Slovenia Photography Tours & Workshops

Lake Bled is the image that put Slovenia on every photographer's map, and it deserves its reputation. A tiny island topped by the Church of the Assumption of Mary, with the Julian Alps rising behind it, makes a fairytale scene. Photographing it well still takes more than showing up.

We shoot Lake Bled at sunrise, when mist often drifts across the surface and the water is calmest for reflections. We return at sunset, as the light warms the island and the mountains beyond. In fall, the forests along the shore turn gold and copper and frame the island church in warm color.

Our guides know the shoreline well, from the classic views of the island to quieter spots where you can find your own composition away from the crowds.

Just half an hour from Bled, Lake Bohinj is its wilder, quieter sibling, and many photographers end up loving it more. Slovenia's largest natural lake sits deep inside Triglav National Park, surrounded by steep mountains and beech forest. There's no island to steal the show, so the landscape itself becomes the subject, along with the little Church of St. John the Baptist beside the old stone bridge at Ribčev Laz.

We photograph Lake Bohinj from the afternoon through sunset and into blue hour. As the light softens and the lake settles, the peaks mirror in the still water. After sunset, the cool tones of blue hour give the lake and church a calm, timeless mood.

Mostnica Gorge, just above the village of Stara Fužina, lies Mostnica Gorge, one of the hidden gems of the Bohinj area. The Mostnica stream has carved a narrow channel through the limestone that is barely three feet wide in places. It is filled with pools of astonishingly clear turquoise water.

Few photographers realize that Slovenia has one of the densest populations of wild brown bears in Europe. Around a thousand bears roam the old forests of the Dinaric Mountains in the south of the country. Photographing them in the wild is unforgettable, and very different from shooting the lakes and mountains of the north. We work with experienced local wildlife experts and use purpose-built photography hides set at eye level. From there, you can watch the bears forage, play, and interact without disturbing their natural behavior.

An evening in the hide is about patience and quiet anticipation. As the light fades, a mother may appear with her cubs, or a large male may wander into the clearing. Bring your longest lens, plenty of memory cards, and a willingness to wait. It's worth it.

Slovenia's countryside is dotted with small white churches perched on hilltops, and two of them have become icons of landscape photography.

The Church of Saint Thomas (Sveti Tomaž) stands in the hills near Škofja Loka. On fall mornings it often rises alone above a sea of fog, with the Julian Alps glowing pink on the horizon.

Jamnik, the Church of St. Primus and Felician, sits on a grassy ridge of the Jelovica Plateau. It is framed against the peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karawanks.

Both are sunrise locations, and both depend on the weather. Our guides watch the forecasts closely and know which mornings are most likely to bring mist into the valleys. A telephoto lens is your best friend here, because it compresses the layers of ridges and mountains into timeless, painterly images.