June 15–24, 2027
Galapagos Islands
Limited to 8 participants
Private custom charter
National Park-approved itinerary built for photographers
Best-light field schedule
Early landings and late returns for golden-hour photography
10 days / 9 nights aboard
Comfortable first-class catamaran with room to spread out
The Galápagos can look deceptively easy to photograph. The wildlife is close, the subjects are iconic, and the setting is unlike anywhere else.
But that is exactly why the strongest images are harder to make than people expect. When access is good, the difference is no longer just being there. It is where you stand, what you leave out of the frame, how you use the background, and whether you can turn a familiar subject into something that feels deliberate and personal.
This workshop is built around that idea.
The goal is not simply to come home with photographs of Galápagos species. It is to come home with a more deliberate body of work: images shaped by light, behavior, composition, patience, and better decisions in the field.
What Makes This Workshop Different
Standard Galápagos cruises are run for travelers who are happy to take photos along the way. They are not built around serious photography.
They will not get guests out of bed at 5:30am for an early-morning landing, or keep them on site until 6pm. That means missing the best light, day after day. I watched it happen firsthand on my scouting trip.
Timed for the best light
This private charter is built around a different rhythm: early landings, late returns, and being at each site when the light gives us the best chance to make stronger images.
Fewer photographers, more room to work
“Small group” on a standard Galápagos cruise usually means 16 people. That might sound small, but try positioning 16 photographers around a courting albatross pair: it does not work.
This workshop is capped at 8 participants. Less jockeying for position, more room to choose your angle, and more time with the moment.
Single cabins by design
Shared cabins are common on Galápagos cruises, including some marketed to photographers. For this workshop, solo travelers have their own cabin.
That gives you space to rest, keep your gear organized, and have some privacy between landings. Couples or companions booking together share one cabin.
A custom route with less filler
Most cruises, even the ones marketed to photographers, include sites chosen for general sightseeing, not photography.
This is a custom, National Park-approved itinerary built for this photography charter. It reduces filler and keeps the focus on the most productive wildlife sites in the archipelago.
At a Glance
Cruise dates: June 15–24, 2027. Mainland Ecuador arrival/departure nights are included around the cruise schedule.
Limited to 8 photographers
$25,900 per person
Solo travelers are accommodated in private cabins; couples or companions booking together share one cabin. See below for inclusions, exclusions, payment schedule, and booking terms.
Waved albatross, blue-footed, red-footed and Nazca boobies, Galápagos penguin, flightless cormorant, frigatebirds, tropicbirds, gulls, marine and land iguanas, giant tortoises, and other Galápagos wildlife.
Española, Genovesa, South Plaza, Santa Cruz Highlands, Fernandina / western Isabela, and other National Park-approved visitor sites. The full day-by-day itinerary is provided after inquiry.
Techniques backed by award-winning images and experience as a nature photography contest judge
Pre-trip planning, in-field coaching, and post-trip editing & image review included
Your Workshop Leader
Hi. I am Steffen Foerster, your photography guide and instructor.
I have spent more than three decades photographing wildlife, with a particular focus on building images through behavior, light, composition, and field decisions rather than simply documenting what was in front of me.
My work has been recognized in international nature photography competitions, including Bird Photographer of the Year, the National Wildlife Photo Contest, Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, NANPA Showcase, Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest, and others. I also teach, mentor photographers, and judge nature photography, which gives me a practical view of what makes images stronger both in the field and in the edit.
On this workshop, my role is not just to get you to the right places. It is to help you make better decisions once we are there: where to position yourself, what to leave out of the frame, when to stay with a subject, and how to shape the resulting images into a stronger Galápagos portfolio.
Awards & Recognition
Bird Photographer of the Year
Gold Award
Bird Portraits
2025
National Wildlife Photo Contest
Winner
Baby Animals
2025
Nature Photographer of the Year
Runner-up
Threatened Species
2025
NANPA Showcase Competition
Best in Category
Macro, Micro & All Other
2025
Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
Finalist
Natural World
2024
Share the View Nature Photography Contest
Winner
Migratory Birds
2023
The Greatest Wildlife Photographer - Kenya
Shortlisted
2025
Bird Photographer of the Year
Bronze Award
Birds in the Environment
2025
Gallery
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Locations
Espanola - Punta Suárez
Española is one of the great seabird locations in the Galápagos and a major reason this itinerary matters for serious photographers. In season, waved albatrosses return for courtship, nesting, and cliffside flight, while Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, tropicbirds, sea lions, and Galápagos hawks add strong opportunities along dramatic coastal edges.
Genovesa - Bird Island
Genovesa gives the workshop its densest seabird experience. Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps can bring red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, frigatebirds, storm petrels, tropicbirds, finches, mockingbirds, and short-eared owls into close range, with opportunities for nesting behavior, flight, colonies, and wider environmental scenes.
