Testimonials

“I had the pleasure of joining Daniel and Iurie in Tuscany for a workshop in November of 2015.  This was not my first time being guided by either of them and the experience was everything I had come to expect and more.  Simply put, the workshop was meticulously planned and expertly executed.  The accommodations at Villa Gaia provided the rustic feel of Tuscany complete with the modern conveniences necessary for a comfortable stay.  Each meal prepared by the resident chef was an absolute delight offering a broad sampling of the flavors Tuscany has to offer.  Perhaps most importantly, though, was the ease with which we were able to shoot.  Daniel and Iurie demonstrated expert knowledge of the area allowing them to adapt quickly to put us in the best locations to shoot based on weather and lighting conditions.  They were able to provide advance knowledge of each location enabling us to prepare to shoot before the light came up or the mist had cleared.  Transportation was easy, meeting times and locations were clear and there was ample room provided to stow and access our gear.  They even made special transportation arrangements for me when my inbound flight was cancelled.  All of this combined to allow each of us to relax, enjoy ourselves and focus on what was most important: to be in the right places at the right times to capture amazing images.”

The Tuscany photo tour with Iurie Belegurschi and Daniel Kordan was superb in every way. Villa Gaia provided a perfect home base from which to be perfectly positioned for iconic sunrise and sunset photos, and the day tours of the Etruscan villages were amazing. We were able to avoid the tourist traffic and be in perfect position for some of the best landscape photography of my life. Beyond setting us up the for the most glorious Tuscany landscapes, both Iurie and Daniel are master photography post-processors and the daytime classes in Lightroom and Photoshop added numerous techniques to my post processing knowledge and skill set. These young men are artists. They are accomplished in their own right at such a young age it is difficult to comprehend. On top of that all of the logistics were well organized and every day went without a hitch. Finally the meals at Villa Gaia were like eating in a different 5 star Parisian restaurant every day. Not exaggerating chef and Villa Director Yuri put on a masterful dining experience every night and without any exaggeration this was the best week of dining I have ever in my life experienced.

“Very happy to have joined another wonderful photo workshop led by Iurie and Daniel. Apart from good food and wine, I loved the scenery of Tuscany.  It’s so traquil, unique and beautiful.  I have also learnt a lot about composition and digital processing techniques for landscape photography from this workshop.  I enjoyed the whole trip very much and thank Iurie and Daniel did a brilliant job.”

I had the pleasure of going to Cinque Terre  and Tuscany with Iurie and Daniel Korzhonov in November, 2015. I have done many photo trips over the past 10 years and rate this one at or near the top. Iurie and Danielle were extremely knowledgeable and went out of their way to share tips and ideas on how to improve my skills. I will definitely use Iceland Photo Tours again and highly recommend them for all photographers no matter what skill level they are at.
Thank you Iurie and Danielle,

I just returned from a week in Tuscany with Iceland Photo Tours.  Daniel Kordan and Iurie Belgurschi  were the leaders and photographic guides . The season was fall when the grass was green, the vineyards a rusty gold, and the mist in plenty supply.
Daniel ’s in depth knowledge of the area and the best photographic locations allowed us to venture out to some magical hilltop landscapes to photograph the villas and cypress trees peaking out of the morning mist. The trekking up and down through the fields always made it a wonderful adventure, even if the weather, the sunrise and the sunset were uncooperative.  Many afternoons were spent at another well researched location to experience and photograph the beautiful scenery with sunset light. We had time to  photograph some of the villages either from a vantage point above the town or photographing the streets within the villages. Daniel and Iurie planned all the days, but left room for options depending on the weather or serendipity. They each shared their photographic expertise with the participants both in the field and in a few workflow workshops during the day. We stayed in the Villa Gaia where we had the pleasure of feasting on some local, fresh and beautifully prepared food. All the logistics of the trip went smoothly. Thank you for providing all the opportunities to create some wonderful images.

