Morocco Photo Tour with Giles Stokoe and David Ward

Giles Stokoe

A professional photographer since the 1990's, Giles Stokoe has photographed a wide variety of subjects, from landscapes and indigenous people for travel magazines and books, to complicated artistic pieces that explore how far photography can be used to interpret time and space. Also qualified to teach photography, Giles has moved out of the classroom and has been leading tours to Morocco and elsewhere for Authentic Morocco and Light & Land since 2004. Morocco is one of his favorite locations. It has a stunning and fantastically varied landscape, inextricably linked to its extraordinary cultural heritage. Whether in the mountains, deserts or cities, Giles finds Morocco a very stimulating place to make photographs, and for photographers of all abilities it is the ideal location to practice every discipline.

David Ward

David Ward is one of Britain’s most accomplished landscape photographers. Over the years David has photographed everything from dogs to food to racing cars, but the landscape has remained his passion. In recent years he has concentrated his efforts on leading photography workshops, taking groups to places as diverse as Namibia and Norway. The world's deserts are amongst his favourite places to make images - he is addicted to Namibia and has travelled extensively throughout the desert southwest of the USA. He is really excited about leading a tour in Morocco with Giles Stokoe.

His emphasis in teaching is on the photographer’s vision, rather than on what equipment is being used, and he passes on his knowledge in a uniquely humorous and accessible manner.

David’s photographs are distinctive for their graphic simplicity and superb technical quality. He is fascinated by deeper questions about photography, asking why we do things rather than how. David’s first book, ‘Landscape Within’, a philosophical look at photography, was published by Argentum in the Autumn of 2004. In 2008 'Landscape Beyond' was published in which David looks at what he considers to be the three essential ingredients of a photograph: beauty, mystery and simplicity. He is a regular contributor to many of the photo magazines and writes a monthly column for 'On Landscape', a web magazine dedicated to landscape photography.

Photography Tours of Morocco

Only a short hop from Gibraltar, Morocco is a world apart. Divided by the Atlas mountains, the culture has been influenced by invasions from the north and the great camel trains across the Sahara from the south. Throughout time the Berber people have maintained their identity by retreating to their mountain strongholds, cloaked in snow for half the year; further south the Desert Berbers still make their home in the vast wastes of the Sahara desert.

Enormous gorges cut through these mountains, their valley floors green with lush gardens which the Berbers use to feed themselves and animals. In the spring the mountains are carpeted with wild flowers whilst the Berbers cultivate roses for rosewater and perfume. We will see ancient kasbahs made from huge blocks of mountain clay, sometimes palatial and often beautifully framed by the landscape. Some of these have been renovated and used in films – from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator – and we will stay in ones that have been superbly converted into hotels.

During the day we explore the intimate gorges and gardens, where wheat and roses mingle with wild poppies. The evenings might bring still conditions with crystal clear light, perhaps a sandstorm bathing the landscape in an otherworldly hue or cloud shadows picking out individual dunes in an ever-changing scene. We must be prepared to experience all the extremes of light and colour thrown at us, with open eyes and an open mind.

We travel this dramatic landscape in four wheel drive vehicles. We can explore a set of dunes much further off the beaten track than those at Merzouga and hope to spend time with desert nomads, from the moment they wake at dawn to round up their camels.

Our journey takes us to two World Heritage sites: the fortified village of Ait Benhaddou, star of many films and the Place Djema el Fna of Marrakesh - by day full of snake charmers, fortune tellers and tooth pullers and by night one huge outdoor barbecue.

Our final two nights will be in Marrakesh, an extraordinary, colourful and stimulating culmination to the tour. The ancient capital of the Berber people is full of relics of the desert caravans and great civilizations that have passed through Morocco. We will of course visit the souks and plan a visit to the famous Jardin Majorelle.

We will be well looked after, but inevitably some days will be hot, and as veterans of the tour will know, dusty. But to create a meaningful image, you must first come to terms with your subject.