Spring Photography Holiday
Dates
Wednesday 3rd - Saturday 6th April 2024
Cost
€865
5 Places
Discount for 2 Sharing
Spring Photography Holiday
Join George Jackson, a local Dingle photographer, in Dunquin for this relaxing and informative Spring photography holiday. Perfect for anyone with an interest in landscape and scenic photography, regardless of ability or equipment!
Staying at the wonderful ‘An Portan’ Guest House for 3 nights, we’ll visit lots of different locations to the west of Dingle, helping you to enhance your photography knowledge, and learn new techniques, during coastal walks, driving tours, demonstrations, and ongoing workshops. Experience sunrise and sunset expeditions to different locations every day, learn photo editing with Lightroom, Photoshop and some of their alternatives to gain a better understanding of the post-production process. While the coastal walks require a moderate level of fitness and the ability to climb stiles and traverse gentle slopes, all the locations we visit during this holiday can also be easily accessed by a drive and a short walk.
Check Our Gallery
Programme
Arrive and meet at An Portan in Dunquin for Tea and Coffee at 4.00 p.m.
4.30 p.m. A walk or drive to the beach at Dunquin provides the first opportunity to relax and take in the dramatic and rocky coastline during an informal photo shoot in which we’ll begin to discuss the basic elements of exposure and composition.
6.30 p.m. Break
7.00 p.m. End the first day with a leisurely visit to Dunquin Pier and hopefully capture some colour in the sky above The Blasket Islands.
Out early if you want to capture a sunrise and take advantage of the early morning light.
8.30 – 9.30 a.m. Back to An Portan for breakfast.
9.30 am -1.00 pm Today is all about learning more about your camera and using settings and techniques that suit your own ability and knowledge. Whatever camera or phone you use to capture photographs, we’ll begin to cover all the things you need to know to obtain better results, both as a group and individually. We’ll visit several locations around Dunquin with the option of some short coastal walks between them. We’ll also get an opportunity to look over some promising locations for our evening shoot.
1.30 – 5.30 p.m. Break for lunch & rest– local options include Louis Mulcahy’s pottery café, Ballyferriter Village or Dingle.
5.30 p.m. We’ll revisit the local coastline in Dunquin and prepare for our evening shoot. We’ll discuss the use of filters, creative phone apps, tripods and experiment with low light photography until dusk.
Out early if you want to capture a sunrise and take advantage of the early morning light.
8.30 – 9.30 a.m. Back to An Portan for breakfast.
9.30 a.m. -12.00 p.m. With the choice of a number of beaches and also the rocky shoreline, we’ll practice some long exposures with neutral density filters and apps on our phones as we explore along the waterline. From the car park at Coumeenoole a 15 minute hike takes you up and over Dunmore Head to the very western tip of Ireland with panoramic views of the Blasket Islands or if you prefer staying off the slopes we’ll drive to the cross at Slea Head with an option of a scenic walk back towards Coumeenoole along the winding road with vistas over Coumeenoole, Dunmore Head and The Blasket Islands.
13.30 – 5.30 p.m. Break for lunch & rest– local options include Louis Mulcahy’s pottery café, Ballyferriter Village or Dingle.
5.30 p.m. Evening around Slea Head and Coumeenoole until dusk, revisiting some of the locations from earlier in the day.
Out early if you want to capture a sunrise and take advantage of the early morning light.
8.30 – 9.30 a.m. Back to An Portan for breakfast.
9.30 a.m. – 13.00 p.m. if we’ve not already had any time indoors, we’ll begin looking at editing and processing our images to achieve better results using a variety of subscription, paid and open source editors and processors.
13.00 Finish
Key things to know:
What photography skills and elements are covered?
Further Information
Allen B18. September, 2023.Wonderful tour of some unique and photogenic spots. George knows some great spots and is easy to talk to about cameras and technique. We were looking for some off the beaten path spots and we found them.
Thom B10. August, 2023.Great Custom Tour This review is long overdue. We booked a private, extended, all day custom tour with George last summer and it was great for me an my partner. He handled picking out all the stops, made changes based on the weather, and successfully avoided all the tour bus crowds. It was quite nice not having to worry about planning and driving all the day long, and he took us to some very nice photo spots we likely would not have found. He was a great, friendly tour guide, knowledgeable photographer and safe driver on those tiny winding roads. Would definitely recommend booking a tour with him!
Mary Clare G11. July, 2023.Engagement & Couples Photoshoot - June 2023 We booked the engagement & couples photoshoot with George and had the best experience! Our photos turned out absolutely beautiful. During the photo tour we also got to see some of the most scenic parts of Dingle, George really knew all of the best places to go. We highly recommend this George & Dingle Darkroom!
Kelli B14. June, 2023.Memorable Experience! George was not only incredibly passionate about his hometown, he was very knowledgeable on all of the unique photo spots to capture a memorable experience! His knowledge of technique and technical aspects really shined as he helped me with both. It was a great learning experience!
Tammy V17. May, 2023.Do it!!! George is awesome and brought that special/personal touch to our experience driving us around Slea Head Drive and used his years of experience to show us great views and tidbits of information along the way. My family really enjoyed the whole experience and we are very grateful we found George!! He was very helpful with explaining how to use our cell phones to take better pictures. He took many great pictures of our family with the beautiful scenary that we will treasure forever.
David U10. April, 2023.Great Experience! Even though the afternoon was rainy and grey, George did an excellent job of not only helping me to understand my camera more, but also took me to the most beautiful areas around Dingle. He asked me ahead of time what kind of camera I had and with just a few knowledgeable questions, completely planned our time for maximum results. No matter what your photography skills are, I feel that any time spent with George is well worth it!
heatherceline1. March, 2023.Great teacher George was professional and patient. He met me at my (low) skill level and improved my use of my cell phone. I also learned about composition and depth- of- field and took not-so-bad photos by the end of the day. Recommend!
SANGLIM3. September, 2022.A terrific experience indeed! Having been to Ireland once and knowing the many opportunities I would have to take landscape photos again, I was seeking out an expert who could guide me around the Dingle peninsula and offer professional input that might improve confidence and get more from my camera. My experience with George at Dingle Darkroom couldn't have been better. Exactly what I wanted to improve my photography skills and learn more about the area. George had a curriculum in mind, he immediately began to access my photography knowledge, and then appropriately offered suggestions both for how to take and where to take photos. I feel more confident about taking and sharing my photos and look forward to my next adventure in Ireland with George leading the way.Stephanie19. June, 2022.Scenic photography tour Slea Head George was an excellent guide who gave my two daughters immense knowledge about their cameras and how to capture excellent quality photos. In addition to helping the girls with their cameras he gave us a lot of great information on other sites to see while staying in Dingle.
Amy M14. June, 2022.Fantastic way to see Dingle area while learning how to take great photos! What a great way to learn more about photography and the area. George was a patient, thorough teacher who ensures that everyone gets the experience they want, all while sharing his Irish hospitality.
