Landscape Photography – Tuscany May 2018 is my latest YouTube vlog detailing some of my exploits as I travel to various parts of the world.
From the 5th to the 12th May 2018, David Clapp and I ran a photography tour and workshop in the Val d’Orcia of Tuscany.
10 people joined us for what was a great week of photography. Our participants stayed in 2 rustic farmhouses just south of Pienza, and one night were treated to a traditional Tuscan dinner provided by our hosts.
The Val d’Orcia does, of course, need no introduction as it is world-famous as a photography destination as well as being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Farmhouses, rolling hills and misty mornings abound as we took our clients to some of the area’s best places. Each of them thoroughly enjoyed the tour and especially liked the local food, which is always a bonus.
We’re running the Tuscany photo tour again in May 2019, so if you’re interested in joining us then please take a look at the workshops page for more information on pricing and dates.
From 5 to 12 May 2018, I led a week-long photography workshop in Tuscany with David Clapp. We were based in the Val d’Orcia, one of those parts of Italy that photographers know well, yet it still surprises every time I return. The shapes of the hills, the cypress lines, the farmhouses and chapels all feel familiar. Then the weather shifts, the mist rolls in, and the whole place changes character.
We had ten guests with us, so by the final evening, there were twelve of us in the field, including David and me. People had travelled from all over, including Washington DC, which says a lot about how strongly Tuscany pulls photographers in. Some came for the classic views, some for the atmosphere, and some because they wanted a week of early starts, good food and shared time behind the camera. We had all of that.
A few things shaped the trip from the start:
I run more photography tours and workshops for people who enjoy this mix of travel, tuition and time in good locations. Tuscany always earns its place amongst them because it gives so much variety within a small area.
A photography tour is never only about the places. It is also about the people you share them with, and this group was great fun to lead. James was one of those people who always seemed to have a smile ready, even at quarter past four in the morning. Stephen had one of the best practical bits of fieldcraft on the trip, which I stole with pride.
By the end of the week, everyone had settled into that rhythm photographers know well. Wake in the dark, work through whatever the sky gives you, talk settings and compositions in the field, then laugh about it over dinner later on. That rhythm is one of the reasons I enjoy running these tours so much.
Five days into the trip, we reached one of our dawns in the heart of the Val d’Orcia and found stubborn conditions. The weather looked poor at first glance, and from the viewpoint near Pienza, the scene behind us was half-hidden. Still, the mist was moving in and out of the folds of the hills, and that gave us something to work with.
That is how Tuscany often goes in spring. You do not always get the clean postcard sunrise. Sometimes you get layers of vapour, a village barely visible in the distance, and a lot of standing about whilst you wait for the scene to organise itself. I do not mind that. Some of my favourite mornings happen when I have to be patient.
Breakfast was calling on that particular morning, but David was not giving up. He was off looking for flowers and trying to piece together a frame with a soft background using a long lens, almost hand-held at 600mm.
Later in the week, the weather became even more of a factor. We had heavy rain and a run of thunderstorms, which left the ground soaked and the tracks muddy. The stony ground in the Val d’Orcia is hard enough on the knees when it is dry. Add wet grass and mud, and you quickly start to notice every kneel and crouch.
Stephen and James had brought along a simple fix, half a sleeping mat. It sounds basic because it is basic, but it worked brilliantly. They cut a foam mat in half and used it as a kneeling pad, which meant they could get low without soaking their trousers or grinding stones into their knees.
A half sleeping mat is one of those bits of kit that never looks exciting, yet it earns its place in the bag the first time the ground turns wet.
That little detail summed up the week for me. Good photography is not always about big, dramatic ideas. Sometimes it is about staying comfortable enough to keep working when the weather turns against you.
I spent part of one morning working with my Canon 6D and trying a slight blur in the oilseed rape behind one of the farmhouses. The movement in the field was subtle, so I kept the effect restrained. I wanted the frame to feel alive without turning it into a wash of colour.
That kind of decision came up again and again across the week. One moment I was looking at broad views with layers of mist, then a few minutes later I was paying attention to flowers in the foreground, a patch of moving crop, or the shape of a cypress line. Tuscany invites that shift because the details matter as much as the grand scenes.
