“.. just south of Portofino, five towns on the Ligurian Sea maintain the charm and character of Italian villages of the past. Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore are the pastel towns that make up Cinque Terre (five lands). They are vintage settlements where life moves in the key of easy — each town clinging to the rocky coast, defying gravity and, most of all, defying time…”
“Cinque Terre”, or “Five lands”, are five wonderful coast-towns on the Italian Riviera: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. Buildings climb the steep coastal cliffs like anthills, with bright colorful walls, picturesque alleys, and small, cozy gourmet restaurants. Since 1997, when UNESCO recognized Cinque Terre as a World Heritage Site, this tiny place became increasingly popular, but because November is considered off-season it’s an ideal time for seaside shooting and relaxation.
Every day, we’ll shoot sunrises and sunsets in a different part of this coastal paradise, moving between the towns by a high-speed train: car travel here is practically nonexistent but a train ride from one settlement to another takes mere minutes.
Day 1 – 9th November
We pick you up from the Pisa airport at 7pm and take a train to La Spezia. The ride takes just a little over an hour but after all hustle and bustle of an airport, you feel like you’ve stepped into another reality, one of medieval coastal villages, salty breezes, and sea. Here, in Manarola, we’ll live for the whole workshop, without having to move our luggage between towns! Dinner at the hotel finishes our itinerary for the day.
Day 2 – 10th November
We get up well before dawn to be on time for a blue hour shooting session in Manarola, when the city lights are still on. Then breakfast and a master class in photo processing, or a discussion of architecture and urban landscape photography. Then we’ll have a free time until lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll take a famous Via dell’Amore, or “Lovers’ walk” to Riomaggiore for an evening shoot and a dinner.
Day 3 – 11th November
Today we have our sunrise shooting session in Riomaggiore, then breakfast and free time until lunch. In the afternoon we’ll discuss composition and analyze the photos made to this point. The evening session will be in Vernazza from an interesting viewing point above the town, and after that, we’ll have a gourmet dinner in one of the many seafood restaurants in the area.
Day 4 – 12th November
Another early morning shoot in one of the five towns, and a workshop in the afternoon. Then an evening shooting session in Vernazza.
Day 5 – 13th November
A morning shoot in Riomaggiore from one of the seaside locations. In the afternoon, we’ll take a walk in Cornigla and have our evening shoot in there too.
Day 6 – 14th November
Another sunrise shoot, breakfast, and check-out at 11am. The train takes us back to the civilization. At 1pm we bid you farewell at the Pisa airport.
Pricing:
Total price: 1900 EUR per person twin share
Single supplement: 450 EUR
Maximum Number of Participants: 12
Difficulty: easy
Included in the price:
– All transfers
– Lodging
– Instruction and master classes by two professional guides
Not included in the price:
– Lunches and Dinners
– Airfare to and from Pisa airport
– Visas (if applicable)
– Single supplement (450 EUR)
What to bring
Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40. Best lens for use in wide-angle scenes or architecture photography
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm.
Wear:
– Waterproof and windproof jacket (consider the average temperature +10 C at nights and +10 – +25 C during the daytime)
– Warm jacket and thermal pants
– Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops (you can wear casual clothes during this workshop)
Tour leaders
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.
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.
