FAROE ISLANDS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

You will require a moderate level of fitness. Some locations require a hike of up to 1-2 hours. You must be able to walk on uneven ground, beaches and sometimes steep & slippery surfaces. We may also be walking in snow at times (if we’re lucky).

You will fly to Vagar (FAE) airport via a transfer at Edinburgh (EDI) airport if coming from UK or Ireland. We will transfer all guests to and from the airport for the workshop.

On location tuition

Compositional guidance

Understanding the exposure triangle

Advantages of shooting RAW

Understanding light & reacting to the conditions

Capturing panoramas and focal blending

Using Neutral Density, Graduated Filters and Polariser

Understanding depth of field for maximum sharpness

Choosing the correct shutter speed for various results

The importance of composition, leading lines and texture

Histograms explained

After you complete your booking we’ll email a full packing list. We’ll also set up a workshop WhatsApp group chat where all questions can be answered.

We'll be staying in the modern 4 star Hotel Føroyar overlooking the capital, Tórshavn.

With it's luxurious rooms and amazing spa, this modern hotel is the perfect place to unwind after a day in the field and a chance to review our images in style.

Each participant will have a single room complete with hearty breakfast.

Cancellations with less than 30 days notice will be refunded their fee minus their booking deposit. If we’re able to fill their place the participant will also be refunded their booking deposit.

I have just returned from a photography workshop in the Faroe islands led by Richard Watson, and I wanted to mention how good it was. From the minute we landed everything ran smoothly - travel, accommodation and especially the photography. We always seemed to arrive at the right place at just the right time, and this meant great images. If you want "bang for your bucks" Richard is the man for you as the locations just never seemed to end. One great location after another, and each one almost better than the last.

Richard had wisely used the services of a great photographer from the Faroes called Bogi Olsen, and together they made a formidable team. This made travel around the islands a " breeze", with Bogi knowing those out of the way spots that other visitors do not. Richard was always available to offer help and advice with camera settings, and how best to approach a scene and get the best out of it photographically.

In short everyone on the trip had a great time, we all came away with great images, made friends and improved our photography. It would be wrong of me now not to mention the accommodation, this was a very high end hotel and was a really lovely place to come back to after a long day of photography. I would certainly recommend Richard Watson to anyone contemplating a photography workshop, but this was my third trip with Richard so perhaps I am a little biased !

Give him a try, you will not regret it. Wonderful trip and a wonderful photographer.

I recently joined Richard for his Faroe Islands photography workshop, and it was an incredible experience. Richard brought us to some truly amazing locations, always optimizing for the best possible conditions. We had hail blowing sideways, god-rays breaking through storm clouds, wind strong enough to send backpacks rolling, and even an aurora chase!

Richard kept the pace fast but rewarding: early starts to reach locations before blue hour, sunset blue hour shoots, late dinners, and constant flexibility around Faroese weather.

Logistics and adaptability were impeccable. Richard partnered with the amazing Bogi Olsen, whose deep local knowledge made all the difference. Vehicles were warm and comfortable with plenty of space for gear, and Richard and Bogi always gave solid guidance on which lenses and kit to bring each day.

The group size was perfect (10 guests, 2 instructors) and allowed for a lot of personal attention. I felt like the most beginner photographer there, but I fit right in and learned a ton—not just from Richard and Bogi, but also from the more experienced participants.

Richard was friendly, funny, and constantly bouncing around to help with composition, camera settings, and planning for edits later on the computer. By the end of the week, I was definitely getting better images than at the start.

We stayed at Hotel Føroyar, which was super comfortable with private rooms and a spa—an ideal place to warm up and recharge after a day of wind, hail, and waterfalls.

Overall, this workshop was genuinely amazing. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to capture epic Faroese landscapes, learn landscape photography in dynamic conditions, or just spend long days in breathtaking places with a great group of people. I’ll make sure to join one of Richard’s Ireland workshops and hopefully one of his more remote trips in the future.

The Faroe Islands. A landscape photographers dream destination. I travelled there to partake in a workshop organised by Richard in partnership with Bogi Olsen, a local Faroese photographer. Together, Richard and Bogi ensured that great locations were available and attainable in sometimes testing weather conditions. This is where the local knowledge of Bogi made everything easier. Richard was always on hand to offer advice, suggestions and instruction if required in a friendly and approachable manner. Early mornings and late finishes ensured that every available moment was spent searching for that fabulous photograph that any serious photographer searches for. Everything ran smoothly with top accommodation arranged in a great hotel and I wouldn’t hesitate in travelling with Richard again, highly recommended.

Many thanks Richard for an amazing workshop last week. The Faroes are obviously an awesome place - that's a given, but your attention to detail, flexibility, humour and huge daily efforts really went the extra mile and saved us huge amount of time in comparison to self guiding.

Leading a brilliant group of fun, creative and able photographers is still quite a challenge which ever way you cut it! But you and Bogi handled it/us with aplomb! We got to all the right places in good time, were never rushed and the overall organisation was superb.

