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Have you ever opened a copy of National Geographic and thought, ‘Why don’t my pictures look that good?’

We have. We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve scrolled through the image galleries on our cameras and been disappointed at how much – or should we say how little – of the landscape’s beauty we’ve managed to capture.

Because, of course, getting to an incredible place is one thing. Framing it is quite another. And don’t even get us started on all those technical terms – ISO settings, aperture and so on. We’ve tried to get our heads around them reading books and watching videos on the web, but we just can’t. We need to be taught in person.

That’s why we like the idea of a photographic expedition, where you go out and explore incredible natural places, and get tips from an expert photographer while you’re out there.

The company explora recently caught our attention. They’re running a series of photography treks in Chile.

You’d be hard pressed to find better photographic subjects than Patagonia and the Atacama Desert – the former’s mountains, glaciers and lakes contrast beautifully in color and shape with the latter’s volcanoes and salt flats.

(Image: explora)

Travelers get to hone their photography skills under the guidance of renowned photographer Katsuyoshi Tanaka.

There are eight guests on each photographic expedition. They’re led by Tanaka and a guide from explora, who is well versed in the local history, geography, flora and fauna.

(Image: explora)

Each participant is encouraged to bring his own DSLR camera, tripod and personal computer, though explora does have a selection of Nikon D7000 digital SLR cameras with NIKKOR lenses (AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II) and Nikon compact cameras, for expedition participants to borrow.

Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…

(Image: explora)

About the author

Brett AckroydBrett hopes to one day reach the shores of far-flung Tristan da Cunha, the most remote of all the inhabited archipelagos on Earth…as to what he’ll do when he gets there, he hasn’t a clue. Over the last 10 years, London, New York, Cape Town and Pondicherry have all proudly been referred to as home. Now it’s Copenhagen’s turn, where he lends his travel expertise to momondo.com.

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