Explorer Tour — Wildlings and native horses, adventurous horse photo tour for equine photographers by the Pixel Nomad

Explorer Tour: Camper Adventure 08.-15. June 2023

Balkan Tour

Would you like to go on an adventure beyond the ordinary? My probably only, slightly longer and super exciting Explorer Tour is going to the Balkans this June! Or rather to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. I want to look for and photograph local breeds such as the Posavina cold blood, the Lipizzaner and the Bosnian mountain horse. The numerous wild (or feral) horse herds in both countries are also very exciting. In the middle of the mating season, these places promise lots of action pictures! Not to forget the incredible nature of the Dinaric Mountains, the picturesque coast of Croatia and the untouched hinterland of Bosnia!

Join the adventure

This Explorer Tour offers a 8-day guided tour with sessions with local horses, with special emphasis on rare and endangered horses and free living horses. The choice of sessions, locations and breeds allows for a wide variety and experience.

Date

08.-15.06.2023

group size

min. 1 max. 3 persons

Trip Type

Explorative Scouting tour

Fitness Level

Hiking necessary

Brief Profile
Posavina horses at local farmers and ("wild) in the nature park
Lipizzaners in old stud farms
Bosnian mountain horses at local breeders, in magnificent nature
"Wild horses" / free horses in the mountains of Bosnia and Croatia, among others in the famous plateau of Livno

You may be interested if...
you are up for adventure
you want to enter new photographic terrain
you think the combination of cold blood, baroque horse, mountain horse and wild horses in one week is as brilliant as I do
you want to explore some cool spots with me
you want to enjoy a prototype of a photo tour
you are not afraid to sleep in a car or a camper (you can rent a camper everywhere nowadays, and it is currently low season)
you are open-minded and sociable, because we will not only work with horses, but also get in touch with people.

Informations

Camper van
This Explorer Tour is a Camper Adventure. This means that we will travel separately in Camper vans. If you don't own one, it is possible to rent Camper vans of different websites for any budget and comfort.
By travelling in your own vehicle you have the freedom to bring all equipment and outfits of your choice.
You can have additional passengers (partner, family, kids, dogs).
This tour is however limited to 3 active photographers and/or 3 camper vans.

Equipment
We will have mainly staged photo sessions with portraits, herds and free roaming horses sessions. You can’t do nothing wrong with your standard 70-200 mm Iens, but I strongly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and take the opportunity to try out new lenses. To include landscapes, a 35 mm is a good choice, and to be more flexible a 24-105 mm or similar zoom is a great alternative. For wildlife shots and free horses I recommend 100-400 mm lenses or even more tele zoom. Think about a rain cover for your tack.

Outfit
On hot days, short periods of heavy rainfall are possible in the afternoons and evenings. When the sun is out, it will be hot. Bring sunscreen and a hat, hiking boots (wear them before the trip if you buy new ones!), walking sticks and whatever makes it more comfortable for you to hike. Oh, and better bring swimming suits 😉 Sessions on the coast can be very windy.

Fitness
Tours including hiking require a basic level of fitness or at least you should be determined to reach the destination (at your pace 😉 ). I’m also a slow hiker compared to the mountain folk, but I have a strong will to grow beyond my limits. (the photos will be worth it and after a few days you will forget the pain). On flat plains, beach sessions or big pastures you still need to walk a lot to reach the destination.

Explorer Tours are intense, adventurous and absolutely unique. This is the photo tour of a lifetime you won’t regret.

Sign Up to this Explorer Tour!

I will get back to you immediately with detailed informations.

Impressions of the locations and models

Beautiful landscapes, native breeds of horses, free-roaming herds and regional attractions await you.

Some Inspiration how it could look like

Tour equine photography adventure starts here

Explorer Tour

Join me on one of my horse photo scouting tours and discover new horses and new locations with me. During my micro photo tours I’m on the constant search for new exciting models and breathtaking backgrounds. Therefore I’m travelling for a weekend or a few days and schedule photo sessions: from the vast beaches of the North Sea to the panoramic summits of the Alps, in forests and fields, in castles and barns. Each Explorer Tour is unique! And each photo tour is a micro adventure. Discover rare equine breeds, free horses, golden Haflingers and other horse beauties with me.

Micro Adventure
2-3 days
Only 1 spot
2-4 photo sessions a day
Unkown models
Unkown locations
For advanced and pros
Travel expenses incl.
Accommodation incl.
Just for you

Camper Adventure
4+ days
Tiny group (max. 3)
2-4 photo sessions a day
Unkown models
Unkown locations
For beginners and pros
Travel in (rented) camper
Live in (rented) camper
Bring partner / family

Exciting and intense

What to expect

The Explorer Tour is no wellness holiday 😉 depending on the distances I will organise 2 to 4 photo sessions a day. This can be exhausting and we will also spend a lot of time on the road. We will meet horses who have never had a shooting before and are unknown to the community. At the same time I also enjoy meeting experienced horse models which are a dream to work with. Each Explorer Tour is unique, individual and a small adventure.

Perform on a new level

What you can learn

How to handle unexperienced horses? How to check out the location and search for the best spots? How to instruct the owner and helpers for the best poses? How to work flexible and spontaneous in a short amount of time? How to tickle the best out of a situation?

No teacher-student situation wanted? Don’t worry, we can also meet at eye level and inspire each other by sharing our photographic secrets and enjoy the tour.

Join me on my adventures

Upcoming Explorer Dates

Check out my Explorer Events for the upcoming year. Don’t miss to sign up, they will not be repeated and spots are limited.

