*This Patagonia Photo Tour is in partnership with Max Rive Photography.
01-10 April 2020
11-20 April 2020
During this Patagonia Photo Tour we will visit the most amazing locations both in El Chalten (Argentina) and Torres del Paine (Chile). We will have plenty of opportunities to photograph majestic mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, trees, autumn colors, wildlife, glaciers and much more and get the most out of this incredible trip.
4550€
PATAGONIA PHOTO TOUR ITINERARY
DAY 1
Pick up time is around 11am at El Calafate Airport/El Calafate city centre, then it’s time to begin our drive towards El Chalten, where our photography workshop officially begins. We’ll drop off our luggages with non camping gears (such as laptop, extra clothes..) at the hotel and start hiking in the early afternoon with our photography + camping gears.
An easy hike (4km approx. 1.30h, uphill + flat) will lead us to our camping spot where we’ll set up our tents and get ready with our cameras. For sunset we’ll reach a location nearby, then back to the campsite for dinner and some rest.
DAY 2
Ready to leave early in the morning to reach our sunrise location, again very close to our campsite.
After breakfast at the campsite, it’s time to pack our tents and continue our way towards the next campsite (4km approx 1h hike, flat), where we’ll spend the next two nights.
We’ll have plenty of time to scout around after a quick lunch together, then we’ll reach our sunset location and come back to the campsite for dinner.
DAY 3
On the third day of our Patagonia photo tour we’ll get up early, have a quick breakfast and hike up to our sunrise location, an incredible lake right below Mount Fitz Roy (2km approx 1.30h, uphill). Once back, we’ll have lunch together, scout some more and take pictures of some beautiful secret locations in the area.
After our sunset shooting it’s time to have dinner and recharge for the next day.
DAY 4
On day 4, after sunrise and breakfast, we move to our next campsite where we’ll spend two nights. This campsite is located in a different valley and very close to “Laguna Torre”. Here we’ll have plenty of opportunities to photograph the incredible Cerro Torre. Hiking time is approx 3.30h (9km), mostly flat.
After lunch, we scout around before reaching our sunset location.
DAY 5 & 6
Sunrise will be very close to our campsite, there are different compositions to choose from, including river, trees and a lake right below the mountains.
In the afternoon everyone is free to explore on his own or join the group for some more scouting. Sunset will be in the same area, then we will have our last night in the tent.
On day 6 we hike back to El Chalten (9km approx 3h, mostly flat) after sunrise check-in in the hotel and have the post-processing class in the afternoon. For sunset, we’ll drive to a beautiful location nearby.
DAY 7 & 8
On day 7, after our sunrise shooting, we drive to our next destination in Chile where we will spend the next two days.
We’ll have plenty of opportunities to take pictures for sunrise, sunset and during the day in some secret locations. Chances to spot some “guanacos” on the way are very high. We will only do small hikes from the carpark with just our camera gears.
DAY 9 & 10
After our sunrise shooting, we’re ready to begin our drive back to El Calafate where we’ll spend some more time on post-processing at the hotel.
On day 10 after breakfast, we leave together to drive in the direction of the spectacular Perito Moreno glacier. We’ll photograph it from a very close viewpoint then drive back to El Calafate, where the tour ends.
INCLUDED
Professional photo guide + assistant + mountain guide
NP Entry Fees
Porters service
4 Nights Lodging in Hotel + Campsites
Transportation
Breakfast everyday
Lunch, Dinner when camping
All transfers included
Personal Processing Instructions + Records
Max Rive Processing Instructional Videos
EXCLUDED
Flights & Travel Insurance
Lunch, Dinner at hotels
TOUR GUIDES
Marco Grassi
Born and raised in Italy, Marco Grassi is a self-taught and award-winning photographer focused on landscape photography. At the young age of 23 Marco has completed his round-the-world trip and today, several countries later, he defines himself as a true travel addict. Marco’s work has been published and rewarded extensively worldwide in a large variety of media outlets, such as the National Geographic and GEO Magazine. Among some of his clients we can find “Nisi Filters” and “Hilleberg – The Tentmaker” .
His workshops have been designed with the central idea of putting you in the right place at the perfect time and give you plenty of amazing photo opportunities whilst creating a life-changing experience. He will assist you and advise you with valuable photography tips during the whole trip and show you the best photo locations of each destination.
Jessica Lancia
Together with Marco, Jessica has completed a round-the-world trip at the age of 22 and it’s during this trip that she has quickly grown her love for nature and, most of all, mountain landscapes. After returning from this journey, they’ve started working on the idea of guiding photography workshops and they now lead together in many different locations such as Patagonia, Dolomites and Faroe Islands.
