MADEIRA

Madeira is one of those places that feels like it was created it for the sole purpose of landscape and travel photography. It really is one of the most dramatic islands imaginable, essentially a two thousand meter high volcanic mountain in the middle of the Atlantic, with almost vertical cliff faces rising out of the ocean, it’s an island of peaks, canyons and valley, of mist and ancient trees where we regularly find ourselves looking down on the clouds. Located around five hundred kilometers west of Morocco, it should be bone-dry, but it's precipitous cliffs generate a lot of rain from the Atlantic's moisture.

Madeira has an incredible variety of scenery, ranging from beautiful seascapes and green mountains, to sheer 1500m cliffs and tropical forests. In addition to this, it has beautiful traditional architecture that dots the landscape, giving amazing scale and narrative to the images. What makes it so special is how much it has in such a small area and how easily accessible it all is. The island is just fifty kilometers long and fifteen wide, offering as much to shoot as many better known landscape destinations, but condensed into a much smaller area so its incredibly quick and easy to get pretty much anywhere on the island in a short drive. We can be shooting seascapes of volcanic rock formations in azure waters, then within a 20-min drive, you can be on a 2000m high mountain shooting fog rolling over tropical forests.

We've travelled to many of the world's most photogenic destinations and can say without a doubt that Madeira is our new favourite so myself and my co-leader, Hougaard Malan, are really excited to be sharing this incredible island with you.

We’ve chosen to visit in October to miss peak of the tourist season, but keep the good weather that the island is known for. And of course, all our workshops are designed to ensure that you can focus on photography while we take care of everything else.  We want to maximize your opportunities to get great images whilst improving your skills as a photographer.  We use all our experience and knowledge to get you to some of the Madeira’s most beautiful locations in the best light, and in the field we’re on hand to provide as much support, advice or guidance as you want.  Having two professional photography guides helps us to ensure that each participant gets plenty of one-to-one tuition and allows us to better tailor each session to your needs.  .

PRICE

€5950

(price includes single occupancy in private room with bathroom)

GROUP SIZE

8 - 10

EXPERIENCE

Beginner, amateur, enthusiast and semi-pro photographers.  

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY

EASY - Madeira is a gentle landscape and almost all of the locations are accessible by car, although access to a couple of the beaches may requires some scrambling over rocks

 WORKSHOP INCLUDES

Landscape photography and shooting in beautiful island locations

Two professional photographers & guides

Post-processing workshops in Lightroom and Photoshop, with screen recordings which the participants can keep.

All accommodation in local hotel

All meals, snacks and beverages (excluding premium wines and liquors)

All ground-transport in a comfortable 24-seater bus with 2 seats per person so you can keep your camera gear with you.

Continous assistance with your photography

Pick up/drop off from Funchal airport

All tourism taxes and park entry fees

NOT INCLUDED

Flights to/from Funchal

Premium beverages

Credit Card Charges

Travel Insurance

 WHAT WE DO (AND WHAT WE WANT YOU TO GET FROM OUR WORKSHOPS)

Our aim is to take you to beautiful locations and give you every opportunity to get great images while improving your technique over the course of the workshop.  We tailor the sessions to your precise needs and provide each participant with plenty of one-to-one tuition both in the field and in the post processing sessions.  

We believe that having two shooting sessions a day means that participants get into a shooting rhythm and can quickly put into practice new skills as they are learned, and our timetable is highly flexible and having a number of fantastic locations all very close to each other means we can adapt to the weather and go where the conditions are best for shooting.  This adaptability also extends to the post processing sessions.  We believe that editing is an integral part of getting the absolute best out of an image but we understand that the range of participant’s skill levels and familiarity with post processing techniques varies greatly.  Because of this we once again make the most of having two tutors to provide critique and editing sessions that can potentially range from the basics of editing a RAW file in programs like Lightroom to more complex techniques like using layers and luminosity masks in Photoshop.  We also do screen recordings of our editing sessions, which are then shared with all the group so you go home with a record of  all the post processing techniques we used. 

Finally, we want to share with you our passion for nature and landscape photography in this incredible  place. Travelling in such small groups means we can quickly build a great learning environment where people feel comfortable together and at ease with asking questions and making the absolute most of the trip. We want to bring you the very best of the place, not only in taking you to stunning locations for photography, but also in introducing you to some of the best food and drink the island has to offer because after all, travel isn’t only about photography.  Food is a vital part of any trip to the Madeira, and eating with friends, sharing stories and a bottle of wine is an essential part of our workshops.  We aim to make your experience here in the beautiful landscape of these islands a memorable one and a trip from which, as well as getting some great images from amazing locations, you’ll also enjoy great food and great company in a very special place.

SOME OF THE PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES COVERED IN THIS WORKSHOP

IN THE FIELD:

• Understanding the light and choosing the best exposure

• Composition. Balance and harmony, leading lines and creating depth.

• Lens choice. From the wide-angle vista to shooting landscape abstracts with a telephoto lens

• Drone photography and composition

• Long exposures and photographing water

• Photographing mist

• Shooting multiple image panoramas

• Controlling light in scenes with a wide dynamic range using graduated filters and/or multiple exposures

PROCESSING:

• Deciding which direction to take post processing according to the mood of an image

• Using Lightroom to apply contrast locally

• “Shaping” the light using contrast tools in Photoshop and Lightroom

• Creating depth in an image

• Different techniques for blending multiple exposures of the same image

• Stitching multiple panoramas together

• Finishing touches for processing to give images dramatic punch

• Sharpening images

 Is Madeira Safe?

