurie Belegurschi
Iurie Belegurschi is a landscape photographer based in Iceland, where he runs photo tours and workshops. He was born in Moldova and has been living in Iceland since 2006. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality. His photos have been published worldwide in books, calendars, greeting cards, magazines and some of the most popular newspapers like The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Sun, The Huffington Post, and The Telegraph.
