Travel Photography
Chile
Oct. 4 to 15, 2022
This trip is designed for you to capture fantastic images of Chile's most amazing natural and cultural spots. If you want to improve your landscape, people, and architectural photography (and your post-processing!) while taking amazing photos in an exotic destination, this is the trip for you! You will have two professional photographers with you at all times (our local guide is a photographer too) to provide a combination of local natural and cultural history, post-processing (LR and PS), and photographic expertise as well as knowledge of Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Fuji camera systems. Whatever and however you shoot and process, we've got your back!
Date
Oct. 4 to 15, 2022
$
Price
$TBD
Difficulty Level
Easy
8
Available Spots
Sign up fast!
View the itinerary below, read more about the tour, or sign up now!
Leaders
Keith Bauer
Keith is an Albuquerque New Mexico based nature photographer and photographic instructor. His extensive background in photography started with traditional black & white darkroom work, continued through college in a professional studio specializing in portraits, weddings and commercial photography and has continued with his passion for nature photography and education.
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With an academic background in computer science, the marriage of computing and digital photography came easily. Keith took advantage of this to become a digital post processing specialist and instructor. His special areas of interest in photography are wildlife and nature, landscape and travel photography creating images of simple, yet compelling stories.
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He is co-author of the popular e-book LightRoom for the Nature Photographer, leads workshops with the primary goal of enhancing participants photographic skills and enjoying the process of capturing that next great image.
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Gallery
Info
Airport
You should arrive to and depart from Chile's Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport (SCL). Our driver will be waiting to provide your private transfer to our capital city hotel.
Electricity
Electrical current is 220 volts and 50 Hz, so people from North America will need an adapter. Don't worry. We'll be happy to recommend our favorites.
Insurance
We strongly recommend you purchase trip insurance that includes trip cancellation and medical coverage while overseas.
Medical
Travel to Chile does not require any special vaccinations or medicines, but you should be up to date on routine vaccinations. The CDC recommends being up to date on Hepatitis A and Typhoid vaccinations.
Internet Access
All of our hotels have free WIFI. We will also have cell data coverage at times.
Certified
All of our services are conducted by fully licensed travel, lodge, and transport operators. This is part of our commitment to providing a professional travel experience.
Recommended gear
Tele zoom 100-400, 150-600
Camera body or bodies
Medium zoom lens, e.g., 24-105
Wide angle lens, e.g., 16-35
Polarizing/ND filters
Fast wide angle lens for night scenes
Cable release
Rain cover for camera
Small pack or shoulder bag for daily shooting
View the full Itinerary +
Day 1, Arrival/Santiago
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Arrival to Chile. Meet our representative at the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport and transfer to our hotel in the heart of Santiago. If you arrive early this day, make sure to get out and stroll around the neighborhood surrounding the hotel. The vibrant business district is a pleasant place to have a coffee or do a little shopping.
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Day 2, Santiago/Patagonia
After breakfast this morning at our hotel, we head to the airport for our flight to the stunning Patagonia region and our final destination, the Torres del Paine National Park. It's a long travel day but we will have some nice rest and food stops on the way before arriving to our amazing hotel right inside the national park in the late evening.
Day 3, Patagonia
This morning we shoot the sunrise right from our hotel and then have breakfast before heading out on our first Patagonian adventure. We'll take the morning to explore another nearby lake that offers us stunning mountain views. We return to our hotel for lunch and a bit of a rest before heading out to the Torres del Paine National Park for an area that offers us great views of the soaring mountain peaks with wild guanaco as foreground elements. We can work with wide angle this afternoon but also with telephoto zooms for graphic compositions and time lapse. If we're lucky, we'll even catch a glimpse of a puma. We return to our hotel for dinner this evening and then focus on night photography of the crystal lake and mountains right from our hotel.
Day 4, Patagonia
We enjoy sunrise this morning from a a fantastic overlook right at our hotel that offers beautiful possibilities for reflections. After breakfast back at our hotel, we head out for the day, departing for another section of the park that offers beautiful views. We have lunch at a very nice restaurant right on Lake Grey and then enjoy an amazing 3 hour boat ride to shoot blue icebergs and a glacier field set below the towering peaks of the Paine. It's awesome! We enjoy dinner back at our hotel after this amazing day!
Day 5, Patagonia
We leave very early this morning for sunrise over the beautiful Laguna Amarga that offers a wonderful view of the famed Torres or Towers. We return to our lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, we will have a session on post-processing. We'll have an early dinner tonight and afterwards, head out right on the hotel grounds for sunset and night shots of the lake and the towering mountains of the national park.
Day 6, Patagonia
After an early breakfast, we check out and head toward a different part of the Patagonia experience, a sheep farming ranch. We arrive to our charming hotel right in the middle of a sheep farming village on the border with Argentina. After a light lunch at a local coffee shop, we head out for the afternoon to photograph the timeless Chilean sheep herders at work. We end the day with a great traditional Patagonian dinner back at our hotel.
Day 7, Patagonia/Chiloe
After breakfast, we check out and head to the airport to arrive in Puerto Montt, the gateway to the beautiful Chiloe island area that is full of fantastic landscape and cultural photo opportunities. After landing, we take the ferry to the island and arrive to our hotel in the city of Castro in the early evening with time to check in and enjoy a relaxing dinner. Along the way to Castro we will stop for photography of local houses and churches. Our goal on Chiloe island is to focus on our photography as a way of storytelling, highlighting the relationship between people, land, and sea in this unique corner of the world.