Madeira is extremely safe.

Do I need a VISA to enter Madeira?

Madeira is part of the EU/Schengen Zone, so if you are from a country that requires a Visa to enter Europe, you will need one.

Will I have cellphone reception/Wifi?

Madeira has excellent cellphone coverage all over the island. You can buy a local sim card at the airport or buy an e-sim online.

What about medicines, diseases and vaccinations?

Nothing required.

Will there be fresh water available?

Madeira's tap water is perfectly safe to drink. Bring your own water bottle.

Will I be able to purchase snacks?

We will stop at bakeries/cafes on a daily basis for a drink and a pastry.

What food can I expect?

Madeira's food is typical European, with a great offering of fresh seafood.

Do I need spending money?

You can pay everywhere with a card or you phone (tap-to-pay)

Tipping

Tipping is not a major part of European culture, but it is appreciated. We recommend bringing some smaller Euro or USD notes to tip porters/guides/restuarant staff.

Do I need a Laptop?

We recommend you bring a laptop or tablet along for image review and editing

A dSLR or mirrorless camera 

The criteria for the kind of work we’ll be doing is a camera that can be operated completely manually to ensure we get the best exposure with interchangeable lenses allowing us to cover a range of focal lengths

A wide angle lens 

For some of the locations a wide angle lens really is essential if you want to get those epic landscapes that have the long grass right up in the foreground leading into the rolling fields and the sky in the background. 16mm or 17mm on a full frame camera (10mm or 12mm on an APS-C sensor camera) is ideal, but anything below 24mm (16mm on a crop frame sensor) should be OK

A telephoto lens 

Tuscany is a place where we’ll often find ourselves on a hill shooting with a telephoto lens at a scene across the valley.  A telephoto also compresses the landscape and is great for shooting misty scenes.  A telephoto zoom that covers 70-200mm (55-135mm on a crop sensor) is perfect.

A mid-range zoom lens 

While these lenses are often the least useful for shooting landscapes, for the kind of locations we’ll be encountering in Tuscany there may be a couple of occasions when the zooms listed above are too wide or too long, and a mid-range zoom in the 24-70mm (18-55mm on a crop sensor) is perfect.

Tripod 

We’ll often be shooting in low light so a tripod is an absolutely essential piece of equipment.

A Drone

Many of the locations we visit have an extra dimension when seen from the air, so we strongly recommend people bring a drone. Anything from a Mini 4 Pro to a Mavic will be great.

Comfortable waterproof walking boots

While we won’t be doing any long hikes we’ll certainly be doing some walking over uneven ground, and in the sunrise sessions we’ll often find ourselves standing in long grass which is wet from overnight dew. The fields can also get very muddy if it rains.

A Lightweight Down Jacket or Fleece

It can actually get quite chilly early in the mornings or after the sun has gone down so it’s best to be prepared with some kind of insulated layer to wear on top.

Water and windproof jacket

It can get quite windy, and there’s always a decent chance of rain at this time of year, so a windproof and waterproof outer shell will help keep you comfortable.

Camera Backpack

When moving your camera gear for any length of time a backpack can really save your back.  A good backpack, one with sturdy hip straps, can safely distribute the weight of your gear and really save you from aches, pains and potential injury.

Laptop with Adobe Lightroom or Camera RAW and Photoshop

We’ll be shooting RAW, and as part of each day will be dedicated to post processing images a good RAW converter like Adobe Lightroom or Camera RAW is essential.  Other converters like Capture One are also fine.  Adobe Photoshop is great for more advanced processing as it allows us to be much more subtle and creative in it’s use of layers.

 ANDY MUMFORD is a Lisbon based professional landscape and travel photographer. Andy grew up in the UK loving nature and travel and took up landscape photography over fifteen years ago. Since then he has travelled extensively photographing all over the world and his photography and articles have featured in publications and books worldwide. He is a passionate photographer teacher and has been leading both group and one-to-one workshops for over five years.

He is a Fuji X Photographer and a brand ambassador for Fujifilm in Portugal, although he also has extensive experience with Nikon and Canon cameras.

Hougaard Malan is an award winning South African photographer who has been guiding and organising photo tours to Nambia for a decade. He has taken people from every corner of the planet to every corner of Namibia. His own photos of Namibia have won him awards like the 2016 International Landscape Photograph of the Year and his clients have also won numerous awards with the photos captured on his tours. All the images on this page were captured by Hougaard.

Hougaard believes the essence of a landscape photograph is allowing the viewer to experience that place without ever being there. When the light, clouds and land combine to produce scenes so beautiful that they etch a profound place in viewers’ memories, and witnessing such moments unfold over earth’s most beautiful landscapes is, for me, one of the highlights of living.

Hougaard’s work has been published in countless media all over the world, from books and magazines to calendars and coffee table books by the likes of National Geographic. Licensing and commission clients include global and local corporates like Samsung, Toyota, SAB Inbev, FNB, Standard Bank and Europcar.

www.hougaardmalan.com