Fernandina
Fernandina is one of the most powerful locations in the Galápagos for stark wildlife-against-lava compositions. At Punta Espinoza, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galápagos penguins, sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, lava cactus, and views toward La Cumbre volcano create a raw western-island setting where the landscape itself becomes part of the photograph.
Western Isabela
Western Isabela gives the itinerary its rawest, most remote-feeling setting. Moreno Point, Elizabeth Bay, Urbina Bay, and Tagus Cove bring together black lava, mangroves, sheltered coves, uplifted coastline, and cold-water wildlife. This is where we look for Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, sea turtles, rays, seabirds, and wider scenes that place the animals in the landscape.
South Plaza
South Plaza is small but unusually concentrated, with land iguanas, marine iguanas, sea lions, Opuntia cactus, and red Sesuvium creating strong color and foreground opportunities. Along the cliff trail, swallow-tailed gulls, tropicbirds, shearwaters, boobies, and other seabirds work the updrafts. It is a compact site with reptiles, sea lions, color, cliffs, and flight in close range.
Santa Cruz Highlands
The Santa Cruz Highlands bring a quieter, more atmospheric side of the Galápagos. Wild giant tortoises move through pasture, ponds, forest edges, and native highland vegetation, giving us the chance to work with scale, habitat, mist, and mood rather than only close portraits. This stop adds emotional weight and visual contrast to the seabird, lava, and marine subjects.
Swipe or use arrows
Espanola - Punta Suárez
Española is one of the great seabird locations in the Galápagos and a major reason this itinerary matters for serious photographers. In season, waved albatrosses return for courtship, nesting, and cliffside flight, while Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas, tropicbirds, sea lions, and Galápagos hawks add strong opportunities along dramatic coastal edges.
Genovesa - Bird Island
Genovesa gives the workshop its densest seabird experience. Darwin Bay and Prince Philip’s Steps can bring red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, frigatebirds, storm petrels, tropicbirds, finches, mockingbirds, and short-eared owls into close range, with opportunities for nesting behavior, flight, colonies, and wider environmental scenes.
Fernandina
Fernandina is one of the most powerful locations in the Galápagos for stark wildlife-against-lava compositions. At Punta Espinoza, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galápagos penguins, sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, lava cactus, and views toward La Cumbre volcano create a raw western-island setting where the landscape itself becomes part of the photograph.
Western Isabela
Western Isabela gives the itinerary its rawest, most remote-feeling setting. Moreno Point, Elizabeth Bay, Urbina Bay, and Tagus Cove bring together black lava, mangroves, sheltered coves, uplifted coastline, and cold-water wildlife. This is where we look for Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, sea turtles, rays, seabirds, and wider scenes that place the animals in the landscape.
South Plaza
South Plaza is small but unusually concentrated, with land iguanas, marine iguanas, sea lions, Opuntia cactus, and red Sesuvium creating strong color and foreground opportunities. Along the cliff trail, swallow-tailed gulls, tropicbirds, shearwaters, boobies, and other seabirds work the updrafts. It is a compact site with reptiles, sea lions, color, cliffs, and flight in close range.
Santa Cruz Highlands
The Santa Cruz Highlands bring a quieter, more atmospheric side of the Galápagos. Wild giant tortoises move through pasture, ponds, forest edges, and native highland vegetation, giving us the chance to work with scale, habitat, mist, and mood rather than only close portraits. This stop adds emotional weight and visual contrast to the seabird, lava, and marine subjects.
Private Charter Accommodation
The workshop is based aboard a private Galápagos expedition vessel selected for comfort, access, and suitability for a small photography group.
Solo travelers have their own cabin; couples or companions booking together share one cabin. The private charter structure keeps the group small, gives photographers more room to work in the field, and gives solo travelers privacy between landings.
The vessel gives us the practical advantage that makes Galápagos photography work: we can move between islands overnight, wake near the next landing site, and use the best parts of the day for photography rather than transit.
Meals are served onboard, naturalist guiding is included, and the group remains small enough for the experience to feel focused rather than crowded.
This is a first class private catamaran charter designed around photography, not a standard cruise with photography added on.
Optional Land-Based Extension
Most Galápagos trips are cruise-only. Participants who want to continue after the liveaboard portion may add a land-based extension designed to give us something a cruise alone cannot: more flexibility.
I am working with my local operator on an extension that may include additional time in the Santa Cruz Highlands and on Isabela. That would allow us to work beaches, wetlands, coastal wildlife, iguana colonies, and giant tortoises without a shore-excursion clock running. When the light, behavior, or moment is working, we have more room to stay with it.
The extension also gives us a chance to experience a little of Galápagos life, which most cruise travelers barely see. Los Tuneles, one of the premier snorkeling sites in the archipelago and inaccessible to cruise vessels by park regulation, may be offered as an optional underwater excursion while on Isabela, conditions permitting.
The land-based extension is arranged separately from the main cruise because routing, hotel room categories, availability, and group interest may vary. Details and pricing are provided after inquiry and confirmed before participants commit.
