North Peak Photo Tours

Long lenses are a landscape photographers best friend.

Lens compression is the reason that telephoto lenses, anything from the 70-600mm range, are such vital tools for landscape photography.

A long lens compresses a scene, and makes the background and foreground feel as though they are closer together. This enhances the perceived size of subjects like mountains and peaks.

Golden sunrises and day hikes along the escarpment. More good times in the Drakensberg.

Here's a recap of Day 2/3 of our recent Tugela Falls Photo Workshop.

In the Drakensberg, summer can mean four seasons in one day. Though our workshop started in the mist, the conditions only got better and better.

Here's a recap of Day 1/3 of our recent Tugela Falls Photo Workshop.

This was a bucket list photography workshop; here's what we experienced on our recent Heli Traverse.

While hiking will always be our first love, this experience took things to new heights (pun intended). Thank you to our incredible clients for their continued trust.

Check out the article and images here:

Hike Report: Heli Traverse 2022 — North Peak Photo Tours In November we took off on our first Helicopter Traverse in the Drakensberg. This post shares a recap and some behind-the-scenes photography of this incredible experience.

Showing clients new areas of the Drakensberg is so special for us. We get to live that excitement through them!

Here, sets up a composition on the valleys below.

Join us in the Drakensberg in 2023 and create extraordinary photos of this extraordinary landscape!

There’s no better way to learn landscape photography, than in landscapes like these. Here shares some practical advice on composition, above the Madonna and her Worshippers. Join us on a workshop in 2023 if you’d like to build your portfolio 🏔🔥

Dawn at the Mnweni Pinnacles, something you have to experience for yourself to truly understand just how special it is. 📷

There are photographic opportunities around every ridge in the Berg. scouting new compositions in the Mnweni.

Sharing good company and great views…here’s to more of both in the year ahead. If you’ve resolved to hike more (or for the first time), we’d love to be part of making it happen.

Merry Christmas…wherever you may be celebrating it 🏔

Happy clients are the focus on our Drakensberg trips, we put clients photography ahead of our photography!

This is what Clint Ralph had to say about our Drakensberg Amphitheatre Photo Tour...

“I have never experienced such beauty. Breathless, Epic, Mind-blowing still does not describe it.”

Get in touch if you would like to photograph South Africas Grandest Landscape!

www.northpeakphototours.com

Dusk falls and dinners are dug into! After a long day of hiking and photography, a warm meal is a wonderful way to end the day.

We only have a couple spots left on our 23-27 March 2023 Drakensberg Amphitheatre trip, one of our favourite trips of the year! This year we had a massive rainbow over Devils Tooth, and last year Tugela was in FLOOD!

Get in touch if you're interested in joining us on an amazing mountain adventure and we'll send you the details.

www.northpeakphototours.com

Early bird gets the worm…and also the sunrise, which in summer is frighteningly early. Here’s getting ready during a Northern Traverse workshop.

To fly above the Drakensberg was a dream come true - both for us as guides, as well as for our guests. After being dropped on the escarpment, we spent 4 days hiking through some of the Northern Berg's finest locations. Here's a glimpse of what we saw.

A beautiful rainbow forms immediately as a storm passes overhead, arching over the Devils Tooth and Eastern Buttress. I've waited for a long time to capture a rainbow over this location, and finally I was gifted with an incredible opportunity - Mark Dumbleton

This is one of the reasons I love this landscape! Epic things can happen in the blink of an eye!

Join us on a landscape photo trip here for the chance at capturing some epic conditions! Check out the link below for more info.

www.northpeakphototours.com

Mood for days when the mist interacts with the landscape! This is Icidi Pass, the second night on our Northern Drakensberg Traverse photo tour.

We have one spot open on our next tour in November. DM us for more information.

Let's break down this composition, and see why it works.

✔️ Light catching the grasses in the foreground, creates a contrast between them and the dark cliff faces in the distance.

✔️ The illuminated cliff to the right of the frame creates a leading line that draws your eye inward and toward the bright morning sun.

✔️ These simple elements work together to create a dynamic scene, that allows your eye to move from the front to the back.