Daniel Korzhonov aka Daniel Kordan introduced us to night time photography which I thought was brilliant. We would shoot one village at day light and another at dusk. I enjoyed it so much because I had never done it as an assignment. Daniel Korzhonov’s processing of his images at dusk was top notch and highly creative. This shot is my very first attempt. Thank you Daniel Korzhonov for making our photo tour so much fun.

Good Morning Daniel and Iurie,

thank you for this wonderful Work shop’s in Tuscany and Cinque Terre!
My enthusiasm about your good organisations, finest tipp’s and help me every times, included my own problems, that’s incredible!
The accommodation in Tuscany Villa Gaia (Seggiano under the leader Yuri) thank you Yuri and your team for my beautiful birthday party, the meals and Pizza parties!
In Manarola, Cinque Terre I would recommend the ALBERGO MARINA PICCOLA. Very friendly owner, employees and housekeepers.

I give you ***** stars!

Dear Daniel, Lurie,
Now that I’m back home, I can look back on that most enjoyable, interesting and
at times photographically challenging vacation in the south of France.
Thank you very much for making it all possible with your expertise, knowledge and patience.
Although I now have the long task of sorting out all the photos I’ll have to put it on further
hold again as I’m off to Western China tomorrow.
Again thanks for everything.
All the best,                         Jan

Dear Daniel,

Thank you so much.
Provence tour was fantastic. I really appreciate your super leadership.
Thanks again.
Bonjour Daniel, Lurie and Rhona,
Thank you so much for putting together such a beautiful trip. I know it must take hours to plan and put together and you guys did a fantastic job. I loved every hotel and every restaurant. The food was excellent. I’m in love with Provence…I just loved taking pictures there. Every location made my heart beat faster with excitement. I learned so much…I can’t thank you enough.
I will see you guys in Patagonia!!
Until then see you on Instagram and Facebook!
First and foremost is Daniel Kordan. Personable, knowledgeable and a wonderful guide. I can’t begin to say how much I have learned from him in such a short period of time. You rarely get the combination of brilliance and kind personality in one individual-but Daniel is one of them.
Scotland was beautiful and the sites that Daniel chose to take us to were breathtaking. A must on your bucket list of places to visit!
Rick Yates October 2016

My dear coach, Thank q so much , we are so lucky to have such wonderful scotland & Ireland trips with you , we love those amazing sunrise,  sunset & the milky way , we won’t forget those wonderful sceneries…you are the very best of the best photographer in our world, we are going to miss you now, take care hv a good rest, see u soon!

Patagonia was my second workshop with Daniel Kordan.
It is really unusual but i can not undermine  the supreme quality of the workshop . my overall  score for the workshop is : 10 / 10 !
let me elaborate :
1) pre workshop : I have received  emails and instructions  from Daniel, the workshop mentor. all emails were friendly ,elaborated  and focused  with all necessary  information with turned to be  accurate  and helpful during  the workshop. to my  personal questions  to Daniel I have  received  intimidate  and helpful reply !
2) Pre- Workshop : dealing   with sudden and complicated situation due  the strike in LATAM airways. this all of a sudden situation was quite  a complicated situation  due to last minute issue which meant  many changes and re organization  of means  of travel, locations, hotels and other logistics  issues. This entire situations  was  managed in an inspiring  way.  the bottom line : the strike  did not affected even a single  person  in the workshop .All the scheduled went on without interference  and the quality of all aspects of the workshop stayed  without any harm.
3) while Workshop : Quality of logistics  and administration : Perfect . although i would try very hard, I would not find even single remark or item to complain  about.
4) while Workshop : Quality of services : means of travel, hotels, restaurants : my score is Perfects as  well . all these services were extremely great and to my full satisfaction.
5) While Workshop : Quality of   photography guide : we had  two photography masters:, Daniel who led the workshop and  Raymond  helping  Daniel.  I can only say I couldn’t expect for more : presence, patience  creativity, inspiration, good mood and kindness and above all : amazing  professionalism and unlimited willingness to share  with the participants  the huge knowledge these two masters have. I felt  that every day I am improving  my photographic level due to accurate feedback and constrictive reviews I got.
6) While Workshop : Quality of  general Guide services : although we came for photography, it turned out, to  my surprise  that in both locations we visited ( Chile and Argentina) we where given added value of local guides  elaborating  and giving us interesting  information  about all the places we have visited in . that was really  great and unexpected
7) While Workshop : Quality of tutorials ( Photoshop and lightroom ) workshop : I find this segment  in a need to be even better.  The level of these classes  was very high. it is obviously a problem  to adjust  the level of the  tutorial to audience  of completely different levels . I would urge you to make  more thinking  and brain storming to find a better ways to make efficient  tutorial  to the benefit of the entire  group.
to summarize  the workshop : I had  an amazing great time and enjoyed  every minute of it and defiantly  will be coming for more adventures  in the future

