We began our 2025 Pelicans and Monasteries photography tour in Thessaloniki a Greek port city on the Gulf of the Aegean Sea. With its excellent transport links, it’s the perfect jumping off point into northern Greece. The Royal Hotel on the edge of the city served as an ideal base and once all the guests arrived, we ventured into the city to sample its fresh seafood at one of the best waterfront restaurants to get a taste of the trip ahead.
After breakfast at the hotel, we set off to our first shooting destination, Meteora. This otherworldly location is a UNESCO World Heritage site and offers a wealth of landscape and architectural photography opportunities where 14th century monasteries sit atop towering sandstone cliffs. Our hotel has one of the best views of the landscape from the foot of the cliffs. Naturally, we took advantage of the light and got a few images in the bag before checking in. After settling in, and with the light fading, we made our way to some of the best viewpoints high above the valley floor to shoot the setting sun and its lengthening shadows across the monasteries.
Following an early breakfast, we headed high into the hills for the start of a full day shooting amidst the amazing Meteora landscape. As the mist cleared, and the monasteries began to reveal themselves you got a real sense of the isolated lives its inhabitants must have led. With every passing minute, shifting mists and shadows from the rising sun created new shooting opportunities. Each day we had lunch at one of the local tavernas. The gargantuan Greek portion sizes are something that still takes me by surprise, even though I know it’s coming. Fuel for the afternoon’s shoot! We always vary where we stop for lunch, but some places are just bursting with character and keep us coming back. Another full day of shooting at this location allowed us access into the monasteries themselves where glittering effigies and robe clad monks provided new subjects and new ideas for imagery. We closed our stay in Meteora with a sunset shoot into the blue hour, allowing us to capture the village lights twinkling into life amongst the settlements below. Here we used long exposures and light painting with a high-powered LED torch to pick out some of the most interesting features.
Midweek we set out for our second location, the villages of Zagori as well as the epic and ethereal Vikos Gorge which is listed as the world’s deepest gorge relative to its width. Our base here is a family run guest house with a warm and friendly atmosphere typified by the roaring open hearth that greets you upon arrival. Surrounding us are the narrow, cobbled backstreets that wind between pale stone dwellings—ideal for shooting the small details of rural life in Northern Greece.
Ancient wooden gates, adorned with rusting ironwork, trailing vines and smoking chimney pots paint a picture of a slower pace of life. Your challenge is to transfer that into images. Here we looked at maximizing creative possibilities in camera by shooting in monochrome, using leading lines and reflections. The Vikos Gorge comprises breathtakingly steep slopes set against the backdrop of Mount Tymphe. Several of the small villages that surround it provided easy access to superb shooting locations looking across and into the depths of the gorge itself. The area is also famous for its ancient stone bridges which form almost perfect semicircular arches. Amidst an otherwise completely organic landscape they span crystal clear rivers with just as much style as they have function.
On Thursday morning we said our goodbyes to the hosts at Zagori and set out to our final destination, Lake Kerkini, where we photographed the subjects who are arguably the stars of the show, the colossal avian residents, Dalmatian pelicans. For the next three days we found ourselves staying at a typical local guesthouse. This is also the base of operations and residence of Nikos, one of the pioneers in promoting tourism and conservation here to provide a wildlife refuge at this important breeding location for these IUCN red listed birds. Across the three days we took five boat trips in total shooting in a range of different conditions as well as some shore side shoots to get us incredibly close to the birds. The time and proximity we are offered with our subjects meant endless opportunities to shoot wide, shoot close and experiment with a host of in-camera techniques such as panning, shooting high key and multiple exposures to achieve new and striking imagery.
Throughout our stay on the shores of Kerkini we visited local tavernas for our meals. This is the best way to experience genuine local food, support local fishermen and, in turn, the birds who bring the tourists. This keeps the whole operation afloat. A favorite eatery close to the lake is worth a special mention, the Vyronia border station. What was a historically significant railway station has been converted into a lovely taverna by its owner Lefteris Savvidis where the best local cuisine is served amidst a truly unique setting. Our final day saw an early start and a short drive to Thessaloniki airport where the first of our guests departed. Newfound friends bade each other farewell with memory cards full and a wealth of new experiences under their belts from an incredibly diverse tour through the best of Greece’s wild and historic North.
