David Stills 12th August 2009

I’m David from Stills Photo Tours. I run instructional photographic tours and have recently researched and designed a new series of tours abroad.

We’re keen for all people wanting to improve their photographic skills to visit our new website at www.stillsphototours.com and have good rummage around, checking out the galleries and assess our new tours (it’s so new we are still adding photos to the galleries) but it is ‘live’ and you can still book tours.

I’m the tutor and trips leader and have personally researched all the locations. I’m a London based professional photographer with over 20 years experience shooting for advertising agencies, international corporations and the travel and interiors publishing industry.

Rangitoto Island, New Zealand © David Still

Our specialty is New Zealand and the Pacific Rim countries (Ring of Fire) but we have also arranged great tours to Europe.

The two week tour to New Zealand is designed to be an intensive photographic learning experience in one of the most varied and beautiful locations in the world. The inaugural North Island trip only, has a substantial discount being offered. We are limiting positions on these tours to guarantee a high level of personal tuition.

Borgo di Vagli © David Still

There is a week long tour to Tuscany + Abruzzo (most of the time is spent in Abruzzo as it’s so amazing for photography).

Another tour is a week in Provence + Haute Provence.

We’ve also arranged long weekend workshop trips to Paris that are inclusive of Eurostar travel, transfers, hotel & breakfasts.

We have a long weekend trip to Amsterdam + Brugge, the trip includes return coach travel from London, hotel, breakfast & dinner, including a free bar 8:30-11:00 in our hotel on the lake.

A unique feature of our tours is that we take care of any non-photographic partners on our trips. The long weekend trips come with guided tours for partners included, while the week-long European and the 2 week New Zealand trips have their own tours arranged to run in tandem (dependant on numbers).

We know that anyone who joins our tours will have a great time and return with improved photographic skills and great images from their time away.

As we see camera clubs as the best way to help people improve their skills in photography and an excellent way of getting people who are interested in photography together, we have decided to extend an exclusive deal for camera clubs and associations to offer their members.

New Zealand – Otago  © David Still

 The special offer for members is for two or more club members booked on a tour will either receive double the discount offered on our website or £100.00 off any tour (whichever is the greatest). Members will need to complete their bookings at the same time using the Code: CCM09X2D at least 6 weeks before the tour date.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you and your members.

Kind regards,

David Still.
07974 175338 / 020 88682201
stillsphototours@googlemail.com 
email@davidstill.com

 Press release

STILLS PHOTO TOURS

Learn new techniques … while seeing the world

STILLS Photo Tours are the first to specialise in the Ring of Fire (Pacific Rim) countries and offer a ‘tour-in-tandem’ to partners of the people learning photography.

New Zealand is the first of these countries they’ll visit and the tour has been specifically designed around the tides, sunrise and sunset times. “I have personally chosen the best locations, researched and previewed them all to make sure we will always be at the right place at the right time to capture breathtaking shots” says David Still of Stills Photo Tours.

“We will always offer photography workshops and tours in Europe, especially to places with some similar geography to the Pacific, like Abruzzo in Italy and the coast of Croatia” says David.

Stills Photo Tours are designed for people of all levels in photography. Everyone will come back with amazing shots to show off, with the bonus of knowing that they’ve learnt how to do that again and again.

The New Zealand tour starts in Auckland (The City of Sails) and will take participants from the rim of a dormant volcano looking across Auckland’s busy city centre, out to the west coast’s black sand beaches where the Tasman Sea relentlessly pummels the rough coastline (it was here that Crowded House recorded their ”Together Alone” album and the feature film “The Piano” was shot).

The tour heads up the Pacific Coast to photograph tranquil estuaries, rocky coves and wild, windswept surf beaches.  Its next destination is the Coromandel Peninsular’s quiet harbours, old goldrush towns and secret boulder strewn bays, then down further through the natural thermal wonders and Maori influenced culture of Rotorua to the Tongariro National Park.  Here on the Volcanic Plateau we will shoot thundering rivers, craggy mountains and the lonely, snowy desert below Mt Ruapehu & Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in “The Lord of the Rings). These are part of the trio of active volcanoes in the center of the North Island (along with Mt Tongariro) that form the southern tip of the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of active volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean.

Our ‘tours in tandem’ for the parters of the photographers, will take in some of the same locations, but also visit mainstream sights and they will have the opportunity to take boutique tours – gastro, fishing, adrenaline or maybe golf, wine tasting, or horseback riding.  The partners will meet at the same accommodation each night while having had a separate days actvities.

David takes the mystery and jargon out of photography, teaching you in a way that is easy to understand, along with techniques that can be applied immediately and used from then on to ensure you never miss a shot again.  His friendly and professional tutoring suit males and females of all ages. David says “We are sure that once you have experienced our tours you will be inspired to new levels in your photography while enjoying the wonderful locations.”

David Still is a working professional photographer, with over 25 years experience. He hails from Auckland, but re-located to London last century and has been sought after to shoot interiors worldwide for UK publishers, recently having shot interiors in Italy, Australia and New Zealand as well as shooting his advertising and landscape work.  David says “ The advantage of having a ‘Kiwi’ as your photographic tutor in New Zealand and the Pacific is that I have local knowledge and contacts there, so have access to locations not otherwise available to the general public”.

You can visit the Stills Photo Tours website for more information and galleries at www.stillsphototours.com