Madeira Photography Workshop
SOLD OUT: 11th – 16th May 2026: Breathtakingly beautiful natural scenery, rugged coasts, ridge trails draped and surrounded by cloud inversion, waterfalls, and ancient laurel forest. Photograph Madeira by day and night with professional landscape and astrophotography tuition throughout this photo tour within the lush north Macaronesia island of Madeira.
Description
MADEIRA PHOTO TOUR AND WORKSHOP
Photography on Madeira
11th – 16th May 2026
2026 MADEIRA ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP INFORMATION
Tutor: Simon Waldram
PRICE
Full Price – £2000
(Single occupancy rooms unless sharing requested)
Non-refundable deposit £500.
DATES & AVAILABILITY
11th – 16th May 2026
5 Nights
PARTICIPANTS
Max 6 Photographers
Tutor: Simon Waldram
EXERTION LEVEL
LOCATION
Madeira
(Macaronesia)
ACCOMMODATION
Mountain Chalets
(Single occupancy rooms)
Landscape Photography Tuition
This workshop includes traditional landscape photography alongside travel photography and tuition where required.
Nightscape Photography Tuition
Structured night sky and astrophotography tuition is included within this workshop from beginner to advanced levels.
Expertise
The Madeira Photography Workshop is aimed at photographers at all levels.
PACKAGE Includes
Airport Transfers
Accommodation
Transportation throughout the tour
Professional landscape, travel, and astrophotography tuition and advice throughout the tour
In-depth follow-up digital darkroom image to print tuition if required*
Help with onward travel if required*
PACKAGE Excludes
Flights
Personal travel and equipment insurance
Contact Form
MADEIRA PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
The island of Madeira provides incredible landscapes that are photogenic both day and night.
The Madeira workshop is a landscape and astrophotography combination workshop. Some days are oriented around the afternoons, and evenings for landscape photography and into the night for astrophotography. Other days will see the group switch to sunrises and sunsets alongside the golden hours.
We know the island well, and no matter which one is listed as the tutor for the Madeira Photo workshop you decide to book onto, they both know how to switch the locations up to get the best out of the days or nights weather.
Fieldwork Equipment
Full frame, crop sensor, and micro four-thirds can be used, alongside larger format cameras, the workshop will have a landscape astrophotography element to it and it is therefore highly recommended that your camera has an ISO range of at least 12800.
- Camera body/s
- Wide to long focal length lenses
- Tripod
- Remote timer or long exposure bulb control built-in on the timer
- Multiple spare camera batteries
- Head torch with a red mode (this is not for night vision, it makes it easier to work as a group, and stops us from blinding one another)
- Warm weather clothing
- Mosquito repellant and sunblock
- Hiking boots/trainers, casual footwear.
- Star tracker (optional)
- Drones are welcome on this workshop and much of the landscape photography footage and stills seen online from Madeira is created with drones
Post-production & Planning Necessities
This workshop will include group landscape, moonlight, and Milky Way post-production sessions at the villa in the afternoons
- Laptop with min 8GB RAM (16 or more recommended)
- Lightroom and Photoshop
- If no laptop is available, please bring a note-taking alternative
Recommended apps that will be taught and demonstrated:
- Photopills (paid one-time subscription)
- Stellarium (free on desktop), free mobile version, the full mobile version now costs a fee
MADEIRA Photography Workshops FAQs
The Madeira Photo Tour will combine landscape and astrophotography and provide tuition (where required) in multiple aspects of both genres. Read more about the tutor and workshops here.
The Madeira Photo Tour is aimed at beginner level upwards, and Ollie will be on hand to help with all aspects of landscape photography from composition to filter use or multiple exposures. The tour will also look at multiple aspects of night photography from beginner level to stacking and tracking, depending on group experience.
All EU countries have freedom of movement to include Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. The UK does not need a visa at this point, though that is set to change in 2024. Nationals from most other countries will need a Schengen Visa.
Summer Madeira Photography Workshops will encounter warm to mild days with fairly mild nights.
- Comfortable light hiking pants
- Windproof heavier duty hiking pants
- Coat/down jacket
- Base or/and mid-layers
- Thermal socks (feet always get cold first undertaking night photography)
- Hiking boots or trainers
- Hat/gloves/snood/scarf
- Summer wear and light hiking clothes
- Sunscreen
Nice to haves!
- Hand warmers (throw away or electronic)
- Lightweight neck scarf/snood (dust protection)
- Swimwear if you wish to use the pools in the day
The exact locations used will be dependent on group fitness, fitter groups will take more adventurous routes, less mobile groups will undertake maximum of 40-minute walks/hikes each way equating to around 4/5km in total with inclines.
Madeira is self-catering, and we stock up from a well-stocked supermarket and make journeys back there for fresh produce several times, or when needed by group members. We also eat at local restaurants for lunch several times, with a group meal on the last evening for Q&A and feedback.
ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL
Transfers will be provided from Funchal Airport on Madeira at 15:00/16:00 on arrival day, later arrivals will be able to make a short taxi journey to the accommodation.
Return airport transfers will commence at 10:30/11:00 and again earlier departures are able to take a short taxi journey to the airport.
Please contact us for photos of the accommodation if required.
MADEIRA Photography TOUR ACCOMMODATION
Perched high on the hillside, the complex used is one of the closest possible to the ancient Fanal Forest giving, the group ease of access come sunrise or nightfall. The apartments have private verandas and beautiful views and access to a communal indoor pool.
Accommodation
The accommodation is a hillside development consisting of multiple 2-bedroom one-bathroom chalets with full kitchen, to include dishwasher and washing machine access, all units have heating and air conditioning.
Madeira Island
Madeira is a rugged and lush island making up part of Macaronesia with distinct cliffs, cloud inversion and a wealth of waterfalls teaming down from a series of levadas. Madeira’s incredible Lavada network stretches over 2500km around the island, naturally, the group will only walk some short stretches of this vast network.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Madeira is very well connected to the rest of Europe with multiple daily flights from the UK and naturally Portugal and the Canary Islands, direct flights are also available from some airports in Germany, most days from Amsterdam, and via some airports in certain places from France.
Please contact us for further information or if you would like to talk via phone call or WhatsApp/Zoom regarding this tour.
BOOK YOUR PLACE
If there are spaces left, you can book your place on this photography tour below.
If you have any questions please click here to contact Ollie Taylor.
Additional information
| Course Payments | Deposit Only, Full Price |
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