Patagonia Photo Workshop (ENG) – Leonardo Papèra Photography

PATAGONIA PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP - AUTUMN

Overview

“Patagonia! She is a hard mistress. She casts her spell. An enchantress! She folds you in her arms and never lets go.”

In this way Bruce Chatwin describes one of the most beautiful and incredible regions of this Earth, Patagonia.

I would like to tell you how it feels like to walk in the prairies between cute guanacos and fleeting pumas, among speedy hawks of all kinds and colorful peaks, among the crafty foxes of Patagonia and the majestic condors, all at the foot of the Andes, but I can’t. I can’t put into words all of this, neither I can’t even come close to narrate what it really feels like to be there.

So, why not join me in this adventure and discover how it feels by yourself? We’ll be there during the autumn foliage, arguably the best time of the year, and we’ll spend 8 nights in Argentina and 4 nights in Chile. Scroll down to find out more!

When: TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

Workshop Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in El Calafate

You’ll arrive in El Calafate (Argentina) and I’ll be there waiting for you at the airport for the pick up. Since Argentina is the thoughest part of the trip, I generally like to start from there; also, in autumn the leaves are turning golden earlier in Argentina than Chile, that’s why El Calafate is a good start. If we’ll have time on that day, we’ll visit the Perito Moreno glacier for sure, otherwise we’ll go there the day after.

Day 2: Perito Moreno

We’ll spend the next day visiting one of the most incredible glaciers you’ll ever see, the huge Perito Moreno. The glacier is around 70km away from the town, so we’ll leave in the morning and return in the evening for a warm meal in a local restaurant.

Day 3: Drive to El Chalten

We’ll wake up in the morning the day after the visit to the wonderful Perito Moreno glacier and we’ll start our drive towards El Chalten, our main destination for the Argentinian part of the trip: a small, cozy town, made basically of hotels, hostels and cafes. Everything is just suited for hikers, since it’s one of the most popular hiking destinations of the world.

Now that’s where the “good” part comes: from the town we’ll have to hike up an 6 miles trail; since we’ll probably arrive in town with not enough time to make the hike (3h30m) and place our tents, we’ll go sleep at one of the hotels on that night, and start our adventure the next day.

Day 4/8: Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre

As I was saying for the day before, now it’s all about to do that long hike and arrive at the campsite; once we are there, we’ll start taking pictures of the fabolous Fitz Roy! We’ll spend 4 nights in our tents shooting both the Fitz Roy and the Cerro Torre, the two most beautiful peaks of the Andes. The plan is to stay two night at the Poincenot basecamp to shot the Fitz Roy and two nights at the De Agostini basecamp to shot the Cerro Torre, but we’ll move accordingly to the weather.

Day 8: El Chalten

After our last sunrise in the wilderness, we’ll return back down to El Chalten to have some warm food and an hot shower! We’ll arrive at the hotel in the afternoon on that day, we’ll rest and prepare for the drive of the day after.

Day 9/12: Torres del Paine National Park

We’ll leave El Chalten and move towards the famous Torres del Paine National Park in Chile! That will be our location for the next 3 nights. We’ll camp at the Torres del Paine Camping, a campsite with way more facilities than the ones in Argentina (es. wifi slow as hell, toilets, small groceries, restaurant). We’ll shot the famous dead trees of the park as well as many reflections and hopefully some guanacos and/or the puma!

Day 12: Drive to Punta Arenas

On our last full day, we’ll drive to Punta Arenas, the closest city to the Torres del Paine (2h30m drive), and that’s where you should take your return flight back home. I might recommend to take a little time to explore the city, since the vibes, the cafes and the whole atmosphere of the town is something truly unique. It makes you feel like you are at the end of the world (and you are!).

Day 13: Departure from Punta Arenas

Unfortunately, this will be the time to say goodbye. I’ll take you to the Punta Arenas airport and you’ll take your return flight back home!

What is Included?

Accommodations & Camping Fees

5 Nights in hotels (or equivalent B&B, etc) in double room. The other nights we’ll be camping: all the fees for the camping are included.

Private Transports

Airport Shuttle

Pick up at El Calafate airport and drop off at Punta Arenas airport are included.

Park Entrances

Assistance and Guidance by a Professional Photographer

Post-Production Workshop

What's not Included?

Food

Camping Gear

Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, etc are not included.

Airline Tickets

Visas (if applicable)

Insurance (highly recommended both for you and your photographic gear)

Single Supplement (400€)

Everything that is not mentioned in the ``What is Included`` list

Price: coming soon

N° of Participants: Min. 3 - Max. 7

Workshop Objectives

Generally speaking, here you should find a list of goals, such as "photographing the Cuernos del Paine", "see the sunrise from the Poincenot basecamp", etc., trying to convince you that these are the only aims (or at least, the ones that matter) of the workshop you will take with me. They are not. The main objective of the trip is not only to help you "make beautiful photos", but to increase your photographic skills, starting from the most technical part to end up on the most expressive part. You will learn how to balance the two parts and get exactly the photos you have in mind. This is the goal that I set for the trip, to make you grow, photographically speaking, as much as possible, trying to teach you everything I've learned since I photograph!

To Whom the Workshop is Addressed

I would recommend a tour like this to those who think they are at a beginner / intermediate stage and want to increase their skills in the field of landscape photography, as I think there would be a much greater personal growth, but logically everyone is welcome!

What to Bring? (Photographic Gear)

- Digital Camera (preferably a DSLR camera, both an APS-C and FF will be more than fine)

- An ultrawide lens (such as the Nikon 14-24mm, Canon 16-35mm, Tamron 15-30mm, Tokina 16-28mm etc); we recommend a lens with a wide maximum aperture (like f/2.8) for night photography.

- A standard zoom lens (like the various Nikon/Canon/Sigma 24-70mm or 24-105mm)

- A telephoto zoom lens (like the various Nikon/Canon/Tamron/Sigma 70-200mm)

- A super telephoto zoom lens (like the Sigma/Tamron 150-600mm); this lens is not necessary but we recommend it anyway since it allows to capture the far away details of the landscapes

- A sturdy tripod that permits to do some long exposure photos, specially during the twilight hour

- A set of ND filters; these are the only filters we feel to recommend, since they become useful when you need to stretch the exposure time a little bit during some difficult light conditions

- A camera remote to avoid blurry shots

What to Bring? (Clothing)

A few weeks before your departure, we will contact you suggesting the best clothes to bring with you basing on the weather forecasts and the current temperatures, so that you will be perfectly equipped by the time of you arrival!

How to Book

Do you want to enquire or book for this tour? You can use one of the two options below to do that!

Leave a Deposit

You can choose to directly leave a deposit for the tour and then pay the remaining amount within 2 months before the departure. By leaving a deposit your spot will be automatically confirmed and you’ll be included in the list of participants. Just click down here on the “Add to Cart” button to proceed!
Of course if you have any sort of question don’t hesitate to use the contact form and ask!

€1,000.00Add to cart

Contact Us

The second option is to contact me directly using the contact form below here or in the “Contact” section (or just by emailing at leo.papera@gmail.com ); I’ll try to reply as soon as possible to solve your doubts or prepare your perfect tour!