Holland & Belgium Photo Tour
April 24 to May 2, 2024
Join Jim for an unforgettable photo tour to a place that must be on your bucket list. Holland in the spring is dazzling, and the highlight of this trip is a full day to immerse yourself in the exquisite floral designs of Keukenhof Gardens. Nowhere else on the planet will you find displays of flowers like this. Keukenhof is 80 acres of manicured perfection, and you will be enthralled with what you see and photograph. Also included in this tour are classic Dutch windmills, expansive tulip fields, a beautiful traditional Dutch historic village, magnificent Brugge and also Ghent, Belgium. Your photographic skills will be put to the test in the areas of macro photography, landscape photography, night shooting, HDR, and architectural photography. You will learn a lot plus take amazing images.
What you will learn on this photo tour:
Macro photography techniques
Twilight and night photography using HDR
Composition for landscapes
How to replace a sky in Photoshop
Depth of field considerations
Choosing the right camera settings
How to eliminate people from scenes
Itinerary
Day 1: Wednesday, April 24, Arrival Amsterdam
Depart from your home destination and arrive in Amsterdam on this day. Upon arrival, after you go through immigration and collect your luggage, take the free shuttle to our airport hotel to rest from the trans-Atlantic journey. In the late afternoon, we meet in the hotel lobby to discuss the upcoming trip. This is followed by a welcome dinner and an early night's sleep. Overnight airport hotel. 4-star hotel.
Day 2: Thursday, April 25. Keukenhof Gardens
This day is one of the best photography days you'll ever have. We spend the entire day in Keukenhof Gardens, the epicenter of incredible flower photography. The Gardens consist of 80 acres of manicured perfection. Flower growers plant their tulip bulbs and other species of flowers for maximum visual appeal, and there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. Dazzling combinations of color will captivate you for the whole day. We arrive early so we'll have time to do landscape-type shots without any people in the frames. You'll love using a telephoto lens to compress the stunning arrangements of flowers as well as wide angle lenses for exaggerated perspectives. Macro photography, also, is amazing here. Overnight Lisse.
Day 3: Friday, April 26. Alkmaar Cheese Market.
This morning we visit the famous medieval cheese market in Alkmaar. The operation of the market is re-enacted for tourists, but it dates from the 15th century. It's a photogenic sight with uniformed workers, piles of hundreds of cheeses, and traditional scales. We will get there early to get a good vantage from which we can photograph the activities. After the event is over, you can move in for close-ups of the Dutch models and graphic patterns of cheeses. After lunch and in the late afternoon, we drive to Kinderdijk to photograph rows of classic Dutch windmills in sunset lighting. Overnight Lisse. 4-star hotel.
Day 4: Saturday, April 27. Traditional village of Zaandam/Brugge.
This morning we visit a historic Dutch settlement, Zaandam. In 1697 Czar Peter I of Russia spent time here studying shipbuilding, and in 1871 Claude Monet made 25 paintings based on the windmills and the scenes around this city. The traditional houses from centuries gone by make wonderful subjects to shoot as they reflect in the canals. The large, colorful windmills that attracted Monet will still attract your eye as you look for the best angles to shoot them. In the afternoon, we drive by taxi to the fairytale town of Brugge in the Flemish region of Belgium. Overnight Brugge. 4-star hotel.
Days 5 - 6: Sunday and Monday, April 28 - 29. Brugge.
Picturesque cobblestone streets and meandering canals link exceptionally photogenic market squares with soaring towers, historic churches, and old whitewashed almshouses. We will be able to photograph this historic town in many types of lighting including twilight and night. Our hotel is in the heart of the old town, and we'll go out before breakfast to photograph the medieval streets devoid of people and traffic. Everywhere you look, there's a great picture. Overnight Brugge. 4-star hotel.
Day 7: Tuesday, April 30 Ghent.
After an early morning photography session and then breakfast, we drive a half hour from Brugge to the beautiful city of Ghent. This well-preserved medieval city offers striking gothic architecture, narrow streets, reflections in the Lys River, and great twilight and night photography from many different locations. You'll love exploring them all. Overnight Ghent. 4-star hotel.
Day 8: Wednesday, May 1. Ghent.
We have a full day to explore beautiful Ghent. We'll be out at dawn before breakfast to capture the beautiful lighting and the empty streets. During the day, we'll photograph the dramatic cathedral interior of St. Nicholas and St. Michael's Church. Ghent's skyline is beautiful from many angles, and the street cars make excellent subjects as well. Our farewell dinner will be in a stunning, subterranean rock-constructed restaurant built in medieval times. Overnight Ghent. 4-star hotel.
Day 9: Saturday, May 2. Departure.
After breakfast, we take a train directly to the airport in Brussels for our return flight home, knowing we've captured amazing pictures of wonderful gardens, villages, and architecture in Europe.