Slovenia photography tour, Autumn in Slovenia

Planet

Slovenia has plenty of fresh water sources and the water is of excellent quality. We encourage our guests to use tap water to save environment from excessive plastics and to save some money. All our guests get reusable plastic water bottles so they can fill them anytime.

Nature in Slovenia is still very well preserved although it is under constant pressure from development. While photographing we often pick up trash, educate our guests about nature, animals and plants and how it’s all connected. We always carry binoculars with us so the guests can use it for watching birds and other wildlife which helps understanding nature and its fragility. Also books about animal and plant life are always present in our van.

On this tour we spend a lot of time outdoors photographing landscapes and nature. Our guides always educate our guests about rules of conduct in national parks and other important nature areas.

To reduce the amount of driving we pick accommodation that is very near the places we photograph and use it as our base. We do not travel from place to place every single day but rather stay in the area for 2-3 days so our guests can get to know it better. This way there is also more time for photography itself and the air is cleaner. We only use modern diesel vehicles that energy efficient and comply to the strict standards of European Union.

We do not send out any printed brochures or itineraries. Everything is available online on our website and in PDF and we discourage our guests from printing it out. Also the invoice for this tour is issued electronically. It is our small contribution to use less paper.

People

We promote traditional crafts performed by local people, like stone cutting in Karst, cheese making in Bohinj, a visit to a beehive at Lake Bled… If the guests are fit enough we can arrange a visit to mountain pasture to experience the old ways of life and to sample some fresh dairy products. All these places supplement their income in this way – we pay for their demonstration plus our guests can buy their products directly from them.

We only use established local eateries and restaurants that offer locally produced seasonal food - run by local people who know traditional recipes of the area best. Food is one of the most important parts of the travel and we educate our guest about local specialties, the background of the food they eat (where it comes from, why it is important, ingredients & recipes…).

Where possible use only small local private suppliers of accommodation (pensions, b&bs, farmhouses). This way our guests benefit the true hospitality and more authentic experience and local community benefits from the money they spend – a fair trade. We communicate directly to these suppliers so there is no middle man who would get most of the money. We caress our relationship with these suppliers (usually local family or a small company) because our interest is long-term partnership. Most of the places we use will also offer something more to our guests – like invitation to wine cellar or in the season our guests can join grape harvest or help feed the farm animals…

Only local photographers with intimate knowledge of the area guide this tour. Great guide/photography leader is of key importance for us. The right person can make or break the experience of our guests so we work only with best guides and in off season we offer free training, study trips and education on different aspects (one of them is how to travel responsibly). Also our local photographers know the culture and where is allowed to photograph and where not.