Cappadocia Photo Tour 2020

Get ready for the most satisfying landscape and equine photography tour of the year! Cappadocia Photo Tour 2020 will guide you through the best photo locations of Cappadocia’s unique and breathtaking landscape that was formed by volcanic activity 60 million years ago.

Experience dozens of colorful hot air balloons in the sky at sunrises and do street photography in traditional little streets decorated with many tiny shops selling common goods. We will also visit Sultan Sazlığı National Park which includes more than 500 species of birds, the impressive Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls that may put some Icelandic waterfalls to shame, Kyrgyz village with huge marquees, men and women with traditional clothes attending to horses…

Lastly, of course, the best and unique subject – wild horses! More than 300 wild and semi-wild horses led by experienced cowboys. You will feel the ground shaking under your feet and we will not be able to see each other in the huge dust cloud that sun rays will try to sneak through!

We expect you to get a wide variety of images on this photography tour and thoroughly enjoy this extraordinary photo experience we have prepared for you.

No other photo tour in the region can match this one for its rich itinerary put together by great local photographer Nuri Çorbacıoğlu and his team that I teamed up with. Cappadocia’s stunning area simply has so much to offer to photographers you like! As a bonus, you will taste delicious traditional Turkish cuisine that we believe you will fall in love with, too. As well as with Cappadocia.

September 14 – 19, 2020

2 690 EUR

Small Group Experience
4 – 8 participants

Intermediate photography level.
Easy fitness level.

On Cappadocia photo tour, we will take advantage of soft light and mostly shoot at sunrises and sunsets. During the day, we can shoot interiors to avoid the direct light of the sun. Or you may prefer to rest in your hotel or explore the area by yourself.

For some shoots, we will arrange models or horses to add scale to our photographs. Of course, you will be able to choose whether you want to include them in your pictures or not.

Also, on one or two nights we can emerge in astrophotography if weather permits. How would you like the fairy chimneys of the Cappadocia under the Milky Way? The days when we will do astrophotography will be determined according to the weather forecast and the group’s wishes.

Highly probable, you will arrive in Kayseri around afternoon or evening. After everyone arrives, we will go for welcoming dinner so you can get the taste of Turkey right away, at least through your taste buds. Together, we will go through the itinerary for the upcoming days and get to know each other.

At the sunrise, we will watch and photograph the hot air balloons. After sunrise, we will visit some open-air museums or valleys in Cappadocia which may be a good opportunity for some street and landscape photography.

During the day, we will rest a bit in our hotel and go to Kyrgyz Village at sunset. We will be greeted by people dressed in traditional clothes and we will get invited into their homes inside the marquees to experience a bit of local life. We will taste the traditional Kyrgyz cuisine and take portraits of the people and their marquees.

We will shoot hot air balloons and Cappadocia landscapes at the sunrise.

After the sunrise, we will visit an authentic pottery workshop. This will give us a chance to photograph the local workers and their workshop.

For the sunset, we will go to Salt Lake. At night, we will do astrophotography with fairy chimneys if weather permits.

This day, we can have models and horses for the sunrise shoot as well as for the sunset shoot at Salt Lake.

We will photograph the Cappadocia landscapes from different spots. This morning, the ones who want to fly with balloons may fly and get awesome photos from the sky!

After the flight, we will hold a post-processing session in Adobe Lightroom where we will show you the potential of the own pictures, explain how digital asset management in Lightroom can work in your favor. You will learn why post-processing is so important.

After getting some rest, we will go to shoot the subject everyone will await with great expectations – the Wild Horses of Cappadocia. You will get the chance of portrait photography of the horses when they are on the farm. Then local cowboys will make a show for us with the horses. They will run around us and we will have some different aspects to take photographs. Who would like to use a drone may use it during the show. The show ends after the sun is gone.

That night, we may do astrophotography at other locations for those who are interested.

At the sunrise, we will be at the Sultan Sazlığı National Park. There is a 2 km walking bridge between the reeds and water. More than 500 bird species should nest here according to the season and this includes flamingos.

We will drive to impressive Kapuzbası Waterfalls that fall from 75 meters and we will have plenty of time to explore the area. According to wishes we may go to wild horses again or spend more time at the waterfalls.

We will spend the last night in Kayseri to catch the shoot the next morning.

At the sunrise, we visit another part of the village to photograph the wild horses. This time, we will take photographs of a smaller herd (about 30 to 50 horses) which allows us to work with more details and get a different style of images.

In the afternoon, we take a photo tour in Kayseri city center for street photography before we say goodbye and you catch your flights home in the evening that day.

In times, when we will not be shooting, we can hold post-processing session in Adobe Lightroom. Jan will show you on your own images how to make them pop and you will learn how professionals edit their shots and bring them from an unattractive RAW file to perfection.

Upon request, we can also discuss various topics such as digital asset management and backup workflow. If so desired, we can also hold portfolio reviews on a one-by-one basis providing honest and constructive feedback.

The closest airports to the Cappadocia are Nevşehir Airport and Kayseri Erkilet Airport. We prefer you to fly into Kayseri Airport as it offers more flights than the other airport. Kayseri Airport is only one hour away from Cappadocia.

We will use comfortable and spacious Mercedes Sprinter for transportation (or another vehicle with the same standards) with a local professional driver during the whole tour. Every transportation will be arranged by us after your plane lands into the airport, you don’t have to worry about a single thing.

Throughout Cappadocia photo tour, we will stay at two different hotels. The first one will be a five-star hotel in Kayseri and the other one where we spend most nights will be an experience on its own. We will stay in one of the finest cave hotels in the region with warm and cozy design rooms. Both hotels offer high standards, we want you to feel comfortable on our photo tour.

All of the meals (breakfasts, lunches, and dinners) and soft drinks will be arranged by us. As an important point, if you have any allergies or if you are a vegan or a vegetarian, please, let us now while you make your booking, so we can make arrangements according to your needs because Turkish cuisine is mostly based on meat.

Photo tour price: 2690 EUR
Deposit: 800 EUR required to reserve your spot
Final payment / balance is due: June 1, 2020

Moderate. Cappadocia photo tour involves some trail hiking and elevation gain to arrive at certain shooting locations. Some shooting locations will be easily accessible from a parking lot or roadside. The trail hiking may be deemed vigorous activity based upon the participant’s physical condition. In general, we will not walk more than 6 km (4 miles) a day with an exception in the national park where there is a 2 km (1.2 miles) long walking bridge amongst the reeds. Anybody with regular fitness should not have any problems whatsoever.

Trail hiking surfaces and those beyond the parking lot are generally uneven – thus hiking boots are recommended. There is no climbing involved and more physically-demanding moments won’t last more than 1 minute and can only improve your composition, hence are optional.

Participants do not need to be in prime physical shape, but one’s enjoyment will be based on good health and preparation. Participants should expect to walk up to 6 km (4 miles) per day. If unsure, please, consult with your doctor before attending our photo tour.

Intermediate. We expect you to know the basics about the exposure and composition and be comfortable handling your own camera.

It is better to have some jackets or polar with you and waterproof shoes during the tour.

In September, the temperature averages around 23-24°C during the day and regularly fall to 8°C at night.

Sunrises are approximately at 6:20 – 6:27 am and sunsets are approximately at 6:51 – 6:41 pm on these dates.

Cappadocia photo tour is operated by Nuri Çorbacıoğlu Fotoğraf Atölyesi (Nuri Çorbacıoğlu Photography Studio) with directions Mevlana Neighborhood, 15st July Street, No: 19/11 Talas Kayseri, Turkey.

Middle Earth Travel Agency is the agency we work with on this tour.