Just over 2 weeks ago I retuned from leading, along with Marek Kosinski, a very successful photo-tour to the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. Where? I hear you say! Bieszczady (pronounced, more or less, like Biesh-chady) is, along with Biebrza and Bialowieza (wetland and forest areas respectively), known as Poland’s “Wild East. ” Bieszczady, with a population density of, approximately, 5 persons per 450 sq. km. with mountains cloaked in old growth beech forest, meadows and mountain pastures is one of the most remote areas to be found in Europe.
Day 1
Upon being met by Marek at Rzeszow airport (equally difficult to pronounce!), we were taken by minibus the 3 hour journey to our hotel where we had a meal waiting for us.
Fed and watered and settled in we headed out for the evening to a meadow just 15 minutes drive away where, for the next couple of hours, we photographed, amongst others, fragrant and lesser butterfly orchids.
Spreading bellflowerAfter such a long day of travelling (the flight was 07.15 hrs) Marek and I thought we’d reserve the walking till the following day and so, as the sun lowered, we returned to the minibus and drove a short distance to enjoy sunset over a very picturesque valley, hills and mountains.
Day 2
The forecast for the following morning was promising so, with a 4.15 sunrise, we agreed to meet at 3.30. We awoke to find the valley in fog (it was too thick to call mist!) and so Marek, very wisely, decided to head above it to a viewpoint over-looking meadows and mountains.
90 minutes after sunrise, we drove down to a river we had ear-marked the previous day and what a decision it was to return at this time! For the next hour we shot scenes of river rapids with the sun slowly burning through the morning mist. By 6.45 the sun was too high for anymore images and the temperature was on it’s way up, too! Now was the perfect time to head back for breakfast.
What was in the bag? Knowing that a full range of subjects was likely to be encountered I took pretty much everything! All fit very snugly into a Think Tank Airport Accelerator. Here's the full list.
- Nikon D300 x2
- 12-24mm
- 28-105mm
- 70-200mm
- 200-400mm
- 200mm Micro
- 1.4x tele-converter
- Nikon SB800 flash unit
- Manfrotto 055XB with Markins M10 ball head
- Filters - Polarising, ND, ND graduated and Nikon 5T 2-element close-up filter
Given that daytime temperatures are, typically, between 25 and 30 degrees and having such an early start, it was snooze-time after breakfast and at 12 we all met in an adjoining room to the breakfast room for a brief tutorial given by yours truly on processing techniques both in Lighroom and Photoshop. This, also, gave everyone the opportunity to ask questions on either of these or, about photography in general.
Later on that afternoon, it was time for the BIG walk up to one of the ridges for, hopefully, sunset. Mountains in Bieszczady are not as you’d find in the Tatra’s, for example. With the highest peak, in the Polish part, being just 1346m, they are not nearly as imposing but they do have a unique character of, as mentioned, being covered in beech woods and having, on the way up and at the top, mountain pastures. We had a walk of 1 ½ miles (2 ¼ km) with an elevation of 350m to reach the 1228m summit and, although, that may not sound like much, you need to put it into context, taking into account it’s steepness and, also, carrying a backpack and tripod. It took, around, 2 hours for everyone to reach the top and whereas we started in clear blue sky conditions this had, unfortunately, turned to cloud and cloud to storm clouds! An hour after we had arrived and with distant thunder being heard as well as the wind direction pushing the storm our way, a decision was made to descend the mountain. There is a mountain hut at the top and should a storm have threatened in the afternoon we probably would have sat it out inside but at 7.15pm in an area where storms can go on for hours, this would not have been a wise move! We slowly made our way down in the gathering gloom, with the storm at our backs seemingly chasing us. It took us a good hour due to needing headlamps in the dark forest and steep stone steps. This is when accidents happen so it was imperative for all to take their time and have an occasional rest. As we stood at the minibus watching the light-show over the mountains, we felt the first drops of rain which, within seconds, transformed into a full-blown lightening and thunder storm with incredibly strong gusts! We all piled into the minibus and Marek drove superbly down the mountain roads through the storm. For some, myself included, it was an awesome and unforgettable experience. Nature at it’s most raw! For others, it was a white-knuckle ride back to civilisation! Upon reaching the hotel we chucked our gear into our rooms and headed for the bar, chatting and watching the “show” through windows and which hovered over us for the next 4 hours.
Viola dacica. Endemic to the Eastern Carpathians, this is the only image I took while on the summit. Glad I did, though, as they are stunning flowers.Day 3
With another clear morning forecast, alarm clocks were set and we all met at 3.30. Arriving at the lookout in plenty of time we enjoyed the most dynamic of sunrises of rolling mists and the changing of hues from blue dawn to golden sunrise. At times, you just had to watch and take in the sight and sounds of silence punctuated, only, by corncrakes, a yellowhammer, cuckoo and shutters firing!
Later that afternoon we visited a raised peat bog in an even more remote area, just a stone’s throw from Ukraine with, only, a narrow river separating the two countries.
Marek and I would like to thank our guests, Colin, Phil, Chris, Melanie and Michael for being such a fun and enthusiastic group, even at 3.30 in the morning! We, sincerely, hope the effort was worth it and that you came away with fond memories and amazing images.
