Itinerary

5 days in The Netherlands – let your creativity bloom

This photo tour will give you a taste of The Netherlands, and we’re sure you’ll be back for more. Our days start before sunrise and finish after the sun has disappeared behind the horizon. We are here for the light and the light is at its best around sunrise and sunset. During the day we use some time to go through the photos taken and to show you what is possible with photo editing.

Day 1 – (Zaanse Schans)
Our photography tour starts in Zaandijk. You meet the group in the B&B or hotel where we stay for the night. Zaandijk is a beautiful little town close to the Zaanse Schans. We take our first photos at sunset and after that we have dinner together. We explain what the program for the next days will be and we can get to know our companions for the next days.

Day 2 – (Zaanse Schans – tulips fields – breakfast included)
We get up before dawn to witness the first sunrise of this tour. We capture the reflection of the windmills in the water and hope for a colourful sky. After a well-deserved breakfast there is time for an introduction to post processing of photos with Adobe’s Lightroom CC. This is where your photos can really pop!
We drive to the bulb fields in the afternoon and walk around through all these bright colours. We pick a nice spot where we wait for the sun to set with our cameras ready.

Day 3 – (tulip fields – Kinderdijk – breakfast included)
Sunrise in the bulb fields! We can’t get enough of row after row of flowers. After breakfast and a second session of Lightroom we drive to arrive at Kinderdijk in the afternoon. We check in to our hotel and have time to rest a little. In the evening we walk to the windmills and take photographs of this iconic place.

Day 4 – (Kinderdijk – Delft – breakfast included)
In the early morning the windmills look different with the light coming from the opposite site. This gives us an opportunity to try different compositions. After breakfast we go through the photos we have made in Kinderdijk and edit a few. We drive to Delft, the city famous for its Delfts Blue, the blue-white ceramics. However, we concentrate on the canals in the historic centre with lined with gabled houses.

Day 5 – (Delft – breakfast included)
We wake up early one last time, so we can take photos of the city almost without people. After breakfast and going through some of the photos we took in these days, we pack our bags. It’s already time to say goodbye.
We hope you loved to be outside together with a small group of people that enjoy photography, that you have enhanced you skills and that you go home inspired.

What to expect

These are three of the things (among others) The Netherlands are famous for:

• tulips,
• windmills
• and canals.

This is an iconic photo tour through beautiful landscapes in The Netherlands. This photography workshop takes place in spring with an obvious reason; the tulips are blooming!

We visit the Zaanse Schans. This is a place for tourists, but at sunrise and sunset a perfect opportunity for photography, without many of the tourists. The characteristic green painted buildings and wind mills will reflect in the canals.

The bulb fields are world famous and are different every year. We will drive around and pass through many of these fields stopping many times to photograph tulips, hyacinths and maybe a few late daffodils. Compositions are endless with all the different colours. We’ll take photographs at sunrise, sunset… and during the day. There are millions of tulips and other bulb flowers being cultivated, not for the flowers, but for the bulbs. We come here for the flowers though 😉

We visit Kinderdijk where you can find 16 traditional windmills. This makes for a perfect opportunity to walk among these old structures that once kept the surrounding land dry. Here you can see that the fields are lower than the canal that surrounds the fields. It’s an oasis just behind the harbour of Rotterdam.

Of course we visit Delft, the city of Vermeer, a true master of light. This city has beautiful canals and a picturesque centre. It’s not as crowded as in Amsterdam, which makes it so much easier to walk around with our cameras.

During this photography workshop we assist you on each location in finding the best compositions and camera settings. We also introduce you to photo editing in Adobe’s Lightroom CC using photos taken during the workshop. This photo tour gives you the chance to visit some of the famous spots in Holland and do so with like minded people. The level is easy and in our small group you can be sure to receive personal attention.

What’s Included

• B&B for 4 nights with breakfast
• Photographic tips and tricks on location
• Introduction to Adobe Lightroom CC

What’s Not Included

• Transportation to and from The Netherlands
• Transportation during the tour
• Meals and drinks (except breakfast)
• Travel and health insurance
• Everything not explicitly stated in ‘Included’.

Important Information

Travel/medical insurance for the duration of the tour is compulsory. Note that this insurance shall also cover repatriation. At the start of the tour you will be asked for a paper copy of your insurance, without which you will not be able to participate.

Lunch and dinner are excluded from the tour price. While we will eat together as a group, everyone can eat what they feel like. We have noticed this works better for most participants. We will usually opt for an early dinner, so we’ll be in time for our sunset shoots… and have plenty of time after the sun went down. Often the best colours appear after sunset.

What you need to bring

Photographic equipment

This journey is fit for all levels of photography. You can bring any photo camera you wish, but to make the most of this tour we suggest a camera with interchangeable lenses that you can set manually. You will make the most of this tour if you already know how to set the various programs, we will then help you to obtain the best results.

The following list indicates a few suggestions, and give an idea what would be useful:

• DSLR(Digital Single Lens Reflex) or mirrorless camera
• Wide angle lens (16-35 mm and/or 24-70 mm)
• Telephoto lens (up to 200 or 300 mm)
• Tripod (a necessity for low light photography)
• Polarizing filter
• Neutral density filter
• Extra battery
• Memory cards

Clothing

We recommend to dress in layers. Early mornings can be cold, and the weather in The Netherlands can vary a lot, even in one day. It can also be very windy (hence the windmills 😉).
We’re hoping for days without too much wind, but you never know. We tend to find photograph the tulips up close on the edge of the fields, so your trousers and shoes might get wet and muddy. Please take this into account when packing.

Cancellation Policy

The deposit of 50% is refundable until the minimum number of participants is reached. You will be notified when this is the case. Once the minimum number is reached, all accommodation is booked. In the case you cancel your tour more than 2 months before the start of the tour, we can refund 50%. From 2 months up to the departure of the tour, no refund can be made. For this reason we suggest you to get a cancellation insurance.