This workshop is now full. We are looking into the possibility of running a second Scotland workshop from October 17-26, 2025.
If you would like to be notified when that workshop is posted, send Rick an email.
Total cost: $7,295, which includes the workshop fee, and 9 nights of lodging and breakfasts. A $2,500 deposit secures your place. The balance will be due 90 days before the start of workshop; see the Fees and Payment Terms section below for complete information..
Download the workshop PDF for a complete description of the workshop, including full itinerary, specific gear recommendations, lodging and travel information and more.
The Scottish Highlands are incredible year-round, but in the fall, they are amazing: the low angle of the sun, intense cloud patterns and vivid color make the area particularly photogenic. Rugged coastlines, jagged peaks, countless waterfalls, colorful woods, fishing villages, castles, ruins, and farms with highland cattle and sheep all blend into a rich tapestry where the human element is woven into the landscape. It is truly is a magical place to be on a photo tour.
In this small, 10-person, lodging-inclusive workshop, we’ll spend our time exploring and photographing this compositional playground. We’ll start and end our adventure in the historic and vibrant city of Glasgow, but the bulk of our time will be spent on the breathtakingly beautiful Isle of Skye. With the charming fishing village of Portree as our home base, we will explore nearby iconic locations like the Quiraing (pronounced ‘key-RANG’), castle Eileen Donan, and the Old Man of Storr. This island is one of those very special locations where you can stop at nearly any pullout and create beautiful images. And the village of Portree is a perfect place for us to stay, entirely walkable with wonderful food of all kinds, great coffee and plenty of shops.
We’ll be joined on this adventure by my good friend Rick LePage. Rick is my workshop coordinator, and a great teacher and photographer in his own right. His presence will give us a 5:1 student-teacher ratio, ensuring that you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get the help and direction that you need throughout the workshop.
Workshop schedule
Plan to arrive in Glasgow on October 5, where we’ll have a late afternoon meet-up and dinner. We’ll spend a second full day exploring Glasgow (and to help deal with the effects of jet lag). From there, we’ll move on to Portree for the bulk of our stay, ending up back in Glasgow on the 13th, so you can fly home on the 14th — or continue to explore the beauty of Scotland (or other locations) on your own.
We will do our best to have regular image reviews and post-processing discussions during the workshop, but our focus will be on helping everyone capture beautiful and interesting photos in the field. The schedule below will give you a good idea of the scope of the workshop, and when we’ll be where; as always, we’ll go where the light and the land take us.
Day 1: Sunday, October 5 (travel day)
Arrival in Glasgow at our hotel. Meet and greet over dinner.
Day 2: Monday, October 6 (Glasgow)
After breakfast, we’ll meet up at our hotel to discuss the workshop itinerary; talk about local customs and things to know about Scotland; look at a weather forecast; and have a general Q&A about trip. We’ll also have portfolio reviews that morning.
Later, we’ll walk around the central area of Glasgow, doing some street photography and getting to know one another as a group. We will make sure that we break early enough so that people can get a decent night’s sleep.
Day 3: Tuesday, October 7 (Glasgow to Portree)
We’ll leave Glasgow early in the morning and leisurely make our way to Portree, on the Isle of Skye. The drive will give you a beautiful introduction to the Highlands, with its lush valleys filled with tall mountains and waterfalls galore. We’ll stop at a few special spots along the way, including the Three Sisters waterfall and the famous Eileen Donan castle. We’ll also stop for a fun lunch at the Clachaig Inn, one of our favorite spots in the valley.
Near the end of the day, we’ll check into our hotels in Portree. We’ll walk around the town and find something to eat, and head to bed, ready to begin our Skye adventure early the next morning.
Days 4-8: Wednesday–Sunday, October 8-12 (Portree)
The schedule throughout our stay on Skye will be flexible, depending upon the group’s interest and the weather. We will have both sunrise and sunset shoots throughout the week, exploring much of what Skye and the Highlands have to offer. Locations include:
-
The Old Man of Storr, one of Scotland’s most famous landmarks, and one that is absolutely stunning when seen up close. The hike to the top is strenuous and is voluntary; Hudson will lead a group up for a dawn shoot.
-
Quiraing, a vast landslip 1700 feet in elevation on the northern side of Skye, with plenty of paths and expansive vistas to the Outer Hebrides. We’ll spend the end of one day on the Quiraing, and for those not up to the Storr hike, we’ll head to the Quiraing for a dawn shoot of our own.
-
Neist Point, Skye’s westernmost spot, set on a plateau filled with green pastures, and surrounding cliffs with unbelievable views. To be honest, the lighthouse on Neist Point isn’t terribly photogenic, but the surrounding scenery is all that and more, with plenty of grazing sheep, sea birds and gorgeous views of Moonen Bay to the east.
-
Talisker Bay. Home to one of Scotland’s premier whiskies, it is also the location of a gorgeous secluded beach, which includes an easy level hike through private land. Depending on group interest, we can stop at the distillery for a tour, but we will plan to spend sunset on the beach.
-
The Fairy Pools of Skye, a magical set of waterfalls with turquoise-colored pools at the foot of the Black Cuillin mountains.
-
The Fairy Glen, an otherworldy landscape carved from landslides more than 100,000 years ago, full of miniature hills and valleys and gnarled trees.
- We’ll also look at having a sunrise shoot overlooking Castle Eileen Donan, one of Scotland’s landmark castles.
Throughout our days on Skye, we’ll explore the island, stopping wherever we find beauty or interesting things: you’ll find there is so much to see and experience in this corner of the globe.
Day 9: Monday, October 13 (Portree to Glasgow)
We’ll leave Portree early in the morning for our drive back to Glasgow, stopping along the way to photograph whatever takes our fancy. We’ll aim to be at our hotel by late afternoon, for a short rest, followed by a farewell dinner with the group.
Day 10: Tuesday, October 14 (Travel day)
We’ll break as a group, as folks leave for home, or further adventures abroad.
Logistics
As noted, you’ll want to be in Glasgow on October 5, and we have booked a group of rooms in our hotel for the participants that evening. If you want to come in a day or two early to help with jet lag and/or get your bearings, let us know; we can book a room for you for any extra nights, either before or after the workshop.
Lodging in Portree will be in one of two hotels directly in the town center, the Portree and the Bosville. Both hotels are excellent, with attentive staff and their own restaurants. Everything in Portree is close; our classroom, where we’ll meet for image reviews and any post-production sessions, will be in an short-term rental a block or two away from the hotels.
During the workshop, we will utilize two vans to help us get around and hold our gear.
Payment Terms
The Scotland workshop is priced at $7,295, which includes eight full days of photo instruction and nine nights of single-occupancy hotel accommodation (breakfasts included). You can secure your place with a $2,500 deposit. An invoice for the remaining balance will be sent approximately 120 days prior to the workshop. The balance must be paid in full 90 days before the first day of the workshop.
Workshop payments are fully refundable less a 10% fee up to 90 days prior to the first day of the workshop. If you cancel anywhere from 89 to 60 days prior to the workshop, we will make every effort to find a replacement. If we can fill your spot, 90% of the workshop fee will be refunded; if we cannot find a replacement, we will refund 50% of the fee. Any cancellation within 60 days is non-refundable.
Download the workshop PDF for a complete description of the workshop, including full itinerary, specific gear recommendations, lodging and travel information and more.
