ExploreLight 2019 – Our Favourite Images

Thanks so much to everyone that joined an ExploreLight adventure in 2019. Our community goes from strength to strength and we love seeing new and old friends for sunrises, sunsets, northern lights and even the occasional glass of Barolo. The people that come with us on these adventures are what makes this whole thing possible and we are eternally grateful for their continued support and friendship. We leave 2019 with some incredible memories and we look forward to 2020. New adventures, new friends, new locations and of course new images.

I want to make a special mention to the team of people that work with ExploreLight. Jelena Derk who ensures everything is always on point, my father Ed Gordon and his rekindled love of black white photography, the amazing team of tour leaders headed up by my friend and colleague Daragh Muldowney, Thorarinn Jonsson, Michael McLaughlin and Don Dino Marsango.

Lofoten by Peter Gordon

Special thanks also to the companies that have supported us this year. Conns Cameras (Best camera shop in Ireland), Lee Filters, Zeiss and Nikon. We are officially Lee ambassadors and we now have extra sets of Lee filters on our workshops. A great addition to the workshops and we just love the Lee system. Also big thanks to Nikon and Zeiss for their support around the Big Day and the IrishLight comp.

I hope you enjoy what follows. Its the first time I have really tried to pull such a vast array of images together but I felt like we have some amazing work to showcase as a team and I wanted to take you on a visual journey through our year. The places we have been and the amazing light we have seen. Best wishes for 2020 everyone, and here’s to 2019. Peter

2020 Join Us On an Amazing Adventure

Winter is definitely not a time for relaxing at ExploreLight. We always try to hit locations with a specific outcome in mind so when the snow and ice arrive we know there are some great photographic opportunities to be had. Our year started out in the mighty Dolomites. The snow levels were especially low but we still managed to get up high and experience some stunning conditions and landscape. We ran 4 workshops in the dolomites in 2019. Winter for the snow, summer for the flowers, and 2 Autumn trips for those stunning vibrant colours. Popular spot the auld Dolomites. Its not rocket science, it’s mind-blowingly beautiful

Winter Dolomites – Dino Marsango
Winter Dolomites by Dino Marsango
Winter Dolomites – Peter Gordon
Winter Dolomites – Peter Gordon

You just can’t have winter at ExploreLight without chasing some Northern Lights and crazy Icelandic landscape. Iceland has been a love of ours for a long time and we will run 2 trips there in 2020. South Coast and West Coast/North Coast. The makeup of these trips was a little different in 2019. We did the north and west as sperate trips but in 2020 we have combined the adventures together. Iceland is a place we find people go back to time and time again and a must-see for any landscape photographer. We’re certainly still very much in love.

North/West Iceland – Peter Gordon
North Iceland – Peter Gordon
North/West Iceland – Daragh Muldowney
North/West Iceland – Daragh Muldowney
North/West Iceland – Thor Photography

The north and the west are certainly Iceland lees traveled, but the south is what most people do first when they hit Iceland. And with good reason: It’s out of this world!

Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney
Iceland South – Daragh Muldowney

2019 was the year of Lofoten. Peter and Thor ran 3 trips from January through March in this amazing and surreal location. Its a bit of a pain to get to with internal flights but once there, the journeys are short, and it’s jammed packed with locations. 70km of amazing beaches, mountains, fjords, stunning cottages and much more. 2019 was snowy, very snowy indeed.

Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Peter Gordon
Lofoten by Thor Photography
Lofoten by Thor Photography
Lofoten by Thor Photography
Lofoten by Thor Photography
Lofoten Lights – Peter Gordon
Lofoten Lights – Peter Gordon
Lofoten Lights – Peter Gordon
Lofoten Lights – Thor
Lofoten Lights – Thor
Lofoten Lights – Thor

Out of the snow and into the Spring. We absolutely loved our time in the Arctic in 2019 but by mid-March a return to warmer days was very welcome.  Our April and May program is greatly expanded in 2020 with trips to Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Connemara added. Not to forget our May weekend program around Ireland. May 19 was still busy of course and there were lots of great images made. Quite a Celtic vibe around Ireland and Scotland with the fine weather finish beneath the Tuscan sun. Great misty mornings, dramatic old buildings, plus a few glasses of Brunello for good measure. The perfect antidote to the changing seasons.

