Travel Light: Chase the Light

REGISTER: More info and registration

Ireland Photo Tour with Tillman Crane

I hope you will join me to photograph in County Mayo, Ireland! Traveling light with our iPhones we will spend our time photographing along this beautiful part of the Wild Atlantic Way. Based in Westport, on Clew Bay, you will find a subject that inspires your creativity – whether the dramatic coastal landscape, archeological sites, history, culture, or the small towns that blend all this with a fresh and friendly take on hospitality.

Tour Highlights ~ A Photographic and Cultural Adventure

• iPhone Travel Photography in County Mayo, Ireland.
• Experience Western Ireland while spending the majority of your evenings in one accommodation.
• 9 days with accomplished photo tour leader, chasing the light and educational instruction.
• Tour limited to 12 passengers.
• Ensuite Accommodations: hotel and spa just outside the town of Westport, which boasts lively traditional Irish music sessions. 
• Discount available for non-waterfront rooms.
• Relaxed & flexible itinerary to make the most of the opportunities that come your way. 

This workshop is open to all photographers but is focused on the iPhone technology. The iPhone can be a serious camera, with some capabilities that even the latest DSLR or Mirrorless cameras don’t have. It’s portable; the latest models have high-quality lenses and advanced software features. The camera and photo editing apps that can be added to enhance the in-camera features are truly amazing. Sharing your images on social media has never been easier and we’ll cover this topic as well. 

There will be daily lessons to help you capture your stunning shots. I’ll guide you through the fundamentals of iPhone photography, from composition to lighting, basic editing techniques and introduce a variety of apps to make your camera and digital darkroom more complete.

This is an excellent opportunity for photographers and enthusiasts who want to capture the beauty of their travels using the powerful iPhone camera. With expert guidance and the stunning scenery of County Mayo, you will learn new skills, create stunning photographs, and have an unforgettable experience. Don’t miss out on this opportunity; sign up today! 

If you have an Android phone, please contact Tillman Crane to discuss the viability of your phone and the use of apps with your phone on this tour. You will enjoy traditional Irish breakfasts and dinners during your stay. Lunch will be at various restaurants and pubs, or we can stop in town and have a picnic lunch wrapped for our daily excursions in the field. Transportation is provided in a roomy tour van.

Why use my iPhone as a travel camera? 

I am often asked this question because, for most of my 46+ years as a working photographer, I used large format cameras and film. 

For myself, when digital cameras gave my negatives more information than I could get on film, I took the plunge into digital cameras. I make big platinum/palladium prints, and these need a negative with a great amount of information. The switch to a digital camera system still left me with bags of equipment, and I wanted to travel more lightly, without the restrictions to tripods in many places I wanted to photograph and capture the information for the negative I needed. 

I started playing with my iPhone, and the more I found it could do, the more intrigued I became about its capabilities as a travel camera. I decided to walk my talk for a recent workshop in Italy to teach iPhone photography. Will it replace the medium-format Fuji cameras I use for my professional work? No, but traveling with just my phone made it possible for my wife and me to discover so many places we hadn’t been able to before because it was so easy to move around. I had plenty of images to work with when I got home, and my spouse has enthusiastically signed up to travel more with me while I photograph. These are my reasons for using the iPhone as my travel camera.

Itinerary

May 16  Home

Your journey to Ireland begins with an overnight flight from the U.S. to Shannon Airport, Ireland.

May 17  Shannon – Westport, Ireland

You will be met at Ireland’s Shannon International Airport (arrival time will be announced in first packet)and driven north to Westport, on the shores of Clew Bay. Depending on the time of year there may be an opportunity for the group to photograph the sunset over Clew Bay. (D)

May 18 – 24  Western Ireland

Each day you will visit some of these typical areas from your home base. There is no possible way to visit all of them, so your tour leader and guide will plan each day considering the interests of the group. The evenings can be spent over photographic discussions in the hotel or enjoy the sights and sounds of the many Irish pubs in Westport. They abound with traditional Irish music every evening of the week. 

Visit Ballintubber Abbey, or Baile Tobair Padraig, in Irish. It is one of the oldest Abbeys in Ireland dating back to the twelfth century, named for the natural spring nearby, where St. Patrick baptized his first Irish converts. After working for a few hours in and around the Abbey you can photograph the ruins of Moore Hall, a Georgian mansion destroyed during the war of independence. Later in the afternoon, photograph Castle Bourke, on the shores of Lough Carra.

