My husband and I recently joined Jan Miracky on his Shuttermoon tour of Cinque Terre, Italy. This was our second tour with Jan, and like the first tour, we thoroughly enjoyed our time.
Jan has excellent communication and follow-up skills – any pre trip questions were answered in a very timely manner.
The trip was well organized and kept a good pace. For those looking for a lot of downtime and relaxation, this was not the trip for you. Although we did a lot of moving, we enjoyed nice leisurely lunches/dinners and benefitted greatly from the expertise of our local Italian guide, Leo, in picking restaurants to give us a great non-tourist experience. The lodging and transfers were very comfortable.
We unfortunately didn’t have nice sunny weather for our time in Cinque Terre, but that enabled us to learn how to overcome less than perfect weather and still come out with good photos. Both Leo and Jan were readily available to advise on settings and composition to make sure we got the most out of the photo sessions.
The group dynamics were great and we all encouraged each other to try different compositions, long exposures, etc.
We relied heavily on shooting at blue hour (and the weather cooperated) which are my favorite photos of the trip. Seeing the villages light up in the evening was a highlight for me.
Although the focus of the tour was certainly photography, my husband is a non-photographer and still found the trip to be very enjoyable. Obviously, as photographers we search out the best views, and he had the benefit of both seeing the best views and then having time to explore a bit on his own while we spent time photographing.
I’m looking forward to taking another Shuttermoon tour with Jan and would not hesitate to recommend his tours.
I’d also like to add that a real bonus is his after-tour critique/feedback of your photos. Jan provides a very thorough review of each photo you submit to him so that you benefit from the expertise of a successful professional photographer to help you improve your own photos.
