PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP ASSYNT ASSYNT TRIP OVERVIEW DATES 4-8 May 2016 STARTS/FINISHES Inverness 19-23 October 2016 COMFORT Classic DURATION 4 nights/5 days TRIP GRADING Easy LOCATION Ullapool PRICE £1295 Spend five days developing your photography skills with Colin Prior Private en-suite accommodation at a four-star guest house in Ullapool Enjoy fresh local cuisine at the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool Climb Stac Pollaidh to capture dawn over Suilven and Cul Mor Tutorials and critique sessions with individual feedback on each participants work Workshop restricted to nine clients plus Colin and assistant TRIP DETAILS Our base at Arvrek Guest House www.ardvreckhouse.com on the outskirts of Ullapool is perfectly situated for easy access to the Coigach and Assynt landscape. During the workshop there will be opportunities to shoot at dusk and dawn if conditions are suitable. Otherwise, we set off after breakfast for our chosen location – a journey that normally takes around one hour where we photograph throughout the morning, breaking for packed lunches. In the afternoon we drive to another location where we can re-position for sunset, arriving back at our guest house around 5.30 p.m. If time permits there may be opportunities to critique some of the day’s images before heading out for dinner. During the course of the workshop there will be tutorials and a group critique session. ASSYNT TRIP DETAILS WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP Four nights accommodation in a four-star guest house. Each client will have private accommodation with en-suite facilities. Breakfast, packed lunches and evening meals are included throughout. Personal tuition, critique sessions and tutorials. All transport during the trip, starting and finishing in Inverness. GRADING: EASY Easy straightforward hiking generally over good trails with no major ascents. The days are fairly leisurely and we spend about 6-8 hours outdoors. Terrain is mainly on paths or hill trails which may be muddy underfoot in places. Daily walks are mainly glens or coastal hikes with some ascents up to 450m (1500ft). TRIP ITINERARY Below is a typical itinerary, which inevitably will change to take advantage of the optimum weather conditions each day. The decision about the following days location will be made in the evening when the most accurate forecast has been studied. Day 1 - Pickup and Torridon Day 3 - Stac Pollaidh Colin will meet you underneath the main display board An early rise for the pre-dawn climb of Stac Pollaidh. A in the arrival hall at Inverness Railway Station at 8.30 well-maintained footpath winds its way up and takes a.m. on Wednesday morning. Inverness is a small around one hour to reach our location. Views from the station so it will be easy to identify Colin. On the final day top over Loch Sionascaig to Suilven and Cul Mor are of the workshop we will return you to Inverness Railway spectacular and it is without doubt one of the best Station at 3.00 p.m. allowing clients to connect with the locations to witness a sunrise in Scotland. We will return rail services south. for breakfast at 10.30 a.m. and in the afternoon we depart for a moorland walk to a secluded beach where After the group has met and subject to weather, we will a variety of photographic subjects can be found. head for Torridon where we will spend our first day, stopping to photograph Liathach and Loch Clair in Glen Torridon. After lunch we will drive to Loch Maree where Day 4 – Achnahaird Bay we will have the opportunity to photograph Slioch from After breakfast we depart for Achnahaird Bay where we a variety of locations. We will depart around 3.30 p.m. for will follow a path along the cliff-tops overlooking Enard Ullapool following the coast road via Gairloch and Bay. Here the views across the sea towards the Assynt Poolewe arriving at our guest house around 5.00 p.m. mountains create a spectacular backdrop – Suilven, Cul Mor, Stac Pollaidh and Ben Mor Coigach punctuate the Day 2 – Clachtoll and Point of Stoer horizon with their enigmatic shapes. After lunch we will head to Achiltibuie where we can shoot the late evening Today we will drive north to Clachtoll where the white sun over the Summer Isles before retiring to the sandy bay gives way to a rocky foreshore. Beautifully Summer Isles Hotel for refreshments. rounded boulders composed of Torridonian sandstone are punctuated with those of Lewisian gneiss – the building block of the north-west Highlands. After lunch Day 5 - Dundonnell we will head for Stoer Head lighthouse and take a short On our final morning we will ascend a high point, which walk across the moorland, which gives superb aspects gives unbroken views towards An Teallach. The well- back towards the lighthouse and the cliffs. On our return wooded area has