Photo Safari – Turanga

Duration – 3 days

Day 1

A drive from Almaty to the Asiatic poplar groove (Turanga) takes approximately half a day. Leaving early in the morning, we can expect to be at the destination by lunch. 

After a quick snack, we can take a hike around the groove to locate suitable sites for upcoming photo shoots at sunset and sunrise.  The warm and bright gold of the autumnal Turanga neighbors gloom and cold black and white trunks of the burnt part of the groove. Each safari participant decides on sites for upcoming photo sessions that suites him or her.

Once the sun nears the horizon, the fun starts. The sunset is particularly beautiful, when we use powerful strobes that took with us to light up the trees in the foreground. There are enough strobes to keep most photographers happy. Some people take photos of landscapes or pretty models against awkwardly bent trunks of aged trees, while others track down wild birds and animals in a photo hunt.

As it gets darker, we sit down to have dinner (pilaf, shaslik, beer). Once the urge for food is satisfied, we can have some more fun trying to shoot at night – trees lit up by reflections of the bonfire and powerful flashlights look absolutely magical against the starry skies. 

Some may decide to have a cup of tea before they finally go to bed – we have to get up early the next morning!

Day 2

We have to get up way before the sunrise and occupy positions that we decided on the day before – time to catch the sunrise. Rays of the sun are breaking through extravagantly bent trunks of the trees, which remind us of tree-nymphs or wood spirits, making golden crowns glare with a particular light!
Once the sun is high up in the sky, we get back to the camp and discuss the photos that we have just taken – what can be improved or what should be photographed again and how it can be done. We exchange our impressions. Gradually, the discussion turned into lunch and lunch – into preparations for the evening shoot. As for the photo hunters, those guys don’t get to rest – daytime is a particularly popular time of the day among birds and animals!
After the late afternoon shoot, the photographers overloaded with their masterpieces, come back to the camp. Dinner, bonfire, guitar and a nice company – that is what awaits them. This is what we call true fun!

Day 3

The most restless photographers wake up before the crack of dawn and run out to finish up the remaining space on their flash cards. Those, who are overloaded with photo impressions already, can get a nice long sleep. Late breakfast. We take time to pack up the gear and after light lunch we hit the road to go back home.