E4x: Saturday, 15th September 2012 to Thursday, 20th September 2012 - with Royce Howland   5 nights

E4: Sunday, 23rd September 2012 to Saturday, 29th September 2012 - with Darwin Wiggett  6 nights 

E4x: Saturday, 14th September 2013 to Thursday, 19th September 2013 - with Royce Howland   5 nights

E4: Monday, 23rd September 2013 to Sunday, 29th September 2013 - with Darwin Wiggett   6 nights

Join acclaimed Canadian photographers Darwin Wiggett or Royce Howland for these fall photography tours. Come and enjoy the many splendours of Bighorn Country and the central parts of Banff and Jasper National Parks during the peak of our fall colour season. Your instructor and your host will accompany you to share their photographic expertise and knowledge of the area. Discover and capture some of the most rewarding fall colour, scenery and natural attractions found in the Rocky Mountains. Most days, we will be touring in the front or main ranges, including diverse scenery such as Kootenay Plains, aspen forests, alpine meadows, canyons, creeks, waterfalls, reflecting ponds, glaciers and more. Wildlife and close-up subjects are additional rewards. Please note that these are not seminar style workshops but opportunities for like-minded nature lovers / photographers to go out together and discover the beauty of the Rocky Mountains in a small group, leaving lots of time for picture taking and exploring. There will be ample opportunity to share experiences and techniques with other participants and Darwin or Royce and Alan will be around to answer your questions and help you with your composition or image taking approach. Tours are intense and you must be fit to hike for one or two hours on some days with your gear, at high elevations and in rugged terrain (involving some scrambling on steep gravel slopes along rivers, lakes and canyons).
For more information on Darwin Wiggett please visit www.oopoomoo.com. Info on Royce Howland can be found at www.vividaspectphoto.com.

Tours are not beginner's tours but are geared towards intermediate to advanced nature photographers who are familiar with their equipment and basic photographic technique. Any media (digital or film) or format are acceptable. Those requiring no guidance will be happy to explore the vast variety of excellent locations to shoot, whereas anyone looking for personal advice about composition or technique can learn from the instructors and some of the more experienced participants. Sharing ideas by looking at other participants' approaches is one of the benefits pointed out in our past events.  Rather than guaranteeing certain locations and visiting the "icons of the Rockies", the choice of where to go each day is agreed between the organisers and participants on a daily basis, taking into account local weather, subject availability, lighting, trail conditions and participant interests.  We will be out and about by 6 am and won't return to the lodge before 8 pm on most days, in order to capture the best light at dawn and dusk. In other words, expect to spend maximum time in the field!

Package includes:

• five or six nights accommodation at Aurum Lodge, single occupancy,
• all dinners, breakfasts, packed lunches, beverages and snacks included,
• excursions in the area (car pooling with own vehicles),
• personalized instruction and shooting experience with some of Canada's premier nature photographers. We will spend most of our time in the field to create stunning images and assist you in developing your own personal photographic vision,
• tour E4 (six nights) C$ 2,299 per person + GST,
  tour E4x (five nights) C$ 1,699 per person + GST,
  
• usually six to seven persons but on some occasions there may be up to eight participants,
• Some evenings, there will be time to discuss the interests of the participants who are encouraged to bring along a portfolio of their own work to share with the others (slides, digital on CD or prints), and for those shooting digital, we plan for some review sessions of shots taken during the tours.
  

A selection of participants images taken on previous photography field trips can be found on Darwin Wiggett's website.

For more information, to reserve your spot or to be placed on a wait list, contact Aurum Lodge. Deposit requirements are C$ 250 at the time of reservation. Three months before the tour, deposit is to be increased to 50% with the remaining 50% due at the start of the tour.

Minimum cancellation fee is C$ 150, which increases to 50% of package price three months before the tour, if a spot cannot be resold at short notice.