Photo tours to Cuba, Bolivia, Slovenia, Mongolia

Do these sound interesting?  They are, and are just some of the off-the-beaten-path sort of photo tours my friend, Jeremy Woodhouse is planning to lead over the next year. 

Jeremy is one of the best landscape, and travel photographers I know. He has traveled and photographed extensively all over the world. Beginning in 2005, he began sharing his knowledge when he started collaborating with nature photographer Nancy Rotenberg, and was instrumental in setting up frequent international trips to Italy and Mexico. He went on to lead trips to Guatemala and Costa Rica. As the developer of the Dreamteam photo tour concept, his collaborations have included tours to Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia. In recent years he began adding more exotic locations to the itinerary, as you can see from samples of his photos shown below. 

The trips to Cuba are some of the most popular. This shot of the old car coming through the rain and the one below of the man with a cigar in his mouth carrying the instrument are two of my favorites. 

One of the scenes from the Heart and Soul of Cuba trip.

Ever want to go and photograph Socotra? Right, I never heard of it either.

According to Jeremy's web site, Socotra is one of those “lost world” islands (separated from the world six million years ago) where intrepid travelers – particularly those seeking  exotic nature and wildlife in a remote tropical setting – can go days on end without rubbing shoulders with that less-than-endangered species…the tourist!

Known for decades as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, it is the world’s tenth richest island for endemic plant species,  and the biggest island in the Middle East measuring 125 kilometers in length and 45 kilometers across.

Dragons blood trees on the dixam plateau of Socotra.

A bottle tree in Socotra. 

For the more adventuresome, Jeremy also leads a "boot camp" trip to Slovenia. This is an intensive photography workshop designed for those wishing to advance their personal level of photography and take a fresh look at their creativity and style. It is intended for either beginner or a more experienced photographers just wanting to take the opportunity of working in this fantastic location in the company of fellow photographers.

Slovenia is renowned for its stunning landscapes, deep gorges, high mountains and glacial lakes. As the focus of this workshop’s is photography, expect long days out in the landscape often starting well before sunrise and ending after sunset. On one evening, weather-permitting, expect to stay out well into the night for some night photography.  Much of the time will be spent hiking outdoors, so a reasonable level of physical fitness is required.

Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Vinegar Gorge, Slovenia.

Jeremy also has exotic trips planned for New Zealand, Pushkar, Bolivia, and Morocco, and a trip to St. Petersburg, Moscow with a side trip to visit the 2000 year old Golden Eagle festival in Mongolia. These are definitely not your ordinary photo tours. Even in some of the more typical locations of Italy and Spain, you will find that Jeremy has added in some twists to make the trips exciting and unusual.

A scene from the Mongolia golden eagle festival.

New Zealand's Kepler Mountains rise from the background fog.

Close-up of an Icelandic Puffin

Jodhpur - the blue city in Pushkar.

Scene at the Puskar camel fair

If you are feeling adventurous and looking for a photo tour that is not run of the mill, you might want to check out Jeremy's Pixelchrome website.  For an extra savings and to be in on the ground floor of trip planning, take a look at one of his "pre-tour scouting" trips. 

Icaro Caduto at Agrigento from a scouting trip to Sicily

All photos in this post copyright Jeremy Woodhouse (www.pixelchrome.com)