Day 4-7
Marek, Phil (tour guest) and I were to stay on a few more days so, once the guests had been dropped off at the airport, we headed back to our accommodation. Over that period we enjoyed more wonderful sunrises and sunsets and even managed to photograph red and roe deer feeding in meadows and crossing a river.
Rumex alpinus or Alpine dock growing at a height of just under 1300m.
Another clear morning was forecast so yes, you guessed it, an early start was in order. This time, however, we went out looking, not for landscapes, but wildlife. Deer to be more precise. With telephoto’s on laps, Marek drove slowly with each of us keeping our eyes peeled for red and roe deer both in the meadows and from bridges crossing the river.
After photographing the deer, we made our way to the peat bog where we had taken the group a couple of days earlier and, aside, from a few landscape shots, concentrated our efforts on a meadow’s edge. The light was exquisite and I found myself working on a patch of grasses lit by the early morning sun and a spider in the centre of it’s dew-laden web.
We were running low on petrol and so had to travel quite some distance to reach a petrol station. It worked in our favour since as we drove back we were greeted by this view.
We were heading in the direction of the mountains and with the cloud cover as it was, Marek, suggested we head over to one of our lookout points. As we neared our destination, we passed this roe deer in a roadside meadow. Marek stopped the car further up the road and we hurridly fitted our 70-200's to our camera bodies. Quick 3-point turn and it was still there. After a few close-ups were secured, I took off the 1.4 converter and zoomed out to show the deer in context with the forest.
We arrived at the viewpoint just in time. For the next 20 or so minutes we frantically did the best we could to capture this dramatic conclusion to an awesome week of photography.
Marek and I will be doing the same tour next year both in the summer and autumn. Full details are yet to be added to the website but if you'd like to join us, please register your interest by contacting me at rmcanis@msn.com.
Dates confirmed are....
June 16th - 19th 2014
October 6th - 9th 2014.
Testimonials
Now home from Poland with memories of an amazing time spent capturing its beautiful, memorable and magical panoramas, delightful wild flowers and latterly its historic architecture. Time will tell if our images do justice to those imprinted in our minds. Thank you so much for your company, your organisation, and the sharing of your considerable knowledge, all given freely and with good humour. We both enjoyed our time with you and Marek, thank you so much for the part you both played in making it such a successful and memorable workshop.
Melanie and Michael Chalk
Read about the trip and see Melanie's images on her blog, here.
Having just returned from a trip to the BieszczadyNational Park in Poland with Robert and Marek, I must say what a wonderful photographic experience it was and how I was amazed at what we had achieved in 4 days. It seemed more like 7. I would definitely recommend this workshop to anyone who likes a photo-holiday break with a difference.
Michael Chalk
This tour to Poland, led by Rob and Marek, was a truly memorable one. With sightings of native wildlife, together with an abundance of trees, makes one feel we humans are but a speck on the landscape. Not forgetting, of course, the storm that chased us down the mountain and raged for the next 5 hours or so, and the mist that swirled in the valleys the following morning.
I will certainly remember this experience!
As always, the tour was put together admirably by Rob and Marek, who both looked after myself and my companions so well.
I would like to say a big thank you to Rob and Marek for the organisation, even as to what flights to book, and to the others in the group, who helped make the whole experience so enjoyable.
If there is anyone out there who enjoys nature, photography, and being in a group of like minded people, this tour is definitely for you!
Chris Rothery.
I first visited Poland in February 2012 on a Photo tour led by Robert Canis and Marek Kosinski; this tour was labelled ‘Bison of Bialowieza’ Winter in Poland. We were in the East of Poland near the border with Belarus. The tour exceeded my expectations in every way.
This year (2013) another tour was offered by Robert and Marek in another part of Poland and was called ‘Polands Wild East.’ It offered stunning scenery and landscapes and was in the remote south east of Poland near the border with Ukraine and Slovakia.
I have been on numerous photography workshops with Robert and his enthusiasm is most infectious.
We were met at Rzeszów airport by Marek and after a drive of around 2.5 hours we arrived at our guest house destination in Bieszczady MountainsNational Park.
With Marek’s local knowledge of this vast mainly forested area, we were soon in a position to photograph the most stunning sunsets and sunrises with swirling mists and ever changing lighting. Although it was a challenge to capture the scenery, Robert or Marek were always on hand for advice regarding camera settings, composition etc and my photography is all the better for it.
We climbed a couple of ridges to photograph sunsets but had to retreat due to a threatening storm; luckily we made it back to the mini bus just in time where we watched lightening brighten up the mountain ridges. The following evening we climbed another ridge and photographed an unforgettable sunset with rocky outcrops, mountain ridges and layers of hills disappearing into the distance.
Among other subjects, we photographed misty rivers at sunrise where we found evidence of otters. We also photographed both red & roe deer and numerous plants including orchids in the mountain pastures. The remoteness and silence of the region is punctuated by bird song and in particular the Corncrake and Cuckoo.
I have had a most enjoyable trip again with Robert & Marek which has exceeded my expectations again. I am look forward to returning to Poland with Robert and catching up with Marek, I know I will not be disappointed.
Phil Drury
www.photosfromphil.co.uk