I wanted to thank you again sincerely for that great workshop. As said earlier, people often write when they need to complain but forget to say when things where great 😉

This may also be used/quoted as happy customer testimonial.

This tour can be really fully qualified as photo workshop. Not only it is perfectly timed and organized to take us to the best place at the right time (using the best of the weather to select itinerary) but it’s also a great photo group experience on site. Daniel and Alban, on each spot provide some tips before start, and while leaving freedom to all to explore the playground, they regularly check if all ok to provide some help on composition or technical details. Having some small conference before dinner with post-processing tips on real example just shot is the cherry on the cake and video are available to download after to rework details)

And probably the thing I like the most is that constant kindness and warm mood brought in at all time by Daniel. This create a great group spirit and not only we end the tour with fantastic photos and memories but also get new photo friend after each trip. No better measure of this, by the comments from each other on posted photos.

No wonder, why I did 4 trips with iceland-photo tour, two with Daniel and plan two new ones soon.

Not much feedback I could add to suggest improvement. The only thing I may suggest is that with a group of 13 + 2 guides, sometime split more the group in two (like the two van) as for some site, it can be difficult to avoid having one photographer in the view when using ultra wide angle as we do. If I’m thinking back, in a large majority (75%) of the time this was perfectly managed (creating a line, spreading on a large part, advertising multiple spots to distribute the group , …) on the left ones, that was mostly when we were after ice breaks with the rocks where everyone goes in every direction.

Not a big deal as we can manage it with some patience or move to other spots. Therefore maybe in some site, a light reminder to participants to think they could be in the frame.

Looking forward for future trip in July in Iceland + Greenland. Too many nice trips proposed and not enough time LOL

I had the pleasure of joining Iurie and Daniel in Greenland for one of their sailing tours in Ilulissat. Suffice it to say, the organization was immaculate and the entire trip was smooth sailing – literally! You get the idea they are workaholics ( : ) because, while we rested and got over the previous evening’s toils, these guys were already prepping and planning for the next day. Besides, they were both incredibly good company (and funny too) but with very good knowledge of the weather and the surroundings and it’s possibilities. It’s definitely been a pleasure and I wouldn’t hesitate joining them on a trip again!

What an adventure! Loved ever minute. Thanks to all in our group and a special thanks to you Daniel. Very pleased to have learned some things to become a better photographer.

Nice meeting you all……Daphne.

Thanks a lot Daniel for a great trip – I’m really happy with a lot of the images I took, and it was, for me, a wonderful introduction to the Faroe Islands.

First and foremost is Daniel Kordan. Personable, knowledgeable and a wonderful guide. I can’t begin to say how much I have learned from him in such a short period of time. You rarely get the combination of brilliance and kind personality in one individual-but Daniel is one of them.
Scotland was beautiful and the sites that Daniel chose to take us to were breathtaking. A must on your bucket list of places to visit!