better travel photography.com
phototours with steve davey.
A unique range of travel photography tours to some of the most stunning and photogenic places on the planet, organised and led by professional travel photographer Steve Davey, with all bookings and land arrangements handled by Intrepid Travel - one of the leading names in small group adventure travel. You can see some of the unique things that our tours offer on the slides above.
Steve also organises and runs private West Country photography courses to help you to brush up on your skills before you hit the road, taking in some of the many photogenic locations in Somerset, Devon and Dorset.
Steve Davey has been organising and leading our exclusive range of travel photography tours in association with Intrepid Travel since 2006, and we believe that this gives us a truly unique product, which offers you the perfect balance with tours that are organised and led by a passionate and enthusiastic photographer, but with the backing of one of the biggest and best names in the adventure travel industry.
The Better Travel Photography range of travel photography tours are bespoke photographic holidays, designed and led by Steve Davey with land arrangements by Intrepid Travel - one of the biggest names in the adventure travel industry. They draw on Steve's years of experience and intimate knowledge of some of the most fascinating and evocative parts of the planet.
These tours very much conform to his unique vision on travel photography, travel and life in general. This has been honed by his experience of leading tours, and many years as a travelling professional photographer. This vision is blended with the Core Purpose of Intrepid Travel, and backed up by their worldwide network of local offices and over 35 years of running small group adventures.
What we are able to do is to take the best of what Intrepid Travel have to offer; often drawing on a number of styles and products, and create something unique that is more angled towards travel photography. This might be visiting the highlights in the best light, spending an extra day at a key place or using more private transport, to allow us the freedom and flexibility to stop when we need to take pictures. Often it will involve timing our trip to attend a festival or a key event - reflecting Steve's passion for photographing cultural celebrations.
The result is that we can create a totally unique product - calling on the experience and organisation of one of the best names in the travel industry and combining it with the drive, knowledge and flexibility of a professional travel photographer.
Our collaboration with Intrepid Travel means that our tours represent incredibly good value. Our cost per day is far lower than all of our competitors – even if you factor in the single supplement for having your own room.
Although we are passionate about great travel photography on these tours and are prepared to put in a great deal of effort to come up with the perfect shot, Steve is a great believer that engaging with your destination and the people you encounter is the most vital thing about travel photography.
We are also not sniffy about the cameras that people choose to use. What matters isn't the kit that you use - even if you only shoot with a Smartphone - but how you travel and how you interact with the World around you. This will have more of an effect on your pictures than any amount of kit.
"Your love of photography and travel is infectious and I can honestly say I have never laughed or learnt so much on a holiday before!"
This comment from a previous tour is the closest we have to a mission statement, and more than anything sums up what Steve is trying to achieve with these tours. Yes, we want people to learn as much as possible about photography, but it is also supposed to be an enjoyable and fulfilling holiday!
You can read more about how we run our tours and Steve's vision for them here.
Steve Davey is a writer and photographer who has travelled the World in the course of his work for more years than he will ever care to admit, researching and photographing for magazines, newspapers and publishers.
Steve is the author of a number of bestselling titles including Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die and Unforgettable Islands to Escape To Before You Die for BBC Books, which between them sold over 300,000 copies and been translated into almost 50 language and special editions.
Steve has also published Around the World in 500 Festivals, and two editions of Footprint Travel Photography - covering everything that you would ever need to know about travelling with a camera.
Steve has been running travel photography tours for twenty years, and has gained unparalleled experience in organising and leading a unique and successful photography tour.
Steve brings all of this experience to his tours and can teach you all of the tips and techniques that a professional travel photographer uses.
More than this though, Steve will enlighten you as to how he approaches both travel and photography. This approach will push engagement and empathy, and will encourage you to experience as much as possible on your trip in order that your pictures can show your individual impression of the place that you are travelling in and the people you encounter.
You can see more about Steve Davey on this link, and more about his vision for his tours on this link.
All of land arrangements and bookings are subcontracted to Intrepid Travel, which means you are fully protected by their comprehensive travel industry bonding.
Intrepid have been running small group adventures for over 37 years, and have a network of offices all over the World. This means that they have huge experience in the countries and the regions that they organise travel to, drawing on the lives and knowledge of the people who actually live there.
On our trips we will be accompanied by one of Intrepid's expert Group Leaders throughout. These are the perfect people to show you a country and work with Steve to help you to get the most out of the trip.
Intrepid Travel are more than just a travel company though. They are dedicated to helping to make the World a better place. They achieved B-Corp status in 2018, and are working to become carbon neutral. They are aiming to be a purpose-led business, driving social and environmental issues above profit.
As a part of this Intrepid formed the Intrepid Foundation, which has distributed over $20 Million since its creation in 2002. This is donated by its travellers, and matched by Intrepid, to help local communities and projects around the World.
Intrepid were one of the first travel companies to ban elephant rides on their tours, as a part of their comprehensive animal welfare policy.
You can see more about Intrepid Travel and what they contribute to my tours on this link.
Steve only runs four or five tours a year to balance with his family life and varied professional work. This also helps to keeps things fresh: running tours with Steve's passion and enthusiasm takes a lot of energy: spreading our schedule means that you will get the same incredible dynamism on each tour. You can see the tours that we are currently selling, and those that are in planning below. On the tours that are in progress you can register your interest which is vital for our more popular destinations.
Morocco is an endlessly fascinating and colourful destination, which manages to blend modernity and history, whilst still retaining much of its charm and culture.
