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Prepare for the most satisfying landscape and equine photography tour of the year! The Cappadocia Photo Tour will guide you through the best photo locations of Cappadocia’s unique, breathtaking UNESCO-protected landscape, formed by volcanic activity 60 million years ago.
At sunrise, experience dozens of colorful hot air balloons floating in the sky above the iconic rock formations. Get a taste of the experience and shoot amazing photos of Cappadocia from the hot air balloon. You’ll have many opportunities to capture the local rugged volcanic landscapes from different vantage points.
More than 100 wild Yılkı horses will surely make for a true highlight and a unique subject. Wild and semi-wild horses are led by experienced local cowboys. You will feel the ground shaking under your feet while your vision is obstructed by the massive cloud of dust illuminated by soft sunlight.
We will use horses as models on multiple shoots to add scale and give you another layer of interest to work with to make your images even more interesting.
We expect you to get a wide variety of images on this photography tour and thoroughly enjoy the unforgettable photo experience we have prepared for you.
No other photo tour in the region can match this one for its rich and varied itinerary put together by great local photographer Nuri Çorbacıoğlu and his team. Cappadocia has so much to offer to photographers like you!
As a bonus, you will taste delicious traditional Turkish cuisine that we believe you will fall in love with, along with Cappadocia.
If you want to extend your photography trip, consider joining the 3-day extension in Istanbul.
On the Cappadocia photo tour, we will regularly take advantage of soft light and shoot at sunrise and sunset. In addition to that, we have an interesting photographic program in place for the mid-day. You will also have the opportunity to learn how to make your images pop during our post-processing sessions.
If you cancel:
An additional cancellation fee of 150 EUR applies to cover the payment fees and our service fee.
The structure for days 1 to 4 will be as follows: We always start with the sunrise shoot (except for Day 1), then we’ll have breakfast at the hotel. Our lunches will be between noon and 1 p.m., and we’ll finish each day with a late afternoon and sunset shoot and have dinner afterward.
The photo tour highlights will always take place at sunrise or sunset to use the best possible light. Various activities await us during the mid-day.
The daily break time will be typically after breakfast or before the sunset shoot for at least 1 hour.
Ideally, we will all arrive in Kayseri on the same evening flight from Istanbul on September 14th. We take a transfer to our stylish 4-star cave hotel in Cappadocia and enjoy the sleep after a long journey.
On day 1, we’ll take it easy and enjoy breakfast. After breakfast, we’ll meet and go through the itinerary to give you more information on what’s happening in the upcoming days.
Today, you’ll indulge in the history and background of Cappadocia. We will visit the Zelve Open Air Museum, one of Cappadocia’s first inhabited and latest abandoned monastic settlements.
After lunch at a local restaurant, we will visit Pasabag Fairy Chimneys Valley to photograph the millions of years old rock formations.
For sunset, while catching the best light of the day, we’ll photograph more than one hundred wild and semi-wild Yilki horses. Skilled local cowboys will make them run in front of our lenses while sunbeams try cutting through the thick dust cloud. You will love this experience!
We’ll have dinner either on the way back or at the hotel.
For our sunrise shoot, we’ll photograph a scene with a herd of 15-20 horses, rock formations, and hot-air balloons in the air. We’ll have breakfast at the hotel and can enjoy some downtime.
At mid-day, we’ll visit an authentic pottery workshop and photograph evocative environmental portraits of the local pottery master. We’ll use a smoke machine to create an excellent setting for the play of shadows and light. We’ll also visit a ceramic shop where you can admire the final products and, if interested, purchase one for your home.
After lunch, we’ll embark on a 2.5-hour drive to the Salt Lake (Lake Tuz). We’ll have two horses accompanied by a cowboy and a local model in a dress for our sunset shoot. They will be our subjects in this beautiful natural environment where the sky reflects in the lake’s shallow water.
We’ll stop for dinner on the way back to our hotel.
A hot air balloon flight is an optional yet highly recommended activity for the sunrise. You’ll flow over the serene landscapes with dozens of other hot air balloons around you and distant views of Mount Erciyes. You’ll get gorgeous photos when the first sunrays start hitting the rock formations. After the flight, we’ll return to the hotel for breakfast and downtime.
If somebody prefers to stay on firm ground instead of participating in a hot air balloon flight, we’ll offer you an alternative landscape shoot of the rock formations with hot air balloons.
In mid-day, we’ll first explore Görkündere Valley, take a short walk, and photograph fairy chimneys. We’ll continue to a carpet store and workshop where you can see and photograph artisans weaving the carpets, learn how they’re made, and, if you want, purchase one for your home.
After lunch, you can enjoy a rest at the hotel.
Before sunset, we’ll walk to Ortahisar Rock Castle, which offers splendid views of Cappadocia and Mount Erciyes. The illuminated Ortahisar castle and a self-titled village will become our subjects for the blue hour.
We’ll stop for dinner on the way back to our hotel.
On our last sunrise shoot, we’ll go to one of the viewpoints over the valley (e.g., Love Valley) for a landscape photography shoot with rock formations and hot air balloons in the sky.
Our mid-day program will be determined based on the group’s abilities. We may visit the underground city or Keslik monastery. We’ll have lunch on the way and some downtime at the hotel.
At sunset, you’ll get a second opportunity to photograph the wild horses photo shoot from Day 1! You can improve from the first time and get more memorable shots you’ll be proud of.
We’ll enjoy our farewell dinner on the way back to the hotel.
After breakfast at the hotel, we will say goodbye to Cappadocia and move to the airport for our flights back home on September 19th.
