Toggle navigation
All Photo Tours
Leaders
Trip Reports
FAQs
About Us
Contact
eNews
(206) 463-5383
Find a Tour
By Date
2023
September 2023
October 2023
November 2023
December 2023
2024
January 2024
February 2024
March 2024
April 2024
May 2024
June 2024
July 2024
August 2024
September 2024
October 2024
November 2024
December 2024
By Region
Africa
Arctic & Antarctica
Asia
Central & South America
Europe
North America
Pacific
By Type
Bird
Cultural
Great National Parks of the World
Joe's Top Picks
Landscape
Ship-Based
Wildlife
Dalmatian Pelicans and Meteora Monasteries 2023 Trip Report
By James Rogerson on Feb 14, 2023
View Slideshow
We began the tour with dinner at our first hotel, the Golden Star in Thessaloniki. This proved to be the ideal starting point, a sea front aspect close to the airport and a short distance from the cultural heart of Thessaloniki. Those guests arriving early took the opportunity to explore some local historical sites and galleries, sharing their adventures as we got to know each other over dinner. Leaving Thessaloniki after a fabulous Greek breakfast we headed to Meteora in our vehicles. We made the decision early on to take two minibuses, making for a more comfortable ride and ensuring the best views as we climb into the mountains of Northern Greece.
When you arrive at the Grand Meteora hotel you are instantly struck by the dramatic backdrop of rock pinnacles, punctuated by the odd monastery precariously placed high amongst the smooth sandstone. It’s an ideal jumping off point and clearly a cool place to shoot from as we grabbed our cameras, exploring the best aspects from our new base and even shooting a few frames before checking in! We took lunch at a local Taverna, a spot brimming with character run by a larger-than-life chef straight out of a Disney kitchen. Later that afternoon we took to the mountains. It is hard to describe the grandeur of Meteora, the place feels surreal, almost overwhelming. We focused on shooting from some of the best viewpoints, soaking up the atmosphere and exploring different ways of framing what lay before us. As dusk approached, we waited for the lights of the town below to twinkle into life. Here we worked on slow shutter techniques and experimented with light painting with a torch (flashlight) to pick out the monasteries with great effect.
After an early breakfast at the Grand Meteora we headed out for a sunrise shoot. As the sun crept over the mountains, shadows and highlights shifted creating endless photographic opportunities, it was tough deciding which way to point the camera. As the sun climbed higher, there were some great opportunities for high contrast work too. Winding steps and walkways provided ideal subjects for that kind of light. We were lucky enough to have a visit from a very cooperative and photogenic monk. Very interested in what we were doing, he borrowed a camera and took a few shots himself.
Lunch was again hosted by Meteora’s finest wild mushroom chef, and a return visit was relished by those wanting to work their way through his menu. We returned for an evening shoot, visiting some different viewpoints, and exploring new creative opportunities. The heavens opened on the morning of our departure, so we took a leisurely breakfast before heading to our next destination, the traditional villages of Zagori and the imposing vistas of the Vikos Gorge. The villages such as Monodentri where we were based at a small family run guesthouse are a maze of rustic, cobbled streets, and stone cottages. Whitewashed walls, creeping grape vines and old wooden shutters draw the camera here, colour and texture making the little details our focal points. Besides the immense gorge that Vikos is famous for, there are several ancient, sweeping bridges some of which date back to the 18th century which make perfect subjects for wide angle lenses but are also packed with texture and contrast worth zooming into in places.
The last few days of our tour focused on a wildlife spectacle that has made Northern Greece a Mecca for wildlife photographers in recent years—the pelicans of Lake Kerkini. This man-made reservoir is home to several hundred of the endangered birds and is something of a modern conservation success story. The birds here are fed fresh fish caught from the lake making them extremely confident around people. Across the three days we arranged shoots from both low-level boats and on shore for a wide variety of images, ranging from extreme close ups to wide angle work, taking in the stunning mountain backdrop. Few things rival being escorted across a dead calm lake by a flock of 1.8-meter wingspan dinosaurs. We had tons of time to experiment with techniques like slow shutter panning and freezing the action of these giants as they alter direction in midair. This is the perfect place to learn something new, as there is ample time to talk through settings with everyone before another pelican flyby, or just to focus on getting the perfect symmetry with wildlife portraits. Every day offered different conditions and even dark foreboding clouds made for unique, dramatic imagery.
As always, the last dinner is a time for mixed emotions knowing our time was coming to an end. We recalled the high points, shared our best images, and replayed the laughs we’d had along the way. A resounding appreciation from the group was quite rightly given to my co-lead and local guide Dancho, without whom the trip would not have been nearly as productive or half as much fun. Dancho and I are looking forward to leading this trip again in January 2024 (perhaps with a few surprise additions). If a balanced blend of culture, landscape, architecture, and wildlife sounds good to you, we would love to see you in Northern Greece on the next tour!
Search for:
Trip Report Archive
August 2023 (
1
)
July 2023 (
4
)
June 2023 (
3
)
May 2023 (
2
)
April 2023 (
3
)
March 2023 (
4
)
February 2023 (
3
)
January 2023 (
3
)
December 2022 (
4
)
November 2022 (
3
)
October 2022 (
2
)
August 2022 (
3
)
July 2022 (
1
)
May 2022 (
3
)
April 2022 (
2
)
March 2022 (
1
)
January 2022 (
4
)
November 2021 (
4
)
October 2021 (
1
)
September 2021 (
1
)
August 2021 (
3
)
May 2021 (
1
)
August 2020 (
1
)
April 2020 (
2
)
March 2020 (
1
)
February 2020 (
3
)
December 2019 (
2
)
November 2019 (
1
)
October 2019 (
2
)
September 2019 (
2
)
August 2019 (
2
)
July 2019 (
5
)
June 2019 (
6
)
April 2019 (
2
)
March 2019 (
1
)
February 2019 (
3
)
December 2018 (
1
)
November 2018 (
2
)
October 2018 (
2
)
August 2018 (
3
)
July 2018 (
1
)
June 2018 (
3
)
May 2018 (
4
)
April 2018 (
2
)
March 2018 (
6
)