This tour is for the photographer looking for a laid-back, Italian experience focused on making breathtaking photos of the Italian countryside. Over 6 days, we will wake up each morning to capture the rising sun and mist that forms in the valleys. We will explore the villages and towns, try wines, and enjoy to the fullest the heart of Italy.
We will stay at a local Agriturismo, a working farm where you will stay in apartment-style living with your own bedroom, have plush amenities like a “pool-with-a-view,” and of course, delicious, homemade Italian food + wine each night. This tour is laid-back, with all shoot locations located within approximately an hour of our accommodations.
The moon phase on this tour will be a crescent moon, which means if the sky is clear we can opt to practice night and astrophotography.
Our itinerary is subject to change. We may switch up days, shoot orders, etc. to accommodate for changing weather and the pace of the group.
🖼️Making Impactful Landscapes
✔️Using Tripods Properly
📷 Concepts in Composition
🎨 White Balance & Color
🗻Depth, Compression of Perspective & Scale
🌎Pre-Scouting Locations via Apps
🌌 Photographing stars & Milky Way
🛩️Drone Photography (totally optional)
🍷Pasta-making, Wine & Slow-Living
🔤 Maybe some Italian Language?
💻Basic Lightroom Editing, if there is time
Bonello is an oasis of peace and beauty in the heart of Val d'Orcia— it is the perfect place to base ourselves for our time together. Our host is Luca Savelli, whose family purchased this farmhouse in 1969. They have meticulously restored it, bringing to light and recovering ancient architectural details and original materials that had remained hidden for many years.
Aside from having your own room (you won't need to share) for the duration of the trip, Bonello offers the following highlights:
Panoramic pool with views of the rolling Tuscan hills
Stone walls and terracotta flooring
Breakfast each morning
Fly overnight to arrive in Florence for the start of our tour on May 14.
The flight listed here is the flight your instructor(s) will be taking. If you experience delays or miss our arrival, you will be responsible for finding alternative transportation.
We will pick you up at the airport in our vehicle rental and make our way to our accommodations about a two hour drive away.
We will do our best to have an early dinner/late lunch, so that we can catch the sunset.
Once we have had some time to rest, we will do a sunset shoot nearby our accommodations.
Photograph one of the most famous vistas in Tuscany. Sunrise is at 5:55 AM, but we hope to be there at 5:15. Lucky for us, our home base is only a 5 minute drive away. There will be several other workshops running at the same time as ours, so we have to make sure we get a good spot!
We will return to our accommodations for rest, and spend the day exploring the nearby town of Pienza.
Today has been a long day, so we will make sure to have a proper evening of Tuscan food before retiring to bed.
Photograph sunrise at Poggio Covili - another very famous view. We will also visit a photogenic lone grouping of Cypress trees once the sun has risen.
The majority of this day will be spent at Podere il Casale, where we will take a guided tour of the farm, the stables and dairy. We will then be learning how to make 3 different types of fresh pasta, complete with pairings and dessert - and we will get to eat it!
After taking some time to ourselves at our accommodations, we will reconvene for a picnic dinner at our villa, and venture out to photograph the sunset. If weather cooperates, we can stay out later and photograph the night sky. With the moon phase being a crescent moon we can photograph on any night we choose.
Today we will drive south to visit Bagno Vignoni, a village known for its hot springs, and a "refreshment point" for Christian pilgrims on their way to Rome. Where most towns have a main square - Bagno Vignoni has a "main pool." Don't forget your bathingsuit - we will be taking a dip in a nearby natural spring! We will make other photo stops nearby while we are here. We will take a short break at the villa afterward before continuing on.
Visit the Abbey of Sant'Antimo, a former Benedictine monastery. Today, a small community of Benedictine monks live there.
Visit one of the worlds most famous names in Wine: Montepulciano. Montepulciano is a medieval hilltop town with cobbled winding streets, surrounded by vineyards. Try wine to your heart's delight as you will find wineries and vintners on every corner. We will meander the streets, hilltop view, and make a stop at a Wine Museum.
In the afternoon, we will actually leave Tuscany and cross the border into Umbria to visit one of Italy's largest lakes: Lago Trasimeno. Take in the breathtaking views while exploring the medieval fortress of Rocca del Leone.
One last chance for a sunrise, before we end our trip.
We will check out and head directly back to Florence Airport.
For those who will be staying longer to explore the incredible beauty and opulence of Florence, you will need to take the tram to Firenze SMN - the main station.
Fly home.
The flight listed here is the flight your instructor(s) will be taking. You are free to book any flight to any destination after our departure.
Each shoot location is located within an hour of our accommodation. There is no hiking. The towns we will visit are cobblestone or brick, and require some uphill walking. We will however, be making use of the incredible light that appears at dawn for most days of this tour, with breaks during the day.
✅ All overnight accommodation at an Agriturismo
✅ Ground transport
✅ Homecooked breakfast at our accommodation
✅ Half-day Pasta-making class, tour & 4-course lunch with wine
✅ Admission to Rocca del Leone
✅ Photography guidance & instruction
✅ Optional Post-tour Zoom Session for Feedback/Critique
❌ Flights
❌ Alcohol, Lunches, Dinners (except for Lunch on Day 3)
❌ Any tips or gratuities
❌ Visa(s)
❌ Travel Insurance
You will automatically receive information about travel insurance with our partner, Redpoint, a couple of days after your successful trip registration. You can take a peek here.
Allie Richards is a professional landscape photographer and year-round resident of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She's best known for her strikingly vibrant photographic style and for showcasing her work on aluminum. She plans many of her photographs in advance; she pays attention to weather events, the phases of the moon, and uses various apps to aid her artistry.
Allie’s work has earned her several awards, including the PRC Boston Student Image Award in her college years, and an ambassadorship with f-stop Gear. She participates in local exhibitions at the Chatham Creative Arts Center and the Chatham Chamber of Commerce Art in the Park Event. Her work has been published by Cape Cod Life Magazine, The National Parks service, and other publications.
Hope Pashos has embraced the digital medium after shooting on film since she was a child. Her specialties are nature, landscapes, and astrophotography. She loves to photograph the world around her, but focuses on New England and its shores and abundant waterfalls and travels frequently to Iceland as well as many US National Parks.
Hope’s passion is to share her knowledge with others. A former Pro and Genius with Apple, Hope has been able to teach iPhoneography and develop techniques with the iPhone for both taking and editing photographs. She developed one of the first iPhone photography workshops, teaching her signature macro technique on an iPhone 4. As the iPhone camera developed, so too did her techniques. With the built-in capabilities of the newest iPhones and additional attachment lenses, Hope can now photograph any type of subject, under any conditions. And using a combination of the latest mobile editing apps, she is able to digitally process her images - both from her phone and from her full-sized Sony camera - while on the go.
Hope has had her collection ‘Boston After Dark’ displayed in a collective exhibition. She has also been exhibited in locations around the US, including an exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and printed in various publications.