#explorer_tour

Do you want to see photos of past Explorer Tours on Instagram? Have a look at #explorer_tour and see the results of the other photographers who joined me for a tour.

Camper Adventure

Experience the freedom to roam in combination with all your favourite equipment. Travelling by camping car allows us to explore longer and wider, with more comfort. The best thing: bring your family or partner! While we are off for horse photography, they can enjoy themselves in their field of interest. This way you can combine a horse photo tour with a family holiday. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your dog too 😉

The Camper Adventure is limited to max. 3 active photographers and/or 3 camper vans.

Included — Camper Adventure
Unique photo models and locations
2-4 photo sessions per day
Reasonable camping spots according to location, with electricity if possible
Discussions & inspiration
General performance and instructions during sessions
Flexibile organisation, so everybody can enjoy 100% of the trip
Roadtrip guide so nobody gets lost
Snacks and drinks
Optional: additional passengers and dogs

Excluded — Camper Adventure
Breakfast, food and meals
Arrival / travel expenses to tour start
Camper van or rental camper van
Gasoline, highway fees and ferry fees
Your camera equipment
Optional: individual consulting within your personal need and interest

Micro Adventure

Let’s go off for intense 2-3 days or extended weekend to roam in a specific area. All days are packed with photo shootings and interesting experiences. We will travel together and spend the nights in hotels or hostels. I will pick you up and drop you off at a station, all you need to bring is your dear and some Wanderlust.

The Micro Adventure is limited to 1 photographer.

Included — Micro Adventure
Unique photo models and locations
2-4 photo sessions per day
Reasonable accommodation
Discussions & inspiration
General performance and instructions during sessions
Travel costs and transport during tour
Pick-up from station or airport
Breakfast
Snacks and drinks

Informations & Basic conditions

Each Explorer Tour is highly individual and I don’t intend to repeat identical tours. Compared to a planned and scheduled Photo Expedition, we will be confronted with the unexpected and some Explorer Tours can be surprising. This is why the Explorer Tours have reasonable prices and are mainly calculated to cover the costs. Please contact me for price and detail of a tour.

Equipment
Each Explorer Tour is highly individual in schedule and topic. Please check the detail page of each Explorer Tour for more informations.
My focus is on unique landscape experiences and interesting horses, therefore it is possible that we change locations during the day and drive to the next session.
The Explorer Tour will take place in any weather.

Gear
Camera with battery and flash cards Portrait lens with min. 100 mm (e.g. 70- 200 mm).
You may have opportunities to experiment with wide angle (e.g. 24 mm or 35 mm)
For wildlife and free horses I recommend more than 200 mm (e.g. 100-400 mm or 300 mm or more.)
You should be experienced to handle the camera in manual mode
You may bring your laptop, some Explorer Days will have an opportunity to edit.

Cloths
You should bring clothing and footwear according to the weather and landscape conditions.
Wear new hiking boots already at home, pack sun protection and rain protection for you and your camera.
Fitting gear and track, depending on the tour topic.

Use of Photos
All Photos can be used for your portfolio, your website, social media accounts and your private usage. For the owners and models you need to send 3 edited photos per session not later than 6 months after our tour.
Commercial use is possible, if you send 10 photos per session not later than 3 months after our tour, or at least before the intended commercial usage.

Exploristas

I was fortunate to be accompanied by these amazing photographers. Here’s what they say.

Die liebe Cecile von The Pixel Nomad - vor die Linse Fotografie, plant und organisiert immer wieder Explorer Days und am 15. Februar war eins dieser tollen Events! Ich hab mich so gefreut, dass sie für mich noch ein Plätzchen hatte, denn ich wollte schon so lange Haflinger in Bergen fotografieren und bin nie wirklich dazu gekommen. Der Tag war super schön, mit lieben Menschen und Tieren, sehr toll organisiert, vom ersten Kontakt bis zum gemütlichen Abschluss-Abendessen und ich kann die Explorer Days von Cecile nur jedem ans Herz legen! Danke <3

Adventurous, exhausting and awesome.

This is probably the best way to describe the Alm-weekend. If you are looking for locations that you can't reach by car, but only by foot, a tour with Cécile during the Almsummer is the right choice. In addition to unique horses and locations, you will also get an insight into her way of working with horses and an honest exchange (if you like). For me it was a very successful weekend with many special impressions, a lot of kisses from the two four-legged family members of Cécile and lots of new pictures on the hard drive. It won't be the last time 🙂

Noch nie habe ich bei einer Fotosession so viel gelernt wie mit Cecile auf der Explorer Tour. Wir durchstreiften verschiedene Projekte von "Wildpferden" in Deutschland und ich kam mit so vielen schönen und aussagekräftigen Bildern nach Hause. Cecile hat viel Mühe in die Organisation der Tour gesteckt, und so hatten wir ein volles Wochenende mit wunderbaren Reisezielen! Ich würde diese Tour sehr empfehlen!

Wenn du auf der Suche nach einem wirklich einzigartigen und aufregenden Abenteuer bist - dann solltest du Cecile auf ihren Explorer-Touren begleiten! Es war eine wirklich lustige und lehrreiche Erfahrung, mitzumachen, wenn sie neue Leute kennen lernt, über ihr Projekt berichtet und unbekannte Orte und Modelle erkundet. Sie gibt großartige Einblicke in ihre Arbeitsweise und die Herangehensweise an ein Projekt - eine praktische Erfahrung, die normale Workshops kaum vermitteln können. Man kann nie mit Sicherheit wissen, wie eine solche Tour ausgehen wird, aber sie wird auf jeden Fall bemerkenswert sein.