Tarkine Photo Adventure 2024
Location: Arthur River, Tasmania
Dates: November 8th-12th 2024
Instructors: Paul Hoelen & Benjamin Maze
Physical Activity: Low-Moderate
Places: 5-7 participants
Price: $2700-$3200
Join Benjamin Maze and Paul Hoelen on an unforgettable 5-day Tarkine photography workshop visiting one of the great hidden jewels of landscape photography in Australia: the wild and magnificent Northwest coast of Tasmania. Over the workshop we will delve deeply into the magnificent takayna / Tarkine area, photographing some of the most rugged coastline, pure rainforest, and pristine rivers in the country.
We have deliberately set no fixed itinerary, ensuring that we can match each location with the best conditions, relative to the weather, light, and our in-depth local knowledge to achieve the best image creation windows possible. Your two expert leaders will be with you the entire time, helping you to make the very most of your equipment and craft your imagery as well as possible: both through composition on location and post-processing back at our very comfortable base.
About the location
takayna/The Tarkine is home to the largest temperate rainforest in Australia, a large array of wild and endangered creatures and possesses one of the most rugged, varied, and photogenic coastlines you’ll ever witness. The Tarkine photography workshop has a comfortable base at Arthur River. We’ll have access to an incredibly varied selection of photographic locations, so we’ll have something to capture and explore no matter what nature throws at us – moss-laden trees for the rainy days and jagged dramatic seascapes for those colourful sunrises and sunsets. Best of all, you’ll be guided to these places and educated on how to best capture them by two extremely passionate photographers with hard earned local knowledge and a committed relationship to this landscape!
Photographic Opportunities
Once we settle into our accommodation right on the edge of the Arthur River, we will assess which of the incredibly varied set of locations nearby will best suit relative to the wind, sea, tide, weather, and lighting conditions at the time. This is perhaps a little unusual relative to a fixed itinerary, but we can assure you that this is a massive benefit to our experience.
The weather in Tasmania is highly changeable, especially on the wild west coast, and your leaders are experts at reading weather conditions across the state. By being flexible we can ensure you the highest chance of being at the best location in the most ideal conditions. We will coach you on how we read the conditions to make the best possible judgement, using essential planning skills that you can take away and use to plan your own shoots!
Some of the target locations we may visit during the trip are listed below, which will be prioritised relative to which best align to the conditions at the time.
COAST
Edge of the World
Sarah Anne Rocks
Nelson Bay
Couta Rocks
Stanley / The Nut
Rocky Cape
FOREST
The Tarkine Drive
Sumac Lookout
Lake Chisholm
Milkshake Hills
Truwotta Arch
RIVER
Rapid River
Julius River
Nelson Bay River
Dip Falls
Meet your instructors
You’ll have both Paul Hoelen and Benjamin Maze, two internationally-recognised professional landscape photographers, providing location guidance and tuition every step of the way. Our small group size ensures you’ll receive individual attention, as well as a wide breadth of knowledge from both Ben and Paul’s individual approaches and intimate understanding of capturing nature through the lens.
Price & Booking
Twin-Share: $2700 | Single Supplement: $3200
Secure your position on the workshop with a $750 deposit. Final payments are made via direct deposit and are due no later than 30 days prior to the workshop’s commencement.
*note - any couple bookings require two “Couple” deposits to be ordered at the same time.
By booking you acknowledge and accept our Terms and Conditions
Got questions? Read on for more info!
Accommodation
Our first stop will be spent in the beautiful north-eastern town of Stanley, with views towards The Nut. We will spend our first sunset and sunrise capturing this iconic pronounced headland, with several opportunities for views and compositions presenting themselves.
For the remaining three nights, our accommodation base will be at the Arthur River Lodge, nestled along the banks of the beautiful, tannin-stained Arthur River that emerges onto the wild west coast from deep in the rainforest. The base is perfectly situated, being right on the rugged takayna coast at the ‘Edge of the World’, yet is also only a short drive from incredible regions of old growth Tasmanian rainforest, part of the largest temperate rainforest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The lodge is well appointed with two cooking areas, two bathrooms, two separate lounge areas and plenty of room to set up for processing your images between location shoots.
Flights & Logistics
We will conveniently have two participant meeting locations; one located in Hobart, and one located in Launceston. Please note the commencement & conclusion times below.
Ensure your flights arrive with sufficient buffer time to arrive at the meeting location well on time, as well as enough time for the drive back to Hobart on our final day. The meeting location will be provided during the information sessions.
Commencement
Hobart CBD - Friday November 8th @ 8:00am
Launceston CBD - Friday November 8th @ 12:00pm
Conclusion
Launceston CBD - Tuesday November 12th @ 12:00pm
Hobart CBD - Tuesday November 12th @ 4:00pm
Meals
Due to the remote nature of our accommodation and very limited local infrastructure, it’s not realistic or possible for us to eat out for all our meals. Our first evening will be spent in Stanley where we will have dinner at the Stanley Hotel; there are cafés available for our breakfast here too. The rest of the meals during our remaining time at Arthur River (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 3 dinners) you will need to take care of independently.
We will be assisting guests with purchasing their own food, and we will provide ample opportunity to visit supermarkets for everyone to stock up. Guests will cook their own meals in the two separate kitchens at the accommodation, and we may even eat the meals out on location depending on where we go. The leaders will provide meal suggestions for those that need a little help.
This workshop prioritises photography and this approach ensures we can be in the right place at the right time to make the best possible images in this remote and very special location.
Exclusions
✖ Airfares and Transfers
✖ Food and Beverage
✖ Insurance
✖ Optional experience costs
Inclusions
✓ 4 nights of Accommodation
✓ Ground Transport
✓ On-Location Coaching
✓ Image Processing Sessions
✓ Park Entry
For questions & enquiries, get in touch below
Tarkine Photo Adventure 2022 w/ Luke Tscharke
Tarkine Photo Adventure 2023 w/ Paul Hoelen
Testimonials
“Having done two other tours before, I cannot fault this one. The tutors were a delight, locations were nothing short of stunning and the option to provide your own food was very welcome and made timing of photoshoots much easier.” - Betty B
“This is a great opportunity for photographers at all levels. I am not that experienced but Ben and Paul took their time to encourage and teach aspects relevant to my level of experience. I learned heaps and have come away with new skills.” - Lou L
“Amazing locations, excellent accommodation & a great group of people to hang out with. Paul & Ben's passion for photography & education shines through, they were more than willing to help share their knowledge at any time & definitely helped me look at how to approach my own photography from a different point of view. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone.” - Jim O
"I highly recommend their workshop. I think the energy and knowledge they both bring is invaluable. The workshop is great value for money. Ben is such a good instructor, and a master at finding small scenes and grand landscape. I learnt how and what to look for from a scene. The post processing session was very useful and learnt a lot. In short, if you want to take your photography to the next level, I would highly recommend their workshop" - Praveen S
"I would highly recommend … you will have a great experience!" - Valerie K
"Very informative and engaging. Their collective experience in ensuring each participant got the best from every location was fantastic." - Jim I
“Attending the Tarkine workshop … was an amazing experience. They were able to take us to incredible locations. From ancient mystical rainforests to the wild windswept Tarkine coast, [they] adjusted the itinerary each day so that we were always at the right spot at the right time. [They] are passionate photographers and all too willing to share their time and expert advice. Always encouraging, they will help you compose better photos and motivate you to better understand your camera. It was a real pleasure to experience the remote rugged beauty of the Tarkine … Their workshop is the perfect balance of adventure, learning and fun. Highly recommended.” - Joanne C
