We recommend that you arrive one day earlier to get over your jetlag and adjust to the local climate and get the first feeling of the country.
If you arrive one day earlier, you can use the day to relax or explore Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. You can take a walk in the medieval old town and admire the river banks and bridges of the Ljubljanica river, and take the funicular railway up to Ljubljana Castle for great views of the city and the Alps.

For those who have arrived one or a few days earlier, we offer a city tour of Ljubljana from 10am to 4pm. The city tour is a great way to explore the Slovenian capital, meet its inhabitants and get ready for the upcoming workshop with Arne Hodalič. In the evening, we will all meet in the hotel lobby for the offcial start of the workshop. After a traditional Slovene dinner, we would like to invite you to join us for an introduction to the workshop with Arne Hodalič presenting his magnificent work from past travels. Arne will also provide you with his best advice on equipment usage and important location details.

After breakfast, we will visit Ljubljana’s colourful traditional food market and explore the inner city to capture some interesting street scenes featuring buskers, entertainers and street vendors. To photograph the magnificent view over the city with the Alps in the background, we will take the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle. As the Sun sets, we will take some amazing twilight shots of the old city to capture this magical mood. After dinner, we will come together for a theory session which will prepare you for the following day: the basics of cave photography and the essentials of taking photos in total darkness (using strobe/s).

After breakfast, we will drive through the beautiful and dramatic Slovenian landscape to the pristine Krizna Cave. Here, you will be able to apply the learnings from the previous evening and shoot inside the cave. Nearby, the bulky Sneznik Castle, built in the 13th-century, makes for a perfect photo subject as you can both capture the castle and its reflection in the small lake.

In the afternoon, we will drive along Cerknica Lake, one of Europe’s largest intermittent lakes, to the hidden natural monuments called Big and Small Natural Bridge, located at each end of a valley.

We will return to Ljubljana for the night. After dinner, we will meet for our daily photo review and a presentation by Arne about working for and with National Geographic.

After breakfast, will drive to Slovenia’s highlight spot: Lake Bled. On the way, we will stop in Radovljica where traditional Slovene decorative candies (named “Lect”) are produced. There, we will have the chance to practice the basics of on-location studio photography.

We will continue to Bled with its iconic fairytale church steeple perched atop the tiny rock island at the middle of the glacial lake that we will visit by boat. Bled is definitely a sight that you will remember forever. During twilight, we will do a special shoot of both the small island with the church and the impressive medieval Bled Castle, situated on a rock, high above the lake.

We will stay in Bled for the night. After dinner at the hotel, we will meet to review the photos taken during the day. Arne will provide constructive feedback and criticism to help you improve.

Early in the morning, we will depart to Triglav National Park. Our route will take us to Vrsic pass, the highest mountain pass in the Julian Alps, well-known for its incredible views of the Slovenian mountains. Have your camera ready for some amazing landscape shots of the mountain range. And don’t even bother to store it, because as we are descending to Soca Valley, you will want to capture the Soca River with one of the most amazing emerald colours you will ever see. We will follow its lively rapids from the source to the spectacular carved gorges, all the way to where it slows down and becomes deeper and more secretive.

This amazing landscape is also the place of one of the most dramatic WW1 battlefields – Isonzo Front. There are plenty of sites connected to this tragic battle that are worth photographing.

Our destination for the day is Goriska Brda. After dinner at the hotel, we will have a non-formal meeting for those who simply want to talk and contemplate on photography.

After breakfast, we will head to Slovenia’s most famous wine producing region. You will have ample opportunities to take photos of wine producing processes and wine cellars accompanied by a wine degustation.

After lunch, we will drive through the Karst wine region and visit some some traditional villages. Here, you will have the chance to practice both your street and architectural photography skills. Afterwards, we will proceed to the Adriatic coast.

Tonight, we will stay in Portoroz – a Slovenian seaside resort. After dinner, Arne will hold a presentation about working with flash equipment.

At dawn, we will travel to Fontanigge’s historical Salt Pans to take photos of the ancient Venetian salt production site during sunrise. Capturing the soft morning colours reflected in the salt pans is a magical sight and makes this one of the most photogenic places that we will visit together. The area around Fontanigge was partly left to nature, providing great diversity of
habitats and hosting several fauna species. Today, it is the core conservation area of Sečovlje Salina Nature
Park. We will return to the hotel for breakfast and then visit Piran, a highlight of the Slovenian coast, strongly influenced by the old Venetian Republic. Explore its narrow medieval streets wedged between beautiful houses, churches and squares, and enjoy the breeze that blows from the sea. You will have time to relax and spend the afternoon at your own leisure in Piran; however, we can also arrange other photographic activities upon request. In the evening, we will take evening light photos of Tartini’s square in Piran. The square is named after a famous local, the violin virtuoso and composer Giuseppe Tartini. The shape of the white marble pavement now occupying that space gives you an idea of how the roundabout of the former electric trolleybus looked like. After dinner, we will meet for another theory session and photo review.

After breakfast, we will travel back to Ljubljana. On the way, we will stop at Predjama Castle, selected as one of the most interesting castles in Europe by Discovery Channel, and for good reason. The impressive Renaissance castle is built within a cave mouth. Enjoy the afternoon at your own leisure in Ljubljana to explore more of the city or revisit the sights and places you liked the most.

Tonight, we will have a farewell dinner followed by a thorough review of some of the best workshop photos, with a glass of sparkling wine.

Today, we return home. However, if you like to extend your stay in Slovenia, Better Moments can give you advice on what to see and do.