Rajasthan Photo Trek 2014 Announced

We are pleased to announce that registration for the 2014 Rajasthan Photo Trek and workshop is open. The 2013 edition of this workshop was such a success that every one of the participants said they would recommend this tour without any reservations. If you are looking for adventure, amazing photo opportunities, luxurious accommodations, and a low teacher to student ratio then look no further: we have you covered. Rajasthan is one of the most colorful and photogenic places on the planet. There are not many places where you can walk down the street and see women in red, pink or yellow fluorescent saris or men with polka-dotted turbans! And if that wasn’t enough there are the camels and elephants at almost every turn. All this set against a backdrop of 15th century castles and forts. Frankly, you can’t imagine it until you visit. So join us February 16th – March 1st, 2014.

You will be lead by myself and Piet Van den Eynde, two pro photographers with years of experience between us.

Children wait outside of one of the tombs located in the Nizamuddin Dargah.

We will start in New Delhi where we will visit places like Nizamuddin Dargah, the ancient tomb of one of India’s most significant Sufi saints. Here you will experience the sites and sounds of the Islamic mystic Sufi. A colorful start to a colorful trip. After Delhi we take the overnight train to Jodhpur, Rajasthan’s blue city. This is where things start getting really colorful. Jodhpur stands on a range of picturesque sandstone hills. Dominating the city’s skyline is a massive fortress. We will take the mornings and walk through the ancient alleyways of the wonderful old city photographing life as it unfolds before us.

A Jodhpur doorway.

After Jodhpur we drive to the holy city of Pushkar, a desert city built around Pushkar Lake. Also called the City of Temples, Pushkar boasts over 400 temples. With so many temples in one city you are destined to see sadhus walking the streets in their saffron robes and pilgrims from all over India coming to bathe at the holy ghats.

From Pushkar we travel to a small village on the road to Jaipur. This little village is about 20 km off the main road where few tourist venture. Here you will experience village life and be the guest of an Indian Prince and Princess and sleep in their centuries old fort.

From here we continue on to Jaipur, the Pink City. Jaipur is another Rajasthani city crowned with a fort. But as if to not be outdone by the others, it boasts not one but three forts atop its hills. The city takes its name from the famous Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, who founded the city in 1728. A keen astronomer, he built an observatory which still exists and is equipped with huge astronomical instruments all begging to be photographed.

While staying in Jaipur, we will visit the city of Amber, and its classic fort. Here you can take an optional elephant ride up the hill up which the Amber fort is situated while we spend time photographing the fort. Then we are off to Kesroli, another 15th century castle and another luxurious night’s stay.

A Sadhu’s Laugh

Throughout this trip you will not only be visiting and touring some of the most dramatic sights in India but you will also have opportunities to improve your photographic skills. From the very start of the trip you will have opportunities for frequent critique sessions as well as one-on-one sessions with both instructors. There will be sessions on different aspects of both photography and Lightroom, our post-processing software of choice all through the trip.

This is one of the best photo tours available out there today. But don’t just take my word for it. Listen to what the past participants had to say:

Mike Alexander: I joined Matt on the Rajasthan tour in Feb/Mar 2013 – I cannot recommend it highly enough! One of the best (if not THE best) photo tours I have been on. Matt genuinely cares that the participants come away with a great experience, and we did.

Vincent Dirckx: Just a few words to tell you how much I enjoyed the Rajasthan Photo Trek. I am coming back with a bunch of images that I do not believe I would have been capable to take had I not been on the workshop. I genuinely appreciated your hands-on approach, the tips and tricks that you provided spontaneously and your availability at all times to spend one-on-one time, not to mention your eye for photogenic detail and your generosity in drawing the participants’ attention to photographic opportunities that they were overlooking. On this latter point, the fact that you almost did not shoot yourself, preferring to focus on the efforts and improvement of the skills of your students, proved invaluable. One thing that I also particularly found useful were the assignments that you gave us every day and the critique that the entire group and yourself then made of everyone’s images : this helped understanding where the room for improvement was or, alternatively, what it was that made our images good images. Finally, Piet’s presence as a guest instructor was a huge bonus : his willingness and his enthusiasm for helping us out on post processing matters were equally invaluable.

Lastly, your immense sense of humor and your ability to take your job (as well as jokes!) seriously but not yourself significantly contributed to making incredibly cohesive a group composed of a variety of ages, skill levels and geographic origin – and that was not the least success of this trip with you.”

Eric Bunn: As a first timer on anything like this, I can only say that the bar for any future tours has been set extremely high! Matt’s patience, individual attention, knowledge and teaching skills left nothing to be desired. The daily group critiques added to the experience, reinforcing learnings from the assignments, assisting with improvement and helping understand image shortfalls, all these leading to a noticeable improvement in my personal images. Finally the addition of Piet as guest Photographer / Lightroom Guru, and Alou’s logistical planning, assistance with all things non photo and keen eye made this a truly unforgettable experience. I look forward to another in the future. Thank you!

Andrée Lawrey: I had such a wonderful time on Matt’s 2013 Rajasthan Photo Trek and Workshop that I would love to go back and do it all over again. Yes, all of it! Two weeks of fun, photography, laughter, discovery, and pure enjoyment, along with excellent company and delicious food — I can’t imagine a better introduction to India. Best of all, the photographic learning experience was priceless: Matt is an inspiring teacher and mentor who really cares about helping his students push their boundaries and learn how to create better images, while Piet’s expert assistance with workflow and post-processing issues was a real bonus. Highly recommended!

Melinda Blanchot: This workshop was a great mix of education and fun. It’s been great to laugh and learn at the same time. You and Pete went beyond just teaching us techniques and photo skills. You shared with us your passion about travel photography. You taught us what to look for, where to look for it and how to make it happen. You pushed us out of our comfort zones by trying out new things and becoming better photographers.

I have come away with priceless memories, great shots and having met some wonderful people from all around the world with whom I’d sign up again for another workshop.

Brendan White: As a first time photo tour participant and reasonably new to photography, the tour surpassed any expectations I had. I was made to feel an important part of the tour, despite not being at the same level of photography as some of the others. That lack of experience worried me before I met you, but your method of guiding allayed any fears I had. I have come away the knowledge and ability of new techniques, not afraid to lie down in dirt to get ‘that’ special shot and above all learnt patience to wait for that someone or something to walk into my point of view, enabling me to tell the story I want others to see. Once again, thank you and I will be definitely joining you again on another photographic journey in the future.

Fernando Carvalho da Silva: If you are looking for a workshop with “just” an experienced photographer
and a great teacher, where you will “just” improve your composition and technique and feel madly inspired to go out and shoot, this is the workshop for you.

However, if in addition to the previous description you are looking for a photo adventure where your tour leader also knows the history and the culture of the country, will take out to eat the tastiest food in local restaurants, have you sleeping in gorgeous hotels, can even speak the local language and show you so much FUN…then Matt’s photo adventures to India is definitely for you!

Kathleen Sempels: I did it ! And it may not be a trek, but more the most incredible experience! And believe me, I thought I had already had the best … it was spot on, the scenery, Rajasthan, the colorful and sweet people, the group, Matt and his sweet Alou, … I can go on for a long long time …

If you want to sign up or just lean more about this workshop, please visit THIS LINK. You will find many more details and a link to signup. Hope to see you in Rajasthan!