📸 Photography Workshop: Wistman’s Wood & Dartmoor National Park 🌿
Capture the Magic of Ancient Forests & Wild Moorlands
Join me for an unforgettable photography workshop set in the mystical landscapes of Wistman’s Wood and Dartmoor National Park. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced photographer, this guided experience will help you master composition, light, and storytelling in one of the UK's most atmospheric locations.
📅 Starting Date: September 19th
📍 Location: Dartmoor National Park, Devon, UK
⏳ Duration: You decide! Minimum of 3 days, maximum of 7.
👥 Group Size: Private workshop. You could bring a partner if you wish, but you’ll share a room.
Spaces are limited to one, so book now and immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful landscapes of Dartmoor! ✨🌿📷
Where You’re Going:
What You’ll Experience:
✅ Wistman’s Wood – A legendary, moss-draped oak forest that feels like stepping into a fairytale. Learn how to capture its eerie beauty, rich textures, and moody atmosphere.
✅ Lesser known anient woodlands – Wistman’s Wood is well protected, which is why we can’t enter it. There are tons of great images to be had all along the perimeter, but we’ll actually enter other woodlands that are just as beautiful, but not as frequented.
✅ Dartmoor’s Wild Landscapes – Rolling hills, granite tors, and dramatic skies provide endless opportunities for breathtaking compositions.
✅ 2 photo workshops every day. Processing in between. – Master techniques for shooting in soft morning or evening light.
✅ Storytelling Through Photography – Develop your unique perspective and visual storytelling skills.
✅ Guidance & Tips from a Professional Photographer – Personalized coaching on camera settings, composition, and post-processing insights.
Holiday tips: combine with a visit to the Cotswolds for the traditional English countryside, the Jurassic coast for fossil hunting, a city trip to London or a photography extension to Cornwall, the southwesternmost county of England, known for its rugged coastline, historic tin mining, and the famous Land’s End.
Results to Expect:
Who is This For?
📷 Photographers of all levels—whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your skills.
🌿 Nature lovers & adventurers who want to explore and capture the untamed beauty of Dartmoor and love a hike.
Note that you’ll need to be in decent physical condition. It’s about 40 minutes of hiking from the car to Wistman’s Wood and the path deteriorates quickly into a boggy mess.
What to Bring:
🔹 DSLR or mirrorless camera
🔹 A telephoto lens in the range of 70-400mm
🔹 A wide-angle lens. The shorter the better. Aperture doesn’t matter.
🔹 Sturdy tripod (recommended for low light shots)
🔹 Comfortable outdoor clothing & waterproof gear
🔹 Wellies (rain boots, Muck Boots)
🔹 Snacks, water, and a sense of adventure!
🔹 A laptop running Photoshop is optional, but that’s what I use to process my images.
Where do we Meet?
I’ll drive there myself, so you can start your adventure with me in a number of places. Somewhere along my route in the Netherlands, Belgium, France or England. Or pick an airport like Exeter, Bournemouth, Southampton or London Gatwick if the others can’t be done.
Pricing & Booking
💰 The price is determined by how long you decide to stay with me, but starts as low as €1950.
📩 Reserve Your Spot above. Top of the page.
📜 Cancellation Policy
We understand that plans can change. If you need to cancel, please let us know as soon as possible. To make it all fit on our end, we have a strict cancellation policy for workshops in place:
🔹 Full refund for cancellations made 90 days or more before the workshop.
🔹 50% refund for cancellations made 31 - 89 days before the workshop.
🔹 No refund for cancellations made within 30 days of the workshop or for no-shows.
In the event of severe weather or unforeseen circumstances, we may need to reschedule or cancel the workshop. If this happens, you will be offered a full refund.
Meet the Workshop Leader: Daniel Laan
Additional Forest Photography
I’ll be your guide, driver and teacher on this tour.
On a previous tour to the Lofoten, I got asked: “For which type of photos are you most known”? I think it’s the forests. My forest images got published in magazines and won awards and I wrote a book about forest photography that’s been published in Dutch and German that is still selling in 5 countries.
In that book I write a lot about the relationship I have with forest photography and how it contributes to these moody, mystical images. It’s all mindset and personality and the willingness to spend time with the subject (and in post). I’m not that person who rushes from composition to composition in the fear of missing out on “good light”. As long as the subject speaks to me, we’re optimizing the technique to get the best results from it. I’m all quality over quantity.
I’m an INFP-T personality type, got diagnosed at 40 years old with having an inattentive form of ADD and listen to and write extreme metal music, playing multiple instruments myself. It think this strange brew of traits not only leads to a unique perspective on landscape photography, but it definitely colors the way I visualize and create art.
I love to get to know you as a person, am a great listener and will probably forget an SD-card or my laptop at some point. I have good sense of humor, don’t do drama and am a patient, calm person who daydreams.