better travel photography•COM
Start: 5 March 2020
End: 13 March 2020
Code: AH20
Price: From £2895 pp
excl. flights based on a single room basis.
Price per person if two people booking a shared room: from £2495 pp.
Min 5; max 6 people
Places left: 0
Trip is full!
Estimated current
flight cost £650
assignment: holi
photo tours with steve davey
assignment: Holi Itinerary
Day 1: Delhi
Day 2: Ranthambore
Day 3: Ranthambore
Day 4: Mathura
Day 5: Mathura
Day 6: Mathura
Day 7: Agra
Day 8: Delhi
Day 9: Tour ends
Website, Images and text © Steve Davey/stevedavey.com 1990 - 2021
Land arrangements are sub-contracted to Intrepid Travel, who have many years experience in running small group adventures.
Bookings are made through the Intrepid Tailor Made Dept. in London not the Intrepid website or Stores. Contact Steve Davey for information
This tour is led by Steve Davey - a professional photographer, whose work appears in publications all over the world. He is the author of the bestselling Unforgettable Places To See Before You Die (BBC Books). Steve recently published Footprint Travel Photography (Footprint Books), which covers everything that you would ever want to know about travelling with a camera. Click for more.
The Indian festival of Holi is celebrated in the twin cities of Vrindavan and Mathura, with an intensity that is seen nowhere else in this vast country. It is, quite simply, the best place to witness this incredible festival, and we have an itinerary that will allow us to see as many of the events as possible, whilst also having time to just wander through the streets soaking up the local atmosphere.
There are a number of events that make up Holi. There are offerings at the two main temples in Vrindavan and Mathura, there is a Holi procession and also the Holika Dahan - a series of religious bonifires to celebrate the killing of Holika by Vishnu. More peripheral events include the Hauranga Holi, where women playfully beat men with sticks, and the immense Dauji Hauranga, which rounds of the festival in a riot water fights, coloured powders and women beating men!
Holi is also about fun. As you walk around you will playfully have coloured powder daubed on you, and water thrown over you. People hold small and joyful parties, dancing and eating, and we will no doubt be invited to join in. This is the best time to shoot portraits of paint-covered faces, and also to throw paint yourself!
This is the first in our new series of assignment: tours, that seek to emulate the way that a professional photographer would approach a commission. These trips are unashamedly not a holiday: they are designed to help serious photographers to achieve the best coverage of this atmospheric festival, whilst engaging in a way that is impossible in a large group, or even for that matter if travelling on your own.
With a maximum of six people on the tour, we will be able to be more responsive and find it easier to get into the best positions; whether it calls for moving quickly, or getting into place early and waiting. We will also be able to engage more fully with a festival or event, and to ensure that we get as close to the action as possible.
This trip is about far more than the Holi festival though. We are taking the opportunity to fit in three tiger safaris at the beautiful Ranthambore National park, and also making sunrise and sunset visits to the Taj Mahal.
Whilst we have established good local knowledge and contacts, it is important to remember that local restrictions and conditions might prevent us from doing everythig that we are intending, especially where it involves getting into temples. Rest assured though that we will be using our best efforts and local contacts to achieve as much as possible.
Following the approach of a professional photographer will offer a unique way of covering this festival, and a fantastic opportunity to develop skills that will help your photography in future. However, the quoted price does not include the rights for any commercial exploitation. If you are hoping to publish pictures from this trip in any commercial context (other than on personal websites or on social media) then please contact Steve before booking.
Highlights of this trip
• Holi at Mathura & Vrindavan
• Huranga at Dauji Temple
• Ranthambore tiger safaris
• Incomparable Taj Mahal
• Targeted photographic help
• Intense photo assignment
What is covered on this trip?
Our assignment: tours aim to emulate the experience of a professional photographer on a commission, and so we won't have the same level of regular talks that we tend to have on our other trips. What we will have though is a series of targetted instuction that is designed to help you to be prepared for various subjects that we will encounter on the trip.
There are a number of specific skills that I will be covering on this trip, including:
• I will show you simple ways to improve the focus and sharpness of your pictures.