We teach techniques like this in the field, on all of our photo tours. If you'd like to join us, DM us for availability in November 2022 and March 2023

The Amphitheatre Photo Tour is one of our most popular tours, and images like these are the reason why.

Our route follows the Tugela Falls trail, taking us up and over the famous chain ladders. Over 4 days, we traverse the escarpment edge from Tugela Falls - the world's tallest waterfall - to the head of Ifidi Pass.

We will provide you with a tent, sleeping bag, and mattress, and have a team of porters carry this gear and set up camp for you. Your only focus needs to be on nature and photography. ⁠

This is a photography tour that will deliver a wide portfolio of images, in one of South Africa’s most dynamic mountain landscapes.
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Tour Dates: 23-27 March 2023⁠
(The best time to photograph Tugela Falls)

DM us to book your place

All of the images in this post are from different locations on our Amphitheatre Photo Tour from the past few years captured by North Peak Photo Tours founder Mark Dumbleton.

This is why a telephoto lens is so important for landscape photography. As soft morning light spills over the valleys of the Drakensberg, zooming into 200mm allows you to isolate and compose details within the landscape.

Opportunities like this are abundant when photographing from the top of the escarpment.

Want to learn techniques like these in the field? DM us to join an upcoming Photo Tour.

So rugged, so beautiful. The cliffs falling off here are some of the most sheer, vertical cliffs in the world. Dropping for almost 1000 meters straight down, it takes more than your breath away!

The DRAKENSBERG AMPHITHEATRE, an incredibly beautiful place!

www.northpeakphototours.com

Mist is often encountered in the Drakensberg, and with it come incredible photographic opportunities.

Standing on the edge of the escarpment, mist around rising from the valleys below…magical.

www.northpeakphototours.com

Nothing beats a smiling client.

Our expertise in the Drakensberg ensures you will be safe and secure, and in the right place to capture a portfolio of images you are truly proud of.

And, at the same time, experiencing the awe and wonder of the big mountains.

Adventure is within your reach.

www.northpeakphototours.com

The view from Ifidi looking over towards Mnweni and Cathedral Peak in the distance. This area is great for telephoto photography!

Join us on a photo tour to this incredible landscape!

www.northpeakphototours.com

The mighty Tugela Falls, the tallest waterfall on Earth. This is the view of Tugela as seen from the Bilanjil Falls area, in our opinion the best spot to view photograph the falls.

Join us here in March 2023 and experience this incredible place for yourself.

Check out our website for more info.

www.northpeakphototours.com

STAND ABOVE THE CLOUDS AND PHOTOGRAPH THE WORLD’S HIGHEST WATERFALL

Dates: 23-27 March 2023

The Amphitheatre Photo Tour is one of our most popular tours, and for good reason. Where else can you photograph the world’s highest waterfall, Tugela Falls, plummeting down above the clouds?

Over 4 days, we traverse the escarpment edge from Tugela Falls to the head of Ifidi Pass. The conditions during these summer months are spectacular, with dramatic thunderstorms, beautiful cloudy sunrises and low mist inversions.

This is a photography tour that will deliver a wide portfolio of images, in one of South Africa’s most dynamic mountain landscapes.

Photography aside, the hike is an attraction of its own. Our route follows the Tugela Falls trail, taking us up and over the famous chain ladders.

Our carefully selected campsites put us well off the beaten path. And we will provide you with a tent, sleeping bag, and mattress, and have a team of porters to carry this gear and set up camp for you.

Your only focus needs to be on nature and photography.

For more info and to book, check out our website.

https://www.northpeakphototours.com/amphitheater-photography-tour

Standing on the edge of an 800 meter sheer vertical drop puts a lot into perspective. Each client we take on a trip gets a lot more out of it than a bunch of photographs. Spending time in the mountains is a journey into yourself, the mountains change you, it helps you focus on what is important and meaningful in life.

It's an incredible journey!

Join us on an adventure into the Drakensberg and get more than just photographs!

Follow the link below for more information on our tours.

www.northpeakphototours.com

Can you spot those tiny tents above the world's tallest waterfall?

Camping on the edge of the Drakensberg Escarpment is an experience very difficult to describe, you really should just experience it for yourself.

Join us on a trip to the Drakensberg and experience this incredible mountainous wonderland.