Holiday itinerary
Learn the art of photography on this adventurous weekend photography course in Orvieto, a stunning hill top city in the heart of Umbria, famous for its white wines and even whiter gothic cathedral.
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, taking a weekend to discover this stunning area of Italy on a photography holiday promises a unique learning experience that will stay with you long after the holiday is over.
Get out and about in a 4x4, explore the delights of Umbria, Latium and Tuscany and capture as many spectacular landscapes, dramatic seascapes, beautiful buildings, lakes and stunning sunsets as you can in a weekend.
Learn photography on this fun weekend course and take home images from this beautiful area that you will be proud to show to others.
Suitability
- Suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced
- Minimum age 18
- Courses have a maximum of 6 persons in each group, singles are very welcome as you'll meet others with a passion for photography
- The course is mainly focused on digital photography so please bring a DLSR camera with you
Start Days
- All arrivals are on Fridays and run throughout the year
- Friday 11th May 2012 will focus on Barabbata festival
Typical Photography Course Itinerary
Arrival Pick Up
- Friday is your arrival day
- You’ll be collected from Orvieto train station in the morning and transferred to your accommodation as your course starts after lunch on Friday afternoon
- Please note that Orvieto station is just 50 minutes from Rome Termini station
- Alternatively you can arrive on Thursday evening and add an extra night or nights to your trip with prices from 40 Euros per room, to book any number of extra nights at the beginning or end of your trip, please email
Day 1 Friday – Orvieto and environs in Umbria
- Your course starts early after lunch with a wander around the beautiful city of Orvieto, the home of your photography tutor and famous the world over. Orvieto like most of the towns in Umbria is an Etruscan city overlaid with Roman, Mediaeval and Renaissance buildings. The mediaeval quarter is so picturesque film crews often shoot here. The city was painted by William Turner who was struck by its site on an outcrop of rock above the Tiber valley and the cathedral is one of the wonders of Italy.
- This evening is free.
Day 2 Saturday – Lake Bolsena
- Your course starts early after breakfast. You’ll take a trip in the 4x4 to the dramatic Lake Bolsena only 20 minutes away, to capture the stunning scenery around its shores. You’ll focus on shooting the working fishing villages with their boats, nets and gnarled fishermen ideal for experimenting with depth of field, vivid colour composition, movement and portraiture. There are Etruscan tombs overlooking the lake where we practice high definition photography, balancing the gloom within, to the bright Mediterranean light outside.
- Dinner is taken at a lakeside restaurant tonight.
Day 3 Sunday – Tyrrhenian coastline
- You’ll have the morning in Orvieto to review the results of your photography from yesterday and will work with your tutor as he gives you an overview of how to use Photoshop.
- Using a tripod to catch the motion of the waves and take an abstract approach as you photograph bleached white skeleton trees washed up the shore.
- Your evening is free.
Day 4 Monday – The Hill Towns of Tuscany
Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana
- Today is the last day of your photography course and you’ll check-out of your accommodation after an early breakfast.
- After a short drive, you’ll spend a relaxing morning on the shores of Lake Bolsena.
- After a picnic lunch on the shore you’ll get back in the 4x4 to drive to three hill top towns in Tuscany, these towns are among the most picturesque in all of Italy and all three have been continuously inhabited since Etruscan times, 3000 years of history, a Jewish ghetto until the 1930s. The view of the town from the abandoned Jewish cemetery is very moving.
- You’ll also have the chance to document Italian life and the people.
- In the early evening, your weekend photography holiday finishes and you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you will be taking home new found photography skills and pictures to be proud of.
What Will I Learn?
- As you are learning in a small group of no more than 6 people, you’ll have expert guidance and tuition will be adapted to each client’s needs
- You will get to know the basics such as composition, depth of field, lens choice and exposure tips
- Working in manual and Raw as well as use of flash, reflectors and technical tricks
- Tuition in downloading and editing your images using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom
- High Definition photography (variable exposure) and photo stitching - An overview of Fine-Art printing known as Giclée
Your Photography Tutor
- Passionate about photography, your British photography tutor has lived and worked in Italy since 1983 and knows the area intimately
- With over 25 years experience working as a professional photographer, your tutor has worked in fashion, portrait and advertising
- His work has been published in magazines worldwide and since 2007 he has run his own photography gallery in Orvieto specialising mainly in landscapes
- Your tutor will be assisted by an Italian photographer also with 25 years experience and who speaks excellent English
Your Accommodation and Meals
- Accommodation is in a 17th century palazzo in the historic centre of Orvieto
- Prices are based on 2 sharing a twin or double room with a private bathroom
- Singles are welcome, you must add the single room supplement to your booking during the booking process to secure a single room
- You will have breakfast daily at the palazzo and lunch will be taken out on location
- You will have 1 restaurant dinner with the group included in the price, other nights are free to do your own thing
- Orvieto is a lively town and a pleasure to stroll in as it is almost completely pedestrianised
- Wi-fi is available in the b&b but not in all the rooms. It possible to go to Orvieto where cafes have free Wi-fi
Transfers and Transport
- A pick up from Orvieto train station with a transfer to your hotel is included in the price
- Orvieto can be reached from Rome Termini central station in 50 minutes by train, trains run hourly during the day
- You will be out and about for most of the day and all transport will be included in a 4x4 vehicle as you get off the beaten track, down dirt roads, over fields, through streams and out to beaches
Weather Conditions and Itinerary
- Your photography tutor will alter the itinerary if the weather doesn’t offer the best conditions for photographing the area.
What To Bring
- Bring your own camera (with manual), charger, memory cards, tripod, filters and flash if you have them, film if you use it
- Point and shoot if you have one
- You can borrow some photographic accessories such as tripods, flash guns, filters
- Please bring suitable footwear for walking as you will be spending a lot of time exploring the different areas and a sun hat
- A swimming costume is recommended as there will be a chance to swim in the lakes during the shoots
Learn how to become the photographer you always wanted to be and take home new skills that will stay with you long after the weekend photography course is over.