Some highlights

• We are photographing at the Dalmatian pelicans’ wintering grounds. The Dalmatian pelican is one of the world’s largest flying bird

• One of the best places in the world to photograph the Dalmatian pelicans

• Great photo opportunities of both portraits, bird in the environment images and flight shots

• With a bit of luck, there will be snowfall and we get fantastic backgrounds with snow-covered mountains

• Good chances to also see and photograph Flamingo and Great white pelican

• We photograph during 3 sessions from the shore while feeding the pelicans

• 3 boat trips with a good opportunities to photograph these giant birds with a wide angle lens

• Max four photographers in each boat

• Small group, maximum 7 participants

• Single room at no extra cost
  

Lake Kerkini in northern Greece is an artificial lake that was created as early as 1932. The lake has since become one of Greece’s absolute top birdwatching locations. The lake’s position coincides with the migratory routes of many bird species and both the lake and the surrounding area attract a variety of birds and other animals all year round but we are there to primarily photograph perhaps the most famous of them all. The Dalmatian pelican is one of the world’s largest flying birds with a wingspan of up to 3.5 meters.

Of course, we can’t control the weather, but we hope for a lot of snow, cold conditions and maybe even some ice on the lake.

We have put together the tour in such a way that we will have a lot of time with the pelicans and can thus treat ourselves to experimenting with different techniques and compositions to come home with many different types of images. We will be able to test everything from wide-angle shots with a lot of environment to extreme close-ups and maybe even slightly more abstract shots with longer shutter speeds and multi-exposures for those who want to test it. The trip also coincides with the pelicans’ mating season when their usually rather pale beaks change color to a deep orange or red color.

We photograph both from land and from a boat. The sessions where we photograph from the boat, there are a lot of aerial photos on the schedule with experienced boat guides who manage the navigation and the feeding that takes place. The sessions that are carried out from land take on a completely different character where you are more free to move and look for your own compositions based on your own ideas and imagery. In general, there are often many pelicans in one place and we will have to practice a lot on composition to get some sort of photographic harmony in the natural jumble of red beaks and wings that prevail.

We will be out before the sun is up to be able to capture the soft morning light and also during the afternoon session we will shoot in the best possible light. In order to keep inspiration and creativity at its peak, we have set aside time for regular image critiques where we can get inspiration from each other and get tips on what we can possibly do differently to grow as photographers.