FIJI
A photography workshop through phenomenal Fiji
We are off on a brand new travel photography adventure, and this time it’s to Fiji! We’ve wanted to explore this South Pacific country for years and finally it’s being realized. This trip is going to include castaway-esque beaches, valleys and vistas, thriving markets and rural village life, waterfalls and oceanscapes, and so much more.
On top of the beautiful landscapes we can all picture and look forward to capturing, there’s also a thriving and ancient culture alive and well here in Fiji that we are keen to learn about and immerse ourselves in in. The culture and the island are one, so to see one and not the other wouldn’t make sense. When not roaming the landscapes, we will stay in eco-lodges that promote sustainability and appreciate for the land, as well as spend time in rural villages learning from and exploring with locals.
As always we will partner with local NGOs to give back with photography, as well as grow ourselves by seeing another side of Fiji. For this particular trip, rather than just one NGO, we will visit several amazing projects around the island focusing on sustainability, climate action, and protecting and lifting up Fijian culture and its people, and also working with empowering Fijian women in media to communicate issues for effectively. Additionally we will visit some small but spectacular little intitatives as we go! We will document and teach as makes sense for each NGO, as well as return home informed and enlighted and challenged to spread the word and stand up for Fiji and the South Pacific.
Trip Dates
Cost
Group Size
Difficulty
Is this trip difficult?
This trip is physically moderate. There will be walking each day, short hikes to viewpoints, and some days of medium-length drives. Stairs, hills, and walking the streets will be common, and some effort to reach viewpoints will be required. The drives can be windy or bumpy at points, but othertimes will be smooth sailing.
This trip will have some emotional demands. We will be visiting 2 NGOs and a few projects, all of which will expose us to some realities about life in Fiji, from climate change impacts to women’s rights to conservation and more.
We will be on the move on this trip. Some days will have no driving, others 1-2 hours, and a few days will have more than 3 hours of driving. The roads are mostly good but can be bumpy or windy at parts – especially when we head into the rural areas.
Participants will need to fly into and out of Nadi. Please note – though you will be reminded of this – on the departure day we will still be 2.5 hours from Nadi Airport, so morning departures on the 20th are not recommended. Afternoon and evening departures are fine.
The standards of accommodation, quality of meals, and access to amenities of this trip are good. We will stay in hotels, eco-lodges with a focus on sustainability, and splurge on a few beach-front resorts (but with good reputations for treating the land, and their staff, well).
One night we will be sleeping in a rural village. This accommodation will be camping mats and blankets in the town’s community hall. It will be an adventure!
Level of safety in Fiji is good. We’ll be just fine using common sense. Camera safety will be advised in newsletters and in person each day.
This is a trick question. We are open to ALL skill levels, ALL cameras, and ALL photographic experience. The heart of our trips is giving back, exploring together, and fostering photographic growth (whatever that will look like for you). We’ve hosted novices enthusiasts with entry level gear, and professional documentary film-makers – on the same trip!
A Breakdown of the Tour
Here’s the scope of our epic trip to Fiji:
We will arrive from Nadi Airport and overnight about an hour away at a nice hotel to rest up. The next day we will head to the nearby Sand Dunes to photograph in the morning and simply enjoy and explore and have fun. From there we will begin our drive to our eco-resort stopping at a few forts and historic sites and viewpoints as we go. Our first eco-resort is locally owned and deeply rooted in Fijian culture, food, and the land. We’ll be here two nights to photograph the valleys, jungles, and nearby village and their daily life with a local host, and rural life in general. Then we will head to Suva to photograph the markets and street life before gearing up to do our NGO days. On this trip there will be at least two NGOs as it’s our first time visiting Fiji. We’ll have two days photographing around Suva and enjoying the culture here, before we trek to our next rural experience, where we will actually overnight in a village and sleep in their community hall. We’ll wrap up this party at a beachfront resort before departures begin from Nadi Airport! In between all these destinations we will be exploring empty beaches, waterfalls, valleys and vistas, markets, villages, and so much more.
What is Included?
All Ground Transportation
All Accommodations
All Entry Fees and Guides
All Photo Instruction
A Donation to the NGO
What is Not?
Flights
Insurance
Passport and Visa
Alcohol and Souvenirs
Internet
The NGOs
This is our first adventure to Fiji, so we are gearing up to visit 2 or 3 NGOs and a few cool projects around the island. We will still be fundraising cameras, as well as documenting these NGOs issues and work and provide images for their use.
We plan to be involved in at least one conservation and climate-change NGO working to protect the environment of Fiji, such as NatureFiji. We will be documenting their work and teaching staff how to take stronger images long term of flora, fauna, and their workshops, so they can show off the progress and impact they are making, continuing to raise awareness locally and worldwide. We will learn about the ways climate is impacting life on Fiji, what stands to be lost, what needs to be protected, as well how conservation plays a role and needs to be championed.
We will also visit 1 or 2 incredible farms that are re-writing what it means to be sustainable and truly Fijian from the ground up (in soil, in produce, in labour, and in cuisine), and partner with a cultural project that is empowering, uplifting, and protecting Fijian Culture.
While our NGO projects are still being fine-tuned, it’s due to so many interesting and important options to choose from. It will be exciting, moving, and impactful no matter which path forward we take!