We spend time exploring the iconic city of Marrakech, with its thriving main square which conjures up images of the North Africa of the movies. We also visit the walled coastal city of Essaouira, made famous as a location in Game of Thrones.
There is a cinematic link to our next destination too: the ancient kasbah of Ait Benhaddhou, has been countless films and TV series over many years. It lies under the North Star as so is the perfect place for shooting perfect star trails.
On this adventurous trip we also stay in two photogenic areas of desert - including soaring dunes in the Sahara Desert, visit a number of small traditional villages and take in the atmospherically unchanged walled town of Taroudent.
India is a land of festivals and one of the most iconic is the Pushkar Mela, which is synonymous with a sea of camels spread out across the desert. We will also attend the little-known Kolyat Mela that attracts pilgrims and Indian sadhus to bathe in a holy lake.
As well as these two festivals, we will see many of the highlights of this great state: the cities of Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur, and the towns of Jaisalmer and Bikaner, where we will photograph Palaces, ancient Forts and historic buildings.
We will also explore the more rural region of Shekhawati, which is noted for its historic painted buildings that were decorated with ornate murals in the 17th–19th centuries by Marwari merchants.
The historic theme to this trip carries on in our accommodation: we will stay in former havelis, a stately home and even a Maharajah's hunting palace.
Laos is undoubtedly one of the most laid back countries in Asia, and still retains much of its original charm. This exciting photography tour will be timed so that we can visit the Wat Phu Champassak festival, where long lines of monks receive gifts and alms from hundred of pilgrims amidst the ancient Khmber ruins.
Our exciting itinerary will take in the highlights of this incredible country from top to bottom: we will explore the languid islands of Si Phan Don on the Cambodian border, enjoy the lively cities of Pakse and the capital Vientiane, photograph the hauntingly mysterious Plain of Jars, visit hilltribes amidst stunning mountainous scenery in the far North before finishing in the iconic city of Luang Prabang - an enchanting blend of culture and history.
Ladakh is, quite literally, a breathtaking destination - perched at the very roof of India, the atmosphere here feels more Tibetan than Indian. It is a land of monks and monasteries; of snow-capped mountains, high passes and fluttering prayer flags.
Our itinerary will be timed to witness an ancient religious festival in a historic Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in the remote Zanskar Valley, where we will see traditional masked Cham dancers. We will also be able to witness the Leh Polo Festival, a blend of culture and exciting equestrian sport.
As well as comprehensively exploring the ancient Leh Valley, we will cross the towering Khardung La pass to the Nubra Valley, visit the Hemis and Lamayuru Monasteries, before driving to the Zanskar Valley. We will leave Ladakh on an adventurous drive to Manali in Himachal Pradesh, before finishing in the hillstation of Dharamashala.
Madagascar gives new meaning to the word unique: although influenced by cultures as far afield as France and Indonesia, the blend that forms the culture of this island nation is like nowhere else you will have ever been.
We are planning to revisit the town of Marondava for the Avenue de Baobab and the remote Tsingy de Bemaraha, before flying to Ifaty in the south, before driving back to the capital Antananarivo.
The wildlife in Madagascar is particularly unique, most notably with the endemic species of Lemur and Sifakas, which come in a bewildering array of species - you may even be lucky enough to encounter the feared Fossa. There are also countless chameleons and plants that you will find nowhere else on Earth - including many species of mighty Baobab trees.
Turkey has long been at the crossroads of history, culture and even religion. This slightly shorter trip will start in the mesmerising city of Istanbul which spans Europe and Asia and has influences of both.
Delving into ancient history, we head to the spectacularly preserved Greco-Roman metropolis of Ephesus on the Aegean coast to photograph the exquisite facade of the Library of Celsus and the ancient calcite terraces of Pamukkale, and the nearby ruins of the thermal spa of Hierapolis.
Further afield we witness the Whirling Dervishes of the conservatively religious city Konya, before carrying on to the incomparable town of Cappadocia, which is noted for its fairy chimney rock formations, ancient underground cities, and unique cave dwellings - best observed on a sunrise hot air balloon ride.
There is so much to see in Sri Lanka, with incredible historic sites, vibrant cities and even tea-covered highlands. This adventurous journey visits many of the highlights, giving a spectacular insight into the history and culture of this vibrant island.
We will photograph the best of the incredible historic sites: the religious caves at Dambulla, the ruins of Pollonnaruwa and Anuradhapura with its vast religious stupas and the stunning rock fortress of Sigiriya – perched on a massive granite outcrop.
Sri Lanka boasts incredible wildlife too, and we will explore the Yala National Park, looking for Leopards and wild elephants at the Minneriya Reserve.
Holi is the festival of colours, and nowhere celebrates more than the city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh - the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Holi in Mathura, and nearby Vrindavan, is a festival of exuberance and joy, and we will spend the time to photograph all of the different traditional celebrations, including the Haurangi, where women beat men with ripped garments or even sticks.
We are also planning on including the nearby Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, the fascinating city of Gwalior with its incredibly opulent Maharajah's Palace, colourful fort and carved Jain statues, and the stunning majesty of the Taj Mahal at Agra.
This will be one of our Assignment... series of tours, designed to emulate the approach of a professional photographer to a festival or significant event.
We can organise a Tailormade tour to any destination in the World for any duration. It might be a few days in the UK, somewhere in Europe or even further afield. Past destinations have ranged from a few days on Dartmoor in Devon, to an extended tour of Nepal.
A tailormade trip gives you the ultimate freedom. You can select exactly where we go, and what we photograph, the level of accommodation and even the inclusions. You can also select who you travel with, organising a trip just for family or a group of friends.