Please note the itinerary is subject to change, primarily due to changing weather conditions. We will do our best so you have an enjoyable experience and can get the best pictures possible, even if it means changing the plan.
We will also run post-processing sessions in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC to provide another benefit from this photo tour. We will work on your images from the tour and unlock their full potential.
Jan will take you on a journey from unattractive and flat photos to vibrant, appealing, professional-looking pictures that will sell well.
In a short time, you’ll understand why editing your photos is important and how to do it efficiently.
For post-processing sessions, we’ll use the time for rest and do it in small groups of one to three participants.
Upon request, we can also discuss various topics such as digital asset management, backup workflow, or anything else that interests you.
You will fly to the Kayseri Erkilet Airport in Central Anatolia. We will give you the recommended arrival and departure times so you can use the included transfer between the airport and our hotel in Cappadocia. The Kayseri Airport is only a one-hour drive from Cappadocia.
We will use a comfortable Mercedes Sprinter with large windows and a spacious trunk for transportation (or another vehicle with the same standards) driven by a local professional driver for the entire tour.
Once your plane lands, we’ll arrange all transportation. You don’t have to worry about a single thing. The luxury van will have a cooler with bottled water for everyone to use freely.
Throughout the Cappadocia photo tour, we will stay in one 4-star hotel, which will be an experience on its own. We will stay in one of the finest cave dwellings in the region with warm and cozy rooms. We chose a hotel with high standards for you to enjoy and feel comfortable on our photo tour.
Please note that every cave hotel has stairs, and they don’t have lifts. You should be comfortable walking on stairs.
You can opt-in for a single room for a supplement fee of 275 EUR if desired. You can upgrade to a higher-standard room if you are a couple. Ask Jan about the options before the tour.
We arrange all your breakfasts and dinners (including soft drinks) from Day 1. Daily breakfast is included at the hotel. We try to use the best restaurants available in the areas where we will shoot. The chosen restaurants will always have an a la carte menu.
If you have any allergies or are a vegan or vegetarian, please let us know when you book so we can make arrangements according to your needs. Turkish cuisine is mainly based on meat.
The fitness level is easy. Generally, we will not walk more than 6 km (4 miles) daily. Trail walking surfaces and those beyond the parking lot are generally uneven – thus, hiking boots are recommended.
The Cappadocia photo tour involves trail hiking and elevation gain to arrive at certain shooting locations. No climbing is involved, and more physically demanding moments won’t last more than 1 minute, can only improve your composition, and are thus optional.
Many spots will be easily accessible from a parking lot or roadside. Reaching some locations may be deemed moderate activity based on the participant’s physical condition. Anybody with regular fitness should not have any problems whatsoever.
Participants do not need to be in prime physical shape, but one’s enjoyment of this photography trip will be based on good health and preparation. If unsure, please consult with your doctor before attending our photo tour.
You can also take our self-assessment quiz that indicates whether our photo tours are a good fit for you. Get your personalized report now.
Intermediate photography experience is recommended. We expect you to know the basics of exposure and composition and be comfortable handling your camera. Terms like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, bracketing, or self-timer should be in your vocabulary.
If you’re a beginner or unsure if this photo tour is suitable for you, contact Jan.
You can also take our self-assessment quiz that indicates whether our photo tours are a good fit for you. Get your personalized report now.
Jan is an award-winning landscape and travel photographer based in the Czech Republic. Jan regularly runs photography tours in Prague and the United States and more adventurous photo expeditions in places like Peru. Jan’s instruction on multi-day tours focuses on training each participant to see hidden compositions. Jan’s goal is to ensure each participant comes to understand composition and exposure, yielding more desirable results.
A photography artist who has ‘photography’ as the center of his life. His work has been displayed in more than 20 exhibitions, and his body of work of almost 100 photographs has been exhibited and awarded in more than 10 countries. In 2012, The International Federation of Photography Associations (FIAP) deemed him worthy of the AFIAP title – Artist FIAP. He works on documentary productions, cinematography and directing studies, and also runs Turkey Photo Tours and Cappadocia Photo Tours to take his passion for photography to the international field.
You’ll need good hiking boots and a jacket in case the temperatures drop in the morning. But likely, you will only need a hoodie or a sweater. Before the tour, we’ll send you a list of recommended clothes and photography equipment.
In September, the temperature averages around 23°C (73°F) during the day and regularly falls to 8°C (47°F) at night.
Sunrises are approximately at 6:20 a.m., and sunsets are approximately at 6:46 p.m. on these dates.
Cappadocia Photo Tour is operated by Nuri Çorbacıoğlu İnşaat Med. Tur. Dan. San. Tic. Ltd Şti. with directions Mevlana Mahallesi, Taslak Sokak, No: 13/42, Talas-Kayseri, Turkey.
Hashtag Travel Agency is the agency we work with on this tour.
Yes, non-photographers are also welcome. The tour price for non-photographers is the same as for photographers.
A photo tour usually refers to a trip where leaders bring participants to the usual shooting locations and let them be without much help. In a workshop, leaders work more closely with participants and actively help them to take stunning images. Even though this event is called a photo tour, in its nature, it’s more of a workshop. Your leaders will work with you and help you craft good images, but they will also shoot themselves.
Take our self-assessment quiz to find out. After answering mostly Yes/No questions that cover areas such as photography, fitness, and comfort levels, you will receive a personalized report showing whether our tours are suitable for you.
Answer 28 questions and receive a personalized report that will help you understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
The average time to complete is 15 minutes.
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