Westport and the Village of Newport both capture the flavor of true Irish towns with their tree-lined canals and colorful shops. After a stop in Westport, drive to Murrisk Abbey, at the foot of Ireland’s Holy Mountain, Croagh Patrick. Later in the day you will be at the ocean on the west coast of Mayo at a remote rocky shore called Barnabawn Point. Your last stop will be at Tully House, a private residence at the end of a quarter-mile tree-lined avenue. There is an old mill along the Bunowen River, a short walk from the house.

Another day spent the morning photographing in and around the town of Cong. Photo locations include Ashford Castle, Cong Abbey, the forest, and the river, as well as the town itself. After lunch, you can photograph an area of rolling hills, sheep, and a myriad of stonewalls, on a hillside flowing down to Lough Corrib. The picturesque village of Cong was the setting for John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara’s film The Quiet Man. The King of Connacht founded the abbey ruins in the twelfth century. In 1198 the last High King of Ireland died in the abbey. 

Driving north today, your first stop will be along the ocean on Atlantic drive in Mulranny. After lunch on Achill Island, continue photographing along the ocean, and wind up at the deserted famine village at Keel. Achill Island, wrought by wind and water, is an arrangement of rock, cloud, and cliffs falling off to the sea.

Another day, photograph in the morning along the shores of Doo Lough, visiting two locations. After lunch in the town of Louisburgh, spend the afternoon photographing in the Sheeffrey Hills, a place where you must be careful not to disturb the leprechauns who inhabit the forest.

Burrishoole Abbey is a great place to start one of your days. Nearby is Carrigahowley Castle, one of the many strongholds of Grace O’Malley, the adventurous sixteenth-century Pirate Queen. Later in the afternoon, visit Letterkeen Forest.

May 25  Westport – Shannon

Leave Westport early this morning, driving south to County Galway and Clare, where you spend the evening not far from Shannon Airport. There are many options along the way, from the Burren region to the town of Galway or perhaps the town of Gort. There lies a 16th-century Norman castle with a small cottage attached. The Irish Literary Revival began near this castle – in Coole Park, an estate owned by Lady Gregory where she hosted the likes of George Bernard Shaw, W. B. Yeats, and J. M. Synge. It was a haven – a place of retreat for William Butler Yeats.

The group will be spending this last evening at the airport hotel. Take time to repack for your flight tomorrow. Overnight Shannon Hotel (B, L or D)

May 26   Shannon – Home 

You can depart at any time today as the airport is a five-minute walk, and there are luggage carts for your use. (B)

Note: This itinerary has been carefully constructed to assure participants the best there is to offer; however, should events arise that are beyond our control, itinerary, activities, and hotel arrangements are subject to change without notice.  Be assured that we will make substitutions that are as similar in quality and interest as possible.

Covid-19 Update

For all our tours, Strabo highly recommends that all participants and instructors be up to date with Covid vaccinations (per definition of the CDC). Local laws will apply to all international tours. It is important that you abide by each country’s entry requirements. Please contact Strabo Tours if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to help and guide you through your journey

General Information

Land cost: $3695 per person, double occupancy. Based upon minimum of 8 paying passengers, maximum of 12. There is a small group surcharge of $300 if 6 or 7 paying passengers.

Please Note: Waterfront rooms have been included; if you prefer a discount of $230 per room without a water view, please contact Strabo Tours.

Single room supplement: $595, Single rooms are subject to availability and are not guaranteed. This rate is limited to first 5 singles.

*Note: The trip cost depends on the current exchange rate between the Euro and U.S. Dollar. Although the rate has been relatively stable, should it change, the trip price may need to be adjusted.

The land cost includes: 

• Group transportation for tour events in the tour van.
• Accommodations based on two people sharing a room.
• Services of driver guide during the tour.
• Meals as listed in the itinerary.
• Extensive pre-departure information and services.

The land cost does not include: International air fare; air fare tax; airport transfers; additional transfers or accommodations that may be required by those not traveling with the group; meals not listed in the itinerary; activities listed as optional, or those taken on your own; passport expenses; personal medical or travel insurance; any expenses of a personal nature or those not listed in what is included; tips to guides and service staff.