stands of mature trees, which we will stop at a high-point which overlooks the eventually give way, and the An Teallach Massif is mountains of Assynt and Coigach - Canisp, Suilven, Cul revealed in its entirety. A 1.30 p.m. departure will Mor, Cul Beag, Stac Pollaidh and Ben Mor Coigach can facilitate an arrival at Inverness Station 3.00 p.m. where all be seen linearly on the horizon. the workshop will conclude. MORE INFORMATION GETTING THERE TRIP PRICING This trip starts and finishes in Inverness. The trip price is £1295 per person. Group size up to nine clients and this ensures that Colin can give a one-to-one For train time-tables, costs and reservations refer to tuition and a critique session. these websites: www.firstscotrail.com www.thetrainline.com THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE: www.seat61.com Transport to and from the workshop start/end points MEETING INSTRUCTIONS Travel insurance and personal equipment Colin will meet you underneath the main display board Meals not mentioned in the itinerary in the arrivals hall at Inverness Railway Station at 8.30 Alcohol and soft drinks, laundry a.m. on Wednesday. At the end of the workshop on Gratuities Sunday, we will return you to Inverness Railway Station at 3.00 p.m. Any other items not mentioned as included RECOMMENDED PERSONAL EQUIPMENT The ability to respond to Scotland’s changeable weather with appropriate clothing will enhance your enjoyment. The key is to bring comfortable clothing, which will maintain your body temperature under a variety of weather conditions. If you are at all susceptible to the cold, a down jacket or a similarly insulated jacket is the most effective way to keep warm and can quickly change your mental outlook. ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD Ardvreck Guest House is modern, spacious property with Lightweight boots a large lounge area and which commands great views Waterproof jacket and trousers across Loch Broom to An Teallach. Bedrooms are Hat for sun protection or warmth located on the upper level and each guest will have private accommodation with en-suite facilities. Dinner Casual clothes for evening wear is at The Ceilidh Place where the best seasonal produce Personal wash kit from the Highlands is served. The restaurant has a Optional: sunglasses, sunscreen, and lip salve ‘Fairtrade’ status and a policy of buying the best of local produce too. The restaurant offers an excellent choice of Head torch wines, beers and whiskies. PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT Camera equipment is very much a personal choice and is dependant on individual preference, budget and experience. Whether you shoot with a 35mm DSLR or a mirror-less system is unimportant. What is important however is that you are familiar with your camera’s layout and menu structure and understand the differences between the shooting modes. Carrying equipment for every eventuality is also counter-intuitive and you should avoid your experience outdoors being overshadowed by the weight of your bag – at the end of the day you’re here to enjoy and not endure. The information below is intended only as a guide to help you get the most from your experience. Camera bag – bring a camera bag that allows you to images. If you are interested in more intimate comfortably carry your equipment over rugged terrain. landscapes, a 100mm Macro lens opens up a wider Backpacks distribute the weight between your range of possibilities. shoulders and hips making walking much easier than a bag with a shoulder strap and are normally protected Backup and storage – Ensure that you have adequate against wind and rain. memory cards and a means of backing up your work, either on a laptop, iPad or supplementary storage drive. Tripod – the ideal tripod needs to be light enough to Bringing your own laptop will allow you to see what you carry but heavy enough to perform in winds. A tripod is have shot each day and will facilitate critique sessions. essential for landscape photography allowing camera settings to be used that would otherwise be impossible. Remote release – an indispensible accessory, which A wide range of models are available from Manfrotto and eradicates vibrations when the camera is mounted on a Gitzo and for more advanced photographers, carbon tripod. fibre tripods offer a lighter weight solution but essentially do the same job as those made from aluminium. Spare batteries – batteries can be re-charged daily if necessary, however it makes sense to bring a spare battery to maximise your opportunities of taking Lenses – again, lenses are dependant on personal photographs. choice, budget and also the subjects pursued by each photographer. For travel photography an excellent solution is to have two zoom lenses such as a 24-70mm Lens cloth – a lens cloth is useful for removing rain or and a 70-200mm.