PORTRAIT OF PORTUGAL PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR 2010, April 24 thru May 7

After living and traveling in Portugal for over a year, we have selected the most beautiful, interesting and important areas of the country to visit and photograph. Bob’s professional experience in photography brings to the tour an artistic and technical expertise that will open up photography to all the tour members. Margaret has designed and led numerous tours to Europe and her background in art history and her love of travel will ensure that everyone has an appreciation for the Portuguese way of life.

We are delighted to have Kit Frost <www.kitfrost.com> with us, who has 15 years of teaching experience at the Maine Media Workshops. The tour is designed so that your photographic instruction happens right along side Bob and Kit as well as in meeting-room critique. This allows you to advance your photographic techniques along the way receiving instruction right when you need it. As travel photographers we tackle many challenges from people photography, landscape, waterscape, architecture, still life, night photography, all blending together to tell a story. You will be inspired with what you will learn. You will return home with an acquired skill in photography as well as outstanding images to tell your own story. Margaret assures that there is plenty to do and see for non-photographers of our group. Her enthusiam and fun loving nature are a real asset for the tour.

Off we go…. touring through the extraordinarily diverse countryside of Portugal. Our photography opportunities will abound. We’ll visit a fantastic range of interesting attractions from magnificent valleys to laid-back beaches and graceful olive groves….enjoying the flavorful cuisine and excellent wines and cheeses of each region. Cultural gems are everywhere. They include Unesco World Heritage Sites at Sintra, Tomar and Evora. And of course, the lively pulse of Portugal’s delightful capital, Lisbon, tops off the tour.

Itinerary
Although we work with an itinerary, it is subject to change when a new photo opportunity or wonderful weather and lighting conditions present themselves. Here are the highlights of our itinerary:

• Sintra - World Heritage Site. Described as a “Glorious Eden” by Lord Byron. With its mystical and amazing palaces, gardens and mansions.
• Experience the stunning ancient castle town of Sortelha located in the midst of giant glacial boulders….stroll through cobbled lanes winding between medieval stone buildings.
• Tomar - The splendid, Convento de Cristo, the last stronghold of the Knights Templar.
• Evora - The region is home to the Iberian Peninsula's largest and most impressive Neolithic stone circles and tombs.
  
• Lisbon - Portugal’s charming capital city is an inviting mix of past and present. Cobblestoned streets, unsung museums, fado, shopping, and warm-hearted people.

Our accommodations are all four star, three star or residencias. They are centrally located allowing us easy access to the local color and the captivating charm of Portugal.

The Cost is $4650 (land cost), single supplement, $500. This price includes all hotels, all transportation from the beginning of the tour in Sintra (from the airport, a 17 mile train or taxi ride from Lisbon), throughout Portugal and back to Lisbon. Also included are all breakfasts, 4 lunches and 5 dinners, all entrances fees to museums and sites that we enter as a group. And, of course, all photographic instruction is included in the package.

The photographic component of the tour is aimed at people with a basic knowledge of a camera: shutter speed, aperture, ISO (sensitivity), lens focal length, and depth of field. If these terms are unfamiliar to you check them out at your local library or on the web. However, you can begin the tour without their knowledge and we will bring you up to speed in no time.

We will have all levels of skill on the tour……from the beginner to the advanced…… learning from each other as we go. Just the itinerary alone will be enough to exhilarate even the most seasoned pro. We will be immersed in a diverse culture with exciting photographic opportunity at every turn.

Equipment
We recommend traveling light. Nothing bogs one down more than an excess of camera gear. All gear is a trade-off. Ideally, we would have someone pulling a wagon behind us with 50 pounds of cameras and lenses. Reality tells us to lighten up, since we’re carrying it by ourselves. So, that said, consider bringing along a camera body (a back up, if you wish), and one, two or three lenses that cover focal lengths from 24mm to 200mm (35mm equivalents). If you want to bring an additional lens go towards wide angle. We are up close to much of our subject matter and a wide angle lens gives you an advantage. Here we come to a real trade-off issue: Bags. Some swear by the backpack, others the shoulder bag. A good fitting backpack will carry more gear for longer periods of time more comfortably than a shoulder bag. However, a shoulder bag gives much greater access to your gear. I tend to use a shoulder bag for travel photography not carrying all my gear all at once. I’ll select the minimum amount of lenses for the day’s task at hand. I’ve learned that a scene can change quickly and being able to swiftly access my camera or make a quick lens change is essential to getting the shot. A tripod is not crucial but I would recommend at least bringing a small table top tripod (Bogen/Manfrotto’s 709 Digi Tabletop Tripod with Ballhead is a nice choice) as we will be photographing in some low light situations. If you bring a tripod try to keep it below 4 lbs. Do bring plenty of card storage (compact flash, secure digital etc.). Consider bringing a minium of 12GB of storage or more (six 2GB cards or three 4GB cards etc.).You can even bring your laptop or portable storage device if you have one. The two filters I recommend are the polarizer and the neutral density (ND). A 9-stop (400x) ND will allow you to photograph with a 4 second shutter speed making it possible to blur moving water (and other subject matter) in bright mid-day sun. Hoya makes this 9-stop filter and Singh-Ray makes a vaiable ND (2.6 to 8 stops). Bring an extra camera battery, or two, or three. The photo supplier that I use most is: www.bhphotovideo.com.

Travel Insurance is recommended for your gear. Although Portugal is one of the safest countries we have traveled through it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Overseas Voltages and Adapters
Electrical voltage in Portugal is 220V, 50HZ. Check your battery charger and other electrical devices to see if the input reads 100v-240v. If it does then you will not need a transformer. You will only need a small adapter with two rounded plugs (try Radio Shack), as used elsewhere in continental Europe.

To Sign Up, Download and Print Registration & Participant Info Sheets. Feel free to call or email with questions: 970-382-2740, doorway@frontier.net

Registration Form (PDF)

Participant Info Sheet (PDF)