This tour explores the United Arab Emirates, with a base in the bustling city of Dubai and visiting Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. We look to incorporate traditional & cultural elements, the vast desert landscape and exciting high-rise vantage points of one of the worlds top cityscape destinations. This photography tour offers the opportunity to learn and practice a wide range of skills and genres, to create a wonderful portfolio of images.
Dubai has become the most well known city in the Middle East – a modern metropolis on the Arabian Gulf, surrounded by endless sand dunes. The high density of tall buildings creates a skyline unlike many others around the world, with some vantage points offering incredible urban landscape views. The temperature in January is surprisingly mild, even getting cool in the early mornings and a chance of witnessing the highly unpredictable city fog.
Whilst a large focus for the tour will be experiencing the iconic views from balconies around Dubai, we have created an itinerary that also includes the opportunity to capture everything this destination has to offer. We will visit some of the largest sand dunes in the world, explore the Old Town with its traditional laneways, drive to Abu Dhabi’s famous Sheikh Zayed Mosque and create magic in one the most amazing photography studios. This trip will bring together all the diversity, culture and excitement of Dubai.
Day 1, 25 January
Guests will check in to their rooms and prepare for a week packed with photography. We will commence the tour with an introduction meeting at the hotel where we will get to know each other, discuss plans for the tour and provide an introduction in photographic techniques. Our first taste of the Dubai skyline will be from one of the most awe-inspiring vantage points, with the world’s tallest building and the Dubai fountain show.
Day 2
There is the opportunity to align the crescent moon behind the Burj Khalifa and we will learn how to plan and photograph a moon compression shot. Sunrise will be from the terrace of our hotel with one of Dubai’s most iconic views – cross our fingers for the fog to arrive for one of the best locations to photograph this event. We will then transfer to Old Dubai, exploring the laneways of the souk and the action of Dubai creek.Our sunset photography session will be from the hotel terrace with the opportunity to perfect our cityscape photography techniques.
Day 3
After breakfast we will head to Dubai’s best photography studio for one of the most exciting photography shoots – this session will introduce new technique for capturing dynamic studio portraits.
After lunch we will head to Abu Dhabi and photograph sunset with a perfect view of the majestic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Day 4
Our morning will be spent with private access to the mosque, a truly special experience and full of incredible photography moments as the morning light bathes the mosque in warm, golden tones.Following hearty breakfast, we head into the desert and some of the world’s most impressive sand dunes. Here we spend the afternoon photographing the dunes with some local friends.
Day 5
We will spend the morning again out in the dunes, creating some unique compositions.
After breakfast we make the drive back to Dubai. Our sunset location is another iconic view of the Dubai skyline from a private suite. After dinner, there is an opportunity to visit a unique location in the desert and capture long exposure star trails.
Day 6
The morning will be spent at one of the world’s most beautiful buildings – Museum Of The Future. Our private access will allow you to explore the truly unique architecture.We will have a post processing masterclass, reviewing images captured during the week and techniques for editing them.
Our sunset location looking over Dubai marina is the perfect place to [practice some long exposure light trails as the colourful boats make their way around.
Day 7
For sunrise we will align the sun with the world’s tallest neighbourhood – an iconic view with the addition of a creative sunstar!
Following breakfast we will have a short debrief and farewell and the tour concludes with a week of great memories and full SD cards.
Price: 6900 USD
Included in the price:
– All transfers ( including drivers’ services, gas etc)
– Lodging in hotels – twin rooms, shared with another participant (1200 USD supplement for single room)
– Instructions by professional English-speaking guides
– Breakfasts
Cancellation and Refund Policy
We strongly recommend you to get a Trip Cancellation & Travel Insurance after booking your trip. If you cancel and the Workshop is otherwise filled, we will refund you the full amount you have paid towards the tuition, minus a $300 service charge. If you cancel and the Workshop does not fill, then you will be refunded according to the following schedule, based on the full fee of the Workshop:
Greater than 90 days from the start date of the Workshop:
full refund minus $300 service fee.
75 days or more :75% refund 60 days or more: 50% refund
Less than 60 days: no refund Refunds will be paid by the same method that the original payment was made.
Not included in the price:
– Airfare to Dubai
– Visas (if applicable)
– Single supplement (1200 USD)
– Lunch, dinner
– Travel insurance (required) and any covid related testing and expenses.
What to bring
Gear:
– Camera with tripod
– 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:
– Warm jacket (for +15 C in the morning)
– Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops
Tour leader – Andy Marty
Born in Australia, I moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and now call the cosmopolitan city of Dubai home.
My passion for photography started from an obsession with travel – providing a vehicle to inspire others to venture far and wide. Photography allows me to draw on a destination’s culture and represent it visually – whether that is the bazars of India, landscapes of Iceland or the iconic New York City skyline.
Over the years, my photography has developed to include as many styles as possible – from cityscapes to wildlife and time-lapse to portraiture. This approach has allowed me to create content for international brands like Audi, Fairmont Group, One&Only, Visit Rwanda and flydubai. Photography is all about visual story-telling and the opportunity to take people to some amazing destinations around the world via my lens. Whilst many images these days are destined only for social media, I still firmly believe that the best place for a great photo is printed and hung on the wall. I take pride in trying to capture images that will be well suited framed and enjoyed everyday.
I am passionate about sharing my knowledge of photography through workshops and photo tours. I currently guide private photography sessions, workshops for Nikon and tours for Iceland Photo Tours and Daniel Kordan Photography.
In a world where we are taking more photographs than ever before, I still love the challenge of getting that perfect shot.