Also the hotel was fabulous, a great place to be based for our daily trips. So all in all, highly recommended and I greatly look forward to joining another of your workshop as soon as possible.

I booked this trip on the strength of visiting Richard's website and some exchanges. I was also intrigued by Richard's collaboration with a local Faroese photographer Bogi Olsen.

What can I say? From booking and arrival to departure, the trip has been a pleasure and memorable.

Richard’s ethos is photography comes first, he plans and ensures that his clients get to the appropriate locations for the best light and conditions. Richard has loads of energy and enthusiasm and he is always hands on going round to ensure everbody is safe and provides advice on framing and camera setting before he takes any photos, and that is sonething that I really appreciate.

We had a great group and dynamics and despite the ferocious winds at times, nothing got in the way of photography.  Richard and Bogi are a wonderful and balancing combination and I wouldn’t hesitate to join Richard again for another tour.

"Life-Altering Experience"

If I had to sum up my recent journey to Kyrgyzstan in a few words, I'd go with "life-altering." Before this trip, Kyrgyzstan was just a name I'd never heard before, let alone locate on a map. Yet, I can't express how thrilled I am that I embarked on this adventure with Richard. Planning a trip to a place halfway around the world can be incredibly nerve-wracking, but Richard made it a breeze. All I had to do was get there.

Right from day one, Richard's deep knowledge of the country became evident, and it stayed with us throughout the entire ten-day journey. He had a knack for taking us to the most remote and breathtaking corners of Kyrgyzstan, something that would have been quite challenging to pull off on our own. No need to fret about travel logistics, finding camp spots, or even worrying about our next meal; Richard and the expert guides he had picked had it all covered.

As a professional photographer who usually shies away from photo tours, I can confidently say that I'd jump at the chance to book this tour again without a second thought. It truly was an unforgettable experience that left an indelible mark on my photography journey.

Kyrgyzstan – and Richard Watson’s Kyrgyzstan in particular – is a sight, an experience and an opportunity unlike any this avid traveller and hobbyist photographer has had the pleasure of before.

The country – one only recently opened up with any kind of convenience or real access – still has the remoteness and unfamiliarity that travellers and photographers both crave. “There must be reasons why tourists generally, and particularly those from the West, don’t travel to central Asia, this vast area of the globe”, I remember thinking – in fact it was a main driver of why I wanted to visit. But believe me, I found none. Quite the opposite.

In one day, you can see arid, desert-like canyons and rippled, rocky waves of untouched, folded geometric rock formations that would go on forever were it not for the vast snow-capped mountains that rise to meet the horizon. In the same day, you can be up among those same mountains, with the mood and feeling of the place changing minute by minute as the sun plays with unpredictable beauty on the saw-like edges of the surrounding mountains.

In such a small country and in such a relatively short space of time, experiencing desert, arid rock, alpine, temperate, high mountain and lake-side yurt camps which feel like a brief beach holiday sojourn, is simply remarkable. Some of it is hard work, some of it feels a million miles away from home, and all of it is remarkable.Were it not for Richard’s experience – both as a photographer, his familial connections via his long-term Kyrgyz partner to the country and his many trip there – doing all this in 10 days would be impossible.

Personally, I am not a tour-group kind of traveller. I either go on holidays with friends, with family or ‘travel’ on my own. This has changed my mind. With a group of seven – from six different countries – you expect people pulling in different directions and each with different ideas of what they want. While this inevitably happens, none of it is negative. Each has their own vision, experience and ideas of what they want to see and capture, and Richard was always there – how, I’m still not quite sure – to lend advice and to suggest his idea of the best way of doing things.

The country, tour and set-up is incredible. If you want to see somewhere different, fit in all of the above within 10 days and have the time of your life, I wouldn’t look past this tour. It will change the way you look at photography, central Asia and – quite possibly – the world, and leave you with an insatiable hunger for more. Do it.

I would like to pay homage to Richard Watson, our Causeway Coast, Ireland workshop tutor.

I personally found Richard to be extremely conscientious, benevolent, very focused and venturesome. Richard, took us to many beautiful, known and unknown gems..

From dawn till dusk he worked us hard, during sun and storms clouds we captured outstanding images of the beautiful Antrim coastline.

I would highly recommend doing a workshop with Richard.

I’d highly recommend Richard’s Kyrgyzstan tour. The country itself is epic. White peaks glitter off in the distance as soon as you arrive off the plane. Just emerging onto the Western radar there isn’t really the infrastructure here to facilitate independent travel to remote and spectacular areas. With his knowledge of Kyrgyzstan Richard’s put together a tour that visits some exceptional locations. The organisation of the tour, facilities and food provided when in civilisation and when camping was fantastic. Richard is also great at offering his experience and skills to help participants with composure, conditions, settings etc. I’ll treasure my memory of the sun rising over the mighty peak of Mount Karakol forever.