Across the trip, our kit varied, but it was all there for a reason. My working cameras included the Canon 6D and Canon 5D Mark II, with lenses such as the 17-40mm, 24mm TS-E Mark II, 28-70mm, 70-200mm and 100-400mm. Lee filters came out when the contrast needed controlling, and the Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod with a 410 geared head earned its keep on the calmer setups. None of that matters without seeing the picture first, but when the weather gives you a narrow chance, reliable gear helps.
One morning, we went to one of the best-known spots in the Val d’Orcia, a farmhouse framed by cypresses. It is one of those views that appears everywhere, and I have even seen a Tuscan farmhouse like it printed on packets of prosciutto back in France. That says plenty about how deeply these shapes are tied to the idea of Tuscany.
Still, a famous location is never enough on its own. If I take a group to a well-known viewpoint, I want more than a record shot. I want people to look at the light, the movement in the crops, the spacing of the trees, and the weather around the subject. On 11 May 2018, that mattered because the ground was wet, the air was cool, and the atmosphere kept shifting.
We worked those scenes carefully. Some frames suited a longer focal length and tight composition. Others needed breathing room so the curves of the land could do the work. Meanwhile, the soft weather gave us a gentler palette than a hard, blue-sky sunrise would have done. That suited Tuscany perfectly. The region can carry bold colour, but it often looks best with softness and shape.
I also liked seeing how the group responded to the place. One participant had come all the way from Washington DC, and that sense of discovery never gets old. People arrive with strong expectations because they have seen these hills in books, calendars and magazines for years. Then they stand there in the damp grass, hear birds waking up over the fields, and realise the real thing has far more depth than any single photograph can carry.
The final evening brought us to one of the best-known chapels in Tuscany, the Cappella della Vitaleta. By then, the photo tour was nearly done, and the group was spread out in a wheat field trying hard not to trample the crop. We had about ten minutes to wait and hoped the light would break across the chapel before the day gave up.
That last session had the right mood for the end of a photo tour. Everyone knew what they were doing by then. Tripods were set, compositions were checked, and conversation came in short bursts because all of us were watching the sky. There is always a quiet edge to the final shoot of a good week. You want one more strong frame, but you also know the whole experience has already been bigger than the last light.
The sunset itself was not spectacular. That happens. A place as beautiful as Vitaleta does not magically fix a flat sky, and there were a few other people around, too. Even so, we still came away with images, and more than that, we had the simple pleasure of being there together on the final evening.
Later, with the cameras packed away, dinner was waiting. That felt right. Tuscany is not only about dawns and viewpoints. It is also about ending the day well, talking through the frames you made, and sharing the bits that did not work.
James summed the week up better than I could in the field.
“Absolutely amazing. This place is fantastic, well worth coming to see.”
He had been smiling all week, so I trusted the verdict.
By the next morning, the tour had finished. Some people were staying on in the area, others were heading straight home, and I was moving on to my next stop for a few nights. That mix of endings always comes with workshops. Everyone scatters quickly after spending a week rising in the dark together.
The success of the Tuscany trip did not come from the weather, because the weather was often awkward. It came from how the group responded to it. When mist hid the wide view, we looked for mood. When rain soaked the ground, we adapted. When the sunset did not fully arrive, we still made the most of the location.
That team spirit matters more than people sometimes realise. Good photography tours are not only about being driven to the right place at the right time. They also depend on a group willing to stay flexible, share space, and keep their energy up when the plan changes. This group did that from start to finish.
Tuscany helped, of course. It always does. The hilltop villages, the cypress lines, the farmhouses and chapels all gave us strong subjects, whilst the local food and the pace of the week made it enjoyable away from the camera too. That balance is part of why I keep going back.
At the time, I was already planning more trips. Tuscany 2019 was in the works, and I knew it would not stay quiet for long once the dates were set. If a week like this proves anything, it is that Tuscany in spring rewards people who are happy to work with whatever the weather brings.
I had also announced the October 2018 Tuscany workshop and the January 2019 Glencoe winter workshop. For anyone who wanted to keep up with future trips and reports, my photography newsletter was the best place to hear first.
When I think back to that week, I do not first remember a single perfect frame. I remember the patience the place asked of us, the wet ground, the mist around Pienza, the search for flowers with a long lens, and the group standing in a wheat field waiting for light on Vitaleta Chapel.
That is why Tuscany keeps drawing photographers back. It gives you beauty straight away, but the better pictures come when you slow down, adapt, and let the place reveal itself over time.