Jessica is the logistical mastermind who develops the visual and written content of marcograssiphotography.com and takes care of all organization aspects of the trips with an accurate attention for all the details.
Jessica will assist Marco during this photo tour and she’ll make sure to help you with anything you might need and with any questions/doubts you might have before and during the trip.
SUMMARY
Location: Patagonia Argentina/Chile
Tour Length: 10 Days April 01-10/11-20 2020
Transportation 2 Cars
Accommodation: campsites + hotels
Physical Difficulty: Medium
Number of Participants: Max. 10
*This Patagonia Photography Workshop is in partnership with Max Rive Photography. Possible discounts available for returning customers. Please enquire at info@marcograssiphotography.com
Didn’t find the info you were looking for? Have a look at the FAQ below, you might find your answers!
What's the best tour in terms of fall colors?
All the tours offer the chance to photograph the autumn colors and are scheduled in that period of the year because is when the autumn is usually at its best. What we can’t unfortunately predict is if there will be strong storms that could blow up the leaves and anticipate winter, this depends on the weather. April is however the best period for fall colors and weather, so any date you choose has the same good chances.
How many nights we'll be spending out camping?
We’ll be camping for the first 5 nights. This will allow us to sleep very close to the mountains and get the best possible shots.
Do I need to bring my own camping gear?
We can provide you with a 1 person tent (if requested well in advance) and you can choose to rent a sleeping bag and a mattress in the village if you wish. However, we highly recommend to bring your own sleeping bag.
Do I have to carry all my gear when camping?
You can either choose to carry all your gear (extra clothes, toiletries, camera gear, camping gear…) or you can rent a porter which can carry up to 20kg per day for 170 USD. If you wish, you can also split the kilos and cost with another participant.
We’ll move the campsite 4 times, so these are the days you’ll have to carry full gear and could consider hiring a porter:
Day 1 (village to first campsite)
Day 2 (first to second campsite)
Day 4 (second to third campsite)
Day 6 (third campsite to village)
Once we reach our campsites, we’ll set up our tents and hike around only with camera gear.
Can I leave some of the gear I don't need while camping in the village?
Yes, you can leave some of your stuff (such as laptop, extra clothes, backup camera body…) in the village, in a safe storage room and pick them up on day 6.
Camping: What clothes should I bring?
We recommend you to have warm base layers, fleeces and down jacket as well as the appropriate water resistant clothes and shoes during the whole trip, but especially during the camping part.
Also, we’ll provide each participant with a detailed kit list before the beginning of the trip.
Do these campsites have showers?
No, there are no showers or other facilities except for compost toilets. We recommend you to bring dry shampoo and dry shower gel as well as wet wipes.
Do we need to carry enough water for 6 days?
No, all you need is a water bottle, we’ll be refilling our bottles at streams and lakes. Each campsite is located next to the water so you’ll be able to refill any time you want. The water is safe and drinkable as it is, but if you wish you can bring purifying tablets / filters.
Will you be doing any post-processing class during this workshop?
Yes, in the second part of this trip when we’ll be staying in the hotels, there’ll be post-processing classes.
Do I need to bring a laptop?
A laptop is not necessary to follow the post-processing classes. I’ll show you my workflow directly on my laptop and you’ll be able to see everything I personally do in Lightroom and Photoshop. However, you might want to bring your laptop to start working on your pictures straight away during the downtime in the hotels.
What camera gear do you suggest?
When hiking, we always recommend to carry only one camera body, a wide angle (such as 16-35mm) and a mid range telephoto (such as 70-200mm). If you wish to bring more camera gear (lenses, backup camera body…) on this trip, you can always leave everything in the storage when we are out camping and pick them up when we’re back and stay in hotels.
Can I bring a drone?
Unfortunately it is strictly forbidden to fly a drone in the national parks we’re going to visit. I highly recommend you to leave it behind unless you’re gonna stay more in the country and want to visit some different areas were it might be allowed.
What do you suggest in terms of backpack?
For the hikes, I personally use a “Deuter” 75L and then put an F-STOP ICU inside to keep my photography gear tidy and safe. You definitely need a comfortable backpack designed for heavy loads and trekking and, with a F-stop ICU inside, you can be sure that your camera gears are well protected, organized and kind of separated from the rest. Whatever backpack you may choose (Osprey and Gregory are other two great brands), make sure it can fit everything you need and it’s comfortable one adjusted on your back.