2018 Photo Workshops for Ice and Icebergs

How about a little Ice and Icebergs in 2018?

Ive still got a few spots left on my Iceland workshop and my Newfoundland workshop in 2018...

Check out my Newfoundland trip here, https://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2018newfoundlandworkshop

Check out my Iceland trip here, https://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2018-iceland-workshop-in-march

Photo Workshops in Canada

There is something to be said travelling with a company that intimately knows the areas you want to visit on your next photography holiday. Wouldn't you agree?

Take the Yukon for example. I have been travelling there for many years, and researched the area both by scouting our locations, and have created a relationship with many local operators and Yukon Parks. Its only through this research and planning, long before you step foot in the Yukon, that assures you that the trip you are taking with me is thoroughly planned out. 

Most people don't know that in the Yukon, like other areas around the world require your guide and photo workshop leader to apply for multiple permits, and that your guide, that being me, is licensed, insured and has had the trip permits approved by the appropriate authorities.

In the Yukon for example there are a few permits that need to be considered when visiting any Yukon Parks. Two relate directly to you visiting the Yukon on a Photo Workshop... 

1. Commercial Recreation Park Permit  - This permit applies to, but is not limited to, commercial guided wilderness tourism activities such as hiking, horseback riding, dog mushing, canoeing, kayaking, sport fishing, mountain biking, skiing, snowmobiling, wildlife viewing, and photography, including aircraft landings within park boundaries. 

If you want to step off the roadway and truly explore the Yukon the way it should be... this permit needs to be applied for. But hey, if you want to go on a photo tour that just stays on the roads dodging transport trucks, you can always do that with another company... ;-)

2. Commercial Filming and Photography Park Permit  - This permit applies to all commercial film productions or commercial photography shoots including filming/photography for motion pictures, documentaries, advertisements, or other commercial products (e.g., calendars, books, postcards, posting photos on social media that you directly generate money from etc)

If you are a hobbyist that just likes to take photos for yourself, this wouldn't apply... but i would hate that you came with me and took a once in a lifetime photo that someone wanted to buy from you... but then you couldn't sell it because you weren't covered under this permit and legally not allowed to make a penny form your photo. Or lets say you enter the photo into a competition, and you win a prize for the photo... legally, that can be argued that, that is making money from an image... I bet you would have wished your photo workshop leader had that permit to ensure you were covered then... ;-)

On top of the permits, there is the Wilderness Tourism License that a guide needs to have in the Yukon. Who needs a tourism license? Anyone who takes clients into the Yukon Wilderness in return for a fee or reward.  The Yukon Wilderness is identified as stepping off the highway right of way. As a result, highway bus tours don't need a license... but really, we are there for a photo workshop, not a drive by bus tour with a bunch of tourists more interested in taking selfies with a mountain behind them.

You come to the Yukon to experience the back country images that can only be taken by stepping off the highway, or getting off that plane that flies over the glacier... You want to get on that glacier, you want to ride on that dog sled in the wilderness, and you want to get off the highway and go to the other side of that gorgeous mountain the bus tours see from the road... and you want to be assured that your guide has done all the work before you get to your workshop. 

I encourage you to visit my page with more information on the Yukon, and see the list of all my Yukon workshops. You can view that page here,  www.kevinpepperphotography.com/photography-workshops-in-the-yukon

I lead photo workshops for wildlife, the stunning landscapes and the ethereal northern lights.

I would love to introduce you to one of my favourite locations in the world to photograph and enjoy. 

Kev

Introduction to the 2017 Yukon Photography Workshop - Week Two

This trip is designed to give you the opportunity to photograph all the diversity that the Yukon has to offer.

We will cover the area around Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tombstone Territorial Park and areas along the Alaska and Dempster Highways.

You will visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve to photograph all the animals that exist in the Yukon. Species include, Mountain Goats, Thinhorn Sheep, Arctic Fox, Woodland Bison, Canada Lynx, Moose, Musk Oxen, Caribou, Elk and Mule Deer.

Our time at the Preserve will be spent behind the fence lines for an intimate photo opportunity with these animals… no fences, no casual vacationers, a private photo session for half a day with these majestic animals.

You will also be shooting winter mountain landscapes in what they call the Patagonia of Canada, Tombstone Territorial Park, and visit deserted mining towns built during the gold rush around Dawson City… Canada’s final frontier.

But the icing on the cake is the evening aurora hunting. We will do this in the best areas to photograph aurora in North America, some might even say, the World. From flat landscapes framed by mountains to forest settings, surrounded by towering cedar trees. You will be presented with aurora photography dreams are made of, and bucket lists are checked off...

Dates of Yukon Trip:  Workshop is 7 days from March 18 to March 24, 2017 - three Spots Left

Itinerary of Workshop

Price of Workshop: $3985CDN for a maximum of 6 people (approximately $2995USD... please check accurate conversion at time of booking) - please inquire about staying for both weeks if you want to be there for two weeks. I will offer a reduction in price for staying for the two weeks

Included: Airport pick-up and drop-off, Single accommodation, all breakfast and a welcome dinner, Snacks, soft drinks, water during the day, Daily transportation via a 6 passenger minivan or 8 passenger Suburban or equivalent. Hot drinks and snacks during aurora viewing nights.

