Isle of Mull, Scotland

May 15-22, 2008

This seven day photography workshop will include photography instruction from professional photographers Marc Muench and Andy Williams on a rare opportunity to photograph the Isle of Mull. Just off the west coast of Scotland in the UK, Mull is renowned for its wildlife, hospitality and isolation.

Each day will be filled with exciting new locations, including the town of Tobermory which is home to the only whisky distillery on the island. (See the schedule below).

With 3000 foot tall glacial mountains surrounded by 300 miles of coastline, the geography is calling to you to capture it.

"When we are not shooting or downloading images, we will be critiquing images at our lodge. We want to make this a learning experience as well as a photo tour," says Marc.

"The best way to improve your skills as a photographer is to explore your personal expectations by utilizing the experience of the instructors, first hand. The Isle of Mull will be a superb location to employ newly learned techniques and ideas".

As one of our recent Workshop Students said, a Muench Workshop is "an ideal combination of crash course education, scenic vacation, social retreat and comedy hour. It is amazing what the people at Muench Workshops can do in 5 short days. Perfectly orchestrated, our trip taught me more than I knew about photography than I had taught myself in 4 years. I will never look at light the same way again."

Muench Workshops are limited to ten students to maintain a unique and personal learning experience. Workshops include some hiking, a time to explore and most of all, time for you to take your photography to another level. In addition to field instruction, Marc will teach you how to enhance your photos to maximize their impact on display and in print.

Marc and Andy both really enjoy pushing the limits of photography. You can get a taste of what Marc has to offer in this article from Outdoor Phototrapher Magazine. And Andy and Marc both love experimenting with interesting ways of night shooting. You can see Andy's examples from our Wild Utah Workshop here and here.

We are pleased to announce that this workshop will be guided by Kevin Cowle, a professional motion picture location scout.

Kevin has worked in Scotland's film, TV and photography industry for nearly thirty years, the last ten as head of the National Film Commission. During his tenure he gained extensive experience visiting and photographing locations in every corner of Scotland. Additionally, he advised incoming companies on areas in which they could base their productions. He worked on commercial photographic shoots as well as many movies and television productions.

The Isle of Mull is one of his favorite locations because it combines magnificent wild Highland scenery with dramatic coastlines, quaint villages and marvelous light - all within a relatively compact area.

Payment

This workshop is only open to 10 people. So sign up soon if you're interested.

$4500, all inclusive, excluding airfare.*

A deposit of $2250 is due at sign up, and is non-refundable.

The balance of $2250 is due no later than January 15, 2008. Failure to pay the balance by the due date could cause you to forfeit your spot in the workshop.

*What does all inclusive mean? It means that your hotel, food, transportation (excluding airfare) and other miscellaneous costs associated with the workshop are covered by your tuition. Once you get to the hotel, you're done spending money -- unless you want to. Dinner Thursday Evening in Glasgow is "Dutch Treat."

Please contact us first before sending in your payment, to ensure that there is still a space available for you.

Once we have confirmed that space is available, you can make your deposit by selecting "Deposit" from the Google Checkout below.

$2,250.00 - Scotland Workshop Deposit $2,250.00 - Scotland Workshop Balance

Registration/Release Form

Please download, complete and sign the Registration/Release Form. You can enter the information on your computer and then print it out, if you'd like. You must sign and date it by hand, and mail it in to the address on the form.

Schedule:

Thursday May 15

Arrive Glasgow Airport, self-transport taxi to Ibis Hotel, Glasgow.
Meet participants and Scottish team.

Friday May 16

8.00am Depart hotel by people carrier to Oban. Spectacular drive
along Loch Lomond, through the Pass of Brander and by the Connell Bridge, stopping to view the dramatic tidal race (if running!)
12.00-13.30Lunch Oban
14.00Depart Oban Ferry
14.45Arrive Craignure Ferry Terminal, Isle of Mull
15.30 Arrive Park Lodge Hotel, Tobermory
Afternoon explore Tobermory

Saturday May 17 – Tuesday May 20 inclusive
Range of photography locations

• Calgary Beach and graveyard. Spectacular curved white sandy
  beach with nearby very ancient, very spooky graveyard. No walking.
  Close to hotel.
  