<a class=”button” href=”https://www.explorelightphotographyworkshops.com/workshopstours/”>2020 Join Us On an Amazing Adventure</a>

Scotland by Peter Gordon
Scotland by Peter Gordon
Scotland by Peter Gordon
Ireland by Peter Gordon
Ireland by Peter Gordon
Ireland by Peter Gordon
Ireland by Michael McLaughlin
Ireland by Michael McLaughlin
Ireland by Peter Gordon
Ireland by Peter Gordon

A little tipple of Tuscan sunshine to change the mood?

Tuscany by Peter Gordon
Tuscany by Peter Gordon
Tuscany by Peter Gordon
Tuscany by Peter Gordon
Tuscany by Peter Gordon

Ed was also on board for the Tuscany adventure and did some great things with his Infra Red camera plus his black and white conversions.

Tuscany by Ed Gordon
Tuscany by Ed Gordon
Tuscany by Ed Gordon

Before we hit summer proper there was time for a wee scouting mission to stunning Croatia. Waterfall heaven and another chance to take pictures in shorts. Just has to be done. The days are of course longer but with some good downtime during the day the Spring program worked great this year and we look forward to the expansion in 2020.

Croatia by Peter Gordon
Croatia by Peter Gordon
Croatia by Peter Gordon
Croatia by Peter Gordon

2019 saw the addition of a summer program to the ExploreLight calendar for the first time. We are delighted to say it went down a treat and we had an amazing workshop in the Dolomites, while Daragh also hit the road in Provence to prepare for our lavender hunting in 2020. We are also planning to revisit the Highlands of Iceland in 2021 with dates on the horizon so when Thor sent us these stunning Highlands images below we knew they needed to be featured.

Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Provence by Daragh Muldowney
Provence by Daragh Muldowney
Provence by Daragh Muldowney
Iceland Highlands by Thor
Iceland Highlands by Thor
US Storms .. Random but too good to leave out by Thor

Pause and catch your breath. After a hugely busy and exciting first 6 months to the year, we all took a well-earned break. BBQ’s and a few cold beers we’re the order of the day over the summer as the camera gear was mostly packed away and team ExploreLight took some time off the road. The itch comes quickly though and it wasn’t long before the maiden voyage of our brand new trip to beautiful Brittany in Northern France was on. We also photographed Mont Saint Michel which is technically in Normandy but we’re just splitting hairs now. Let’s get down to business.

<a class=”button” href=”https://www.explorelightphotographyworkshops.com/workshopstours/”>2020 Join Us On an Amazing Adventure</a>

Brittany by Peter Gordon
Brittany by Peter Gordon
Brittany by Peter Gordon
Brittany by Peter Gordon
Brittany by Peter Gordon
Brittany by Peter Gordon

It wasn’t long before the relative clam of Brittany was replaced by the wild and stunning Faroe Islands.

Faroe Island’s by Peter Gordon
Faroe Island’s by Peter Gordon
Faroe Island’s by Peter Gordon
Faroe Island’s by Thor
Faroe Island’s by Thor
Faroe Island’s by Thor
Faroe Island’s by Thor
Faroe Island’s by Thor

The year was closing in but there was still lots more to shoot. We had a very Dolomites orientated Autumn, some Montenegro for good measure and a healthy dose of Ireland and Scotland. We have also thrown in some Slovenia here too as Peter processed some new Slovenia images this year and Dino also made a productive venture to that beautiful country.

Scotland by Peter Gordon
Scotland by Peter Gordon
Montenegro by Peter Gordon
Montenegro by Peter Gordon
Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Dolomites by Peter Gordon
Slovenia by Peter Gordon
Slovenia by Peter Gordon
Slovenia by Peter Gordon
Slovenia by Dino Marsango
Slovenia by Dino Marsango
Slovenia by Dino Marsango

We’ve come full circle again now as we push into 2020. Before we said goodbye to 19 though there was one trip that still needed to be done. Peter and Ed ventured to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura with the view to create a warm-weather winter workshop in 2021. The locations more than exceeded expectations. Watch this space ..

Canary Islands by Peter Gordon
Canary Islands by Peter Gordon
Canary Islands by Peter Gordon
Canary Islands by Peter Gordon
Canary Islands by Peter Gordon

We could have posted loads more images and the never-ending battle to get work processed and out continues. As does the adventure and the amazing relationships we have forged with our workshop participants. Hope you enjoyed this blog and look forward to meeting new people, and seeing some familiar faces in 2020.

2020 Join Us On an Amazing Adventure

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