Day 8, Chiloe
This morning we photographs of palafitos (the iconic stilted fisherman houses) with morning light. This is something you cannot miss. We have to check the tides but has to be with high tide. In the afternoon, we visit the local village of Chonchi, home to charming churches built by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. We enjoy a classic island lunch at Chonchi and photographs of their costanera (full of boats and old houses). We return to our hotel the late afternoon with time to photograph the village houses at blue hour before enjoying dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 9, Chiloe
Today we have another chance to photograph the stilted houses with reflections in the morning light. Afterward, we photograph the local church in Castro and then visit the nearby village of Dalcahue to meet the “carpintero de rivera,” the people who build their own big fishing boats by hand. We can photograph the process as part of our storytelling effort. After lunch at the local market, we cross a channel to photograph a picturesque seaside church in the small village of Achao. We return in early evening to our hotel for dinner and night photography of “palafitos”.
Day 10, Chiloe/Puerto Montt
Today we check out and head up the island toward Puerto Montt, stopping for a special treat, the island's typical dish of meat, seafood, and vegetables cooked in a pit with hot rocks and local Chilean rhubarb leaves. We'll also enjoy a lesson on how the local people dye wool using local herbs and other natural ingredients. We continue on and arrive to our city hotel in late afternoon with time to photograph the city at blue hour. Dinner is not included this day so that you can eat as much or as little as you'd like and explore the local restaurants.
Day 11, Valparaiso
After breakfast this morning we fly from Puerto Montt back to Santiago and then drive about one hour to the very cool port city of Valparaiso. With a colonial vibe mixed with a modern port and a European Bohemian sensibility, Valparaiso is a great place for street photography. We'll spend the afternoon roaming the streets with our cameras before setting up at our favorite secret spot for a blue hour shot of the city. We enjoy a nice dinner back at our hotel.
Day 12, Valparaiso/Airport
We take the early morning for breakfast and bit more street photography in the narrow cobblestone streets right outside our hotel. We then check out and head back toward Santiago and our flights home but not without one last surprise – a farewell lunch at our favorite Chilean winery. The food is delicious, and we can do some photography right on the winery grounds. What a way to end our trip!
Itinerary includes
Lodging as specified in DBL occupancy
Meals as specified (One drink per meal)
Coffee/tea/snacks while in the field shooting
Domestic airfare
Transportation w/private driver in spacious air-conditioned tour bus
Private transfers from airport to hotel on Day 1
Professional, full-time photo instruction from your leader Keith and our local guides
Entrances and fees for all described activities
Taxes for all specified services
Itinerary does not include
International airfare
Dinner and lunch the first day, dinner on Days 10 and 12
Alcoholic Drinks except during certain scheduled meals
Tips
Non-mealtime snacks and drinks
Single room supplement - $TBD
Booking a tour with us is easy!
1. Register for your tour using the form at the end of each workshop page.
4. Send us your traveler info form.
2. Send us your reserve deposit.
5. We will send you your final invoice.
3. Book your international air travel.
6. We´ll send you everything you need to know before you hop on the plane!
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+ Will someone be there to meet me at the airport?Certainly! We take care of you from the moment you step off the plane until the moment you leave to return home. We'll send you all of the info you need to know regarding arrival in a final info message before the trip.
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+ I plan to arrive a day early. Can you help?Definitely, we'll be happy to make your reservations to ensure that you get to the same hotel that we have booked for the official first night of the tour. By the way, private transfers to and from the airport are always included in our tours, and you can use this transfer whether you arrive early or depart later than the official dates.
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+ What kind of clothes should I bring?In general, your best choices are lightweight garments that breathe and dry quickly, and you'll want a mix of long sleeves and short sleeves. A light polar-tec and a good rain jacket are also good to have. For meals, it's informal at the lodges and in the region in general. A pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and a clean shirt are just fine for dinner, even in the capital city hotels. Lightweight hiking boots are fine for your photography out in the field, and if you're visiting a beach area, you will want sandals or aqua shoes as well. Of course a good hat and sunscreen are important. We will send you clothing information specific to your trip after you've signed up.
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+ Can I have laundry done?Many of the lodges we use offer laundry service for a cost of approximately $1 per garment with same or next day service. We will indicate to you which lodges have laundry service after you've signed up for a given trip.
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+ Can I drink the water?This is probably the question that our clients ask us the most. And it’s the one for which we have the least definitive answer, except to say that beer is always a safe choice!. Water in and around capital cities is treated with chlorine and generally can be consumed with no worries. The lodges that we use for our photo travel often have their own well water, which is tested regularly by the Ministry of Health. Nonetheless, upset stomachs do occur as a result of change in diet or simply bacteria different from those to which Northern stomachs are accustomed. Serious disorders such as Giardia or amoebic dysentery are virtually unheard of. Bottled water is very widely available at our hotels and lodges, and a conservative strategy would be to use it as often as possible when outside the capital. As with travel to any foreign country, immodium pills are good to have along, and some of our clients also bring along Cipro or other broad-spectrum antibiotics. Some go so far as to begin taking antibiotics before arriving in-country. For antibiotic use, we suggest you consult with your physician. That said, we have very very few problems with water and food-related issues on our tours. During the tour, we will indicate to you where and when it might be better to stick to bottled water.
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+ I'd like a single room. Can that be arranged?Certainly. Simply indicate your rooming preference on the workshop signup form. There may be an extra for the single room supplement. This is simply the difference due to what our hotels and lodges charge us. We do not take a commission for single room supplements.
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+ I'm traveling by myself but would like a double room. Can that be arranged?It depends. If we can match you up with a suitable solo traveler who also wants to share, we will be happy to place you in a double room.
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Should I bring a tripod?Yes, you always want to bring a tripod. We will advise your each trip of any need for specialized heads or flash brackets.