  
• Creag Mhor Head/Rubha na Moine/Gribun. Isolated and dramatic
  single track coast road with superb sea views and scary section
  beneath towering black cliffs. Unusual local houses. No walking.
  Could be combined with a walk to Mckinnon’s Cave (approx 1 mile) steeped in history below grand coastal cliffs.
  
  
• Shiaba Deserted Village and Uisken Coast. Remains of a primitive village abandoned 200 years ago during the Highland Clearances sited on a remote peninsular. Attractive and equally remote hamlet with rocky/sandy beach and sharp contrast with Calgary above. 1.5 mile walk to ruined village.
  
  
• Loch an Eilean/Glen More/Moy Castle/Lochbuie Standing Stones &
  Stone Circle. Glen More is a wild Scottish Glen under the shoulder of the mountain Ben More (over 3,000ft) and the Loch is also very wild (half mile rough walk). Lochbuie is a tiny Highland
  village with the ruins of Moy Castle (steeped in history) and some prehistoric standing stones/circles (vehicles can be driven here).
  
  
• Eas Fors Waterfall and Ulva Ferry. The waterfall close to the road and the coastal cliff is much photographed. The ferry (a rowing boat!) which takes pedestrians only to the tiny island of
  Ulva is exceptionally evocative as a very untidy fishing hamlet and boat repair yard. No walking.
  
  
• Carsaig/Carsaig Arches. The remote abandoned jetty at Carsaig has a forgotten feel to it, but gives great views along the craggy
  eastern coast. A tough but level 2 mile walk from here leads to the truly wonderful Carsaig Arches – giant rock bridges cut through the sea cliffs. A very wild place.
  
  
• Mingary Castle. This involves taking the tiny ferry from Tobermory to Acharacle north on the mainland. Mingary Castle is a spectacular ancient ruin on the coast. Bit of walking. Veryfew
  ferries each day – like 2!) Roughly half mile walk.
  
  
• Burg, the Piano and the Fossil Tree. A tough walk of around 2 miles each way but worth it. Burg is a huge cliffy headland in black basalt, with amazing intrusions of volcanic columns. One of these has been ‘flattened’ to look like the giant keys of a piano. Further on are the fossilised remains of a large tree caught in
  the lava. Site owned by the National Trust for Scotland and we would need their permission to drive reasonably close. Some parts
  of this cliff walk are not for the faint hearted
  
  
• Rubha nan Gall Lighthouse. About one and a half miles level walk from the hotel, but feels very remote. An automatic lighthouse roughly 200 years old with associated semi-derelict keeper’s cottage. Good views north to the mainland.
  
  
• Glen Forsa or Glen Cannal. Both are wild and remote with rough tracks leading up them. The latter has an ancient burial ground. Both are on private estates so I’d need to negotiate access which shouldn’t be too problematic.

During May at least 2 pairs of heavily guarded and very rare White Tailed Sea Eagles will be nesting on Mull. There are public viewing points which the party may be interested to see.

Wednesday May 21

9.00 Depart Hotel
10.55 Depart Craignure, Mull by ferry for Oban
11.41 Arrive Oban.Lunch, then drive back either by same route or a longer alternative but also very scenic
17.00 approx arrive Glasgow Ibis Hotel

Thursday May 22

Depart hotel by taxi for airport and depart Scotland.

Equipment list

Optional

• Laptop computer will come in handy for viewing your files in the field.
• Camera flash with off camera extension.
• Marc and Andy will bring their Really Right Stuff pano equipment and demonstrate how it all works. They will also bring their 24mm tilt shift lenses and demonstrate how to combine two exposures of the same scene in photoshop to turn his 16megapixel camera into a 22megapixel camera.
• We use a camera backpack that also holds several items for short hikes, such as a sack lunch and water. the longest hike planned would be two miles both directions if we decide. However, most shooting will be within a half mile of the cars.

Interesting Links:

Tobermory

Duart Castle

A big thank you to Emmanuel Coupe for the use of his incredible pictures of Scotland.