• I will teach a number of techniques to achieve great portraits of the people we meet on our travels
• I will show you how to see pictures and prepare your camera ready to take them
• I will cover shooting with a telephoto lens for wildlife photography
• I will look at photographing and focus with Live View
• I will cover camera protection for Holi
• I will cover slow panning for wildlife and photographing at Holi
• I will cover slow synch flash for photographing the Holika Dahan
• I will cover photographing sunsets and exposure solutions
• I will cover researching trips and interviewing people
• I will teach you some simple post-production techniques to give your pictures more punch and impact.
• I will show you how a professional photographer would make an image selction
• I will show you how a professional photographer would create a shot list of images.
• I will show you how a professional photographer would prepare images for uploading to a client
• I will teach you how to back up pictures and clean your camera.
Our schedule is flexible, and will be responsive to the needs and interests of the group. If there is anything else that you would like covered on the trip, then please ask at any time. Steve is always happy to cover any points that you are unfamilar with.
We will also have a number of optional image reviews to help you to improve the quality of your pictures and to be responsive to areas that you need to address, on a day to day basis.
Who is this tour suited to?
Our new assignment: trips are a completely different product from our usual photography tours. These are, in part, a holiday, whereas the assignment: trips are designed to emulate the way that a professional photographer might cover a particular festival or place. As such, they will be hard work, with a lot of early starts, late finishes and long days of photography. There will certainly be times when we will want to get to a place early, in order to secure a good position, and by their very nature, we won't be able to
As such, people coming on the trip will need to have a good level of fitness and stamina, and also be familiar with their photographic kit. Steve will cover various subjects that will be relevant to the things that we will encounter on the trip, such as fill-in flash and panning, as well as camera protection, but we will not have the same general teaching that we cover on our standard photography tours. We will make time, wherever possible, for a number of image reviews and so having a method of editing your pictures on the road will be an advantage.
Travel at Holi
Holi is an amazing festival, but it can be wild, crowded and a bit daunting. We will also be going out of our way to throw ourselves in at the deep end as much as possible. This will include finding the most crowded and atmospheric places - such as getting ourselves into various temples. If you are not good in crowds, especially those that are rowdy, then Holi is probably not the festival for you.
Crowds at Holi are often quite wild - sometimes the result of alcohol or bhang (a local form of cannabis). People will come up to you demanding selfies, and will also throw powder and water over you continuously. Personal space is an imposibility, and although we will do all that we can to minimise it - women especially can receive unwanted attention.
With a smaller number of people on the trip, we will be able to minimise anything that gets out of hand, but as Westerners you will be subject to more attention from powder and water throwers, and this is unavoidable at Holi. Please do contact us for more information if you have any queries about this.
Group tours and personalities
It is important to remember that whilst photography does need patience and sometimes you need to wait for a picture; this is a group tour. There will be a lot of time for you to go off on your own, but there will also be times where we have to meet at a certain time, or during a journey need to maintain our pace. If the group dynamic is not really for you and you have the opinion that everyone else can just wait for you if you are taking a picture, wandering off or shopping then these (or any group tours) probably aren't for you!
Similarly, if you are the sort of person who gets offended or irritated by other people easily, and just "have to speak your mind" about it, then maybe any group trip is not for you. These trips work better if everyone is prepared to work together as a team, and help each other. We will all have a better time, and come away with better pictures and better memories.
Tipping
On these trips I believe in trying to get to places in the best possible light, and seeing as much as possible. This can often mean early starts and long days for the drivers and local leaders who are with us. I expect a lot from them; but I also think that tipping them generously for their efforts is the right thing to do.
We intend to run a tipping kitty for any locals who help us, such as hotel porters who carry bags to rooms. A tipping kitty means that you won't have to worry about this every time you check into a hotel, saving a lot of hassle.
Although officially tipping is optional, if you are the sort of person who doesn't believe in tipping on principle, or if you think that tipping as little as possible, then please do not book on this trip: it makes us all look bad!