Not Included: Alcoholic beverages, meals that are not listed as included in the itinerary, International flights, Items of personal nature, Items not listed as included

Deposit Required: $1,000CDN - Balance due before December 15th, 2016.

Day One - A day to Welcome You to the Yukon

Today you will arrive in Dawson City, home of the best aurora photography in Canada. You should schedule your arrivals so that you arrive in Dawson City before 4:30pm. You will get picked up at the airport by Kevin and shuttled to our accommodation.

You can unpack and have some free time before dinner. Today would be your day to explore downtown Dawson City.

We will meet for a group dinner and go over the itinerary, get to know one another and discuss the various photography situations we will find ourselves in this week.

After dinner, if the skies are clear, we will head out into the countryside for one of many nights of aurora photography. There are a number of spots around Dawson City that we have identified with interesting foreground elements that will enhance your aurora images.

Tonight we will be staying at the Aurora Inn in Dawson City. Dinner is included tonight

Day Two – After breakfast we will be taken out by our local guide to visit a few local ghost towns, buildings still standing as they were up to 100 years ago. These two locations form part of the Yukon’s historical gold rush, now sitting abandoned for your photographic pleasure.

After our day of abandoned photography, we will head back to the hotel to relax, download images and go through the images together, discussing editing styles in an optional photo editing teaching class.

After dinner, its aurora hunting in different areas around northern Yukon… from Dawson City to Tombstone Territorial Park we will track down the aurora to take images of the night skies as they turn colours with curling bands of light that most people wish they had the opportunity to see.
Tonight our accommodation will be at the Aurora Inn in Dawson City.

Day Three – Our night will have been a late one… up to the wee hours of the morning taking images of the northern lights.

Today we will sleep in and have breakfast together. After breakfast we will have another editing session to discuss aurora photography editing. I will give you some ideas on how to edit, how to compose and create impactful aurora images.

After lunch we head out for a sunset photo shoot in Tombstone Territorial Park… long into the night we will remain at different locations in the Park at many areas we have scouted.

You will be photographing winter landscapes before the sun goes down and then, as night descends, some long exposure images that include star trails as we wait for the aurora.

Tonight we will stay out as long as the aurora puts on her nightly show at this time of year.
Tonight our accommodation will be at the Aurora Inn in Dawson City.

Day Four – Today We head South to Whitehorse.

Today we will head south to Whitehorse, the last Frontier of Canada, famed for the Yukon Gold Rush, steeped in history and tradition, a place you will remember for a lifetime.

Today's drive will see us leave the remoteness of the north and wind south through small towns and mountain landscapes, stopping often to take photos at stops along the way… the further north we go, the more remote we will get until we end up at the quaint and colorful town of Whitehorse.

Upon our arrival we will check into our hotel and unwind over dinner, awaiting the sun to descend, and hopefully a night of aurora before us.

Tonight our accommodation will be at the Westmark Inn in Whitehorse.

Day Five - A Day for the Dogs

Today is our day to hop on our two-man dog sled and ride as people have done for centuries in the Yukon.

Imagine sledding across untouched snow on a perfectly clear winter day in the Takhini Valley, I can attest that has a profound effect on the human soul. You are surrounded by low-lying mountain ranges where the only sound you hear is your dog team, running at a modest pace as they love to do, and perhaps the call of an eagle or a raven nearby.

With frequent stops to take photos, I am sure you will agree when we get back that this was a once in a lifetime experience.

Then, as the day winds down and you need to relax, it’s a visit to the Takhini Hot Springs for a soak in the outdoor hot springs and soak up the memories and the atmosphere.

After dinner, if the skies are clear, we will head out into the countryside for one of many nights of aurora photography. There are a number of spots around Whitehorse that we have identified with interesting foreground elements that will enhance your aurora images.

Tonight we will be staying at the Westmark Inn in Whitehorse.

Day Six – A Day for Wildlife

In the morning while the animals are more active we will visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve for our 3 or 4-hour private photo shoot with Yukon’s wildlife. The diversity of natural habitats on their 700 acre site allows for the unique presentation of northern Canadian wildlife.

Their remarkably varied landscapes include low-lying flat lands, rolling hills, wetlands and steep rock cliffs. Visitors will experience a range of ecological features on a trip to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and be presented with photographic opportunities that will allow you to photograph the animals as if they were in the wild.

In the afternoon we will take some time to go through your images. Its time for some editing tips, some time to compare photos and learn more digital darkroom techniques. After, if you wish, you can head downtown and do some souvenir shopping in Whitehorse

Tonight we will be staying at the Westmark Inn in Whitehorse.

After dinner, if the skies are clear, we will head out into the countryside for one of many nights of aurora photography. There are a number of spots around Whitehorse that we have identified with interesting foreground elements that will enhance your aurora images.

Day Seven - Its Back to Reality.

Schedule your flights home from Whitehorse

If you want to see the last true frontier in Canada, click the following link http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/contact-me