Professional photography
Although our assignment: trips are designed to emulate how a professional photographer would approach a commission, the quoted price does not cover the use of this trip being used for story research or for pictures that are intended to be published in a commercial way. This is not an issue if all you want to do is to put your pictures on a personal website or on social media; but if you are hoping to publish them in any publication or online publication, or place the pictures with a photo library, then please contact Steve before booking.
Non-photographing partners
As these trips are aimed at intense coverage of the Holi festivl, they are not suitable for non-photographing partners. The primary thing on this trip is to immerse ourselves in the festival in order to get the most spectacular coverage. This is somewhat incompatible with keeping partners happy - as I know to my cost!
Land arrangements for this tour
The land arrangements for this tour are sub-contracted to Intrepid Travel who will use their extensive knowledge from over twenty years in the travel industry to make sure that you have the best travel experience, and to work in a way which will be the most beneficial for the countries we travel in.
Our arrangements are now handled by the Intrepid Travel UK Private Groups office, which opens up a range of payment options and also means that your trip can now be protected by the UK travel industry protection. It also means that we can draw on the experience and contacts of other companies in the Intrepid Group. Intrepid in the UK can accept payments by bank transfer, cheque, debit card as well as Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Intrepid are also able to book flights for you, which will mean that your entire trip can be covered by their full ATOL protection (for any flight/trip combination that starts and finishes in the UK). The flight price that they quote you will include their booking fee. More details on their industry protection by clicking here and scrolling to clause 27. As you are booking with the UK office, your booking will be covered by the UK booking conditions.
Intrepid Travel were formed over twenty years ago in Australia, and have been running excellent small group adventures ever since.
Intrepid's Core Purpose - Intrepid's core purpose is to enrich peoples lives by creating unique, interactive travel experiences. They provide fun, affordable and sustainable travel adventures that are beneficial to local communities.
Home From Home - Where you stay is all part of your Intrepid experience. Whether it's a centrally-located city hotel, or a homestay in a tribal village, staying close to a region's people and culture is the guiding principle. Our choices are based on friendliness as well as facilities, character as much as convenience.
Small Groups - Travelling in a small group makes it more like travelling with friends than on an organised tour. It means you get to experience more of the local culture, and we don't dominate; we can actually get to know people and do the things they do.
Experienced leaders - Intrepid have some of the best leaders in the business: well trained locals who act as ambassadors between you and the place you are travelling in. This means that you can get the most from the country and the people you meet.
Please remember though, these tours are based on an Intrepid trip, but are a completely separate product. They don't appear on the Intrepid website, and you should address any questions through Steve on this link and bookings here.
intrepid's responsible travel policy
With the Better Travel Photography tours we wholeheartedly support all of the Intrepid Travel initiatives towards responsible travel. The main features of this policy are as follows:
• We favour grass roots travel using local public transport where possible – which minimises demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel. If we do need to use private transport we ensure that we use local operators and drivers giving employment to locals.
• We choose small-scale locally owned accommodation and homestays where available and local restaurants and markets for dining, retaining revenue in local communities.
• Our group leaders facilitate communication of our values to travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices.
• We employ local guides to aid travellers' understanding of local culture and etiquette.
• Our small groups allow travellers to experience cultures first hand, offering greater opportunity for cross- cultural understanding.
• We are committed to putting back into the communities and regions we visit by supporting development and conservation projects in these areas. We achieve this through supporting The Intrepid Foundation and our travellers are invited to contribute. We also visit a local community project on our trip and encourage our travellers to support local business when buying souvenirs and other items.
At the welcome group meeting, our passengers receive the standard Intrepid Travel introduction, which includes all aspects of the Intrepid Travel Responsible Travel policy. This includes initiatives for minimising the environmental and cultural effect of their trip. These policies are also incorporated into our trip notes, and guests are expected to conform to them when they are travelling.
In addition to conforming to, and endorsing the Intrepid Travel policies, we have our own initiatives, primarily concerning the impact of travel photography and also concerning the environmental impact of our business.