Before, During, and After the Workshop
Before you arrive
Starting during the booking process, we’ll discuss your interests, experience, goals, gear, and any specific species or image types you are hoping to work on. In group virtual sessions before departure, we’ll review the photographic opportunities, target species, field techniques, gear considerations, and logistics so you arrive prepared.
During the workshop
In the field, I’ll provide direct guidance on positioning, exposure choices, shutter speed, composition, backgrounds, behavior, and how to adapt when conditions change. During downtime, we’ll review images, discuss what is working, and prepare for the next location. You can participate as much or as little as you like.
After your return
After the workshop, I’ll assist with image selection and post-processing in up to three virtual sessions. We’ll cover editing decisions, Lightroom workflow, portfolio sequencing, and how to select and prepare images for competitions if that interests you.
In Their Words
“...just unprecedented. I've been on wildlife photography workshops around the world and nothing comes close to this level of preparation and trip support. ”
“Thank you for an amazing time... I found your help during the trip invaluable and really enjoyed the different situations that we got to photograph. ”
“Other leaders wait for you to ask. You taught constantly, I never once felt like I was bothering you. I learned so much... Thank you for the opportunity to be in this special group!”
Pricing & What's Included
Per Person
$25,900
Solo travelers in private cabins; couples or companions share one cabin.
What’s Included
- Private charter accommodation
- Full board cruise
- Two nights on mainland Ecuador
- Mainland to Galápagos return airfare, standard economy
- Private transfers in Galápagos
- Snorkeling equipment
- Local guide and wildlife expert
- Photography instruction
- Image review & editing sessions
- Virtual pre-trip planning meetings (group)
- Virtual post-trip editing sessions (individual)
Not Included
- International airfare
- Visa fees (if applicable)
- National Park Fee ($200)
- Transit Control Card ($20)
- Personal insurance
- Alcoholic and bottled beverages
- Tips for guides and cruise staff
- Isabela land extension (sold separately)
Key cancellation and booking terms: Deposit is non-refundable once paid, except if the workshop is cancelled because minimum enrollment is not reached. After confirmation, each scheduled payment becomes non-refundable once paid because this workshop is based on a fixed-cost Galápagos vessel charter. View details
What You’ll Need
Travel medical insurance with evacuation coverage is officially required by Ecuadorian/Galápagos authorities for all visitors, though enforcement is inconsistent and you're unlikely to be asked for proof. We recommend treating it as required rather than optional: medical facilities on the islands are limited, and a serious injury or illness may mean evacuation to the mainland, which can run well into five figures without coverage. Standard travel medical insurance with medical evacuation coverage is sufficient; most providers offer this, and policies in the $50,000–$200,000 evacuation range are typical for this kind of trip. Trip cancellation and "cancel for any reason" coverage are also worth considering given the cost of this workshop. Sites like squaremouth.com allow you to compare plans.
Landings involve hiking over rocky, uneven volcanic terrain, including lava rock trails and some cliff-edge paths. Distances are generally under a mile, but the footing can be slow going. Most sites are reached by zodiac, which means stepping from the yacht down into a small inflatable boat, then either a wet landing (stepping out into shallow water onto a beach) or a dry landing (stepping onto rocks or a dock). Crew assist with every transfer. Please let me know about any health issues, allergies, or mobility concerns before booking so I can advise honestly on whether this workshop is the right fit.
No visa is required for U.S. and British citizens for a standard tourist stay. Two fees apply on top of the workshop cost: a $20 Transit Control Card, arranged before departure or paid in cash before departure, and a $200 Galápagos National Park entrance fee, paid in cash on arrival in the islands. A biosafety declaration is also required before arrival to help protect the islands from introduced species; we'll walk you through this ahead of time. For entry requirements specific to your country of origin, check with your nearest Ecuador consulate.
No immunizations are required to enter the Galápagos directly. The one exception: as of 2025, Ecuador requires proof of yellow fever vaccination for travelers arriving from Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, or Brazil, or who have spent time in those countries shortly before arrival. This doesn't apply if you're flying in directly from the U.S., U.K., or most other countries. If your travel plans route through any of those countries, let me know and we'll confirm what's needed.
FAQ
Ready to Build Your Galápagos Portfolio?
If this workshop sounds like the right fit, please complete the application below. I’ll review your inquiry, confirm availability, and send next steps for securing your place. Because the group is limited to 8 photographers and the itinerary is photography-focused, applications are reviewed for fit before a reservation is completed.
Step 1 of 2
Start Your ApplicationApply for This Workshop
Applications are reviewed within 48 hours. Limited to 8 participants.
Before You BookCancellation & Booking Terms
Cancellation & Booking Terms
Key cancellation and booking terms before you inquire. Price, deposit amount, and final payment timing are shown above in the pricing section.
Minimum Enrollment / Deposit Activation
A deposit is required to reserve a place. The deposit is non-refundable once paid, except if the workshop is cancelled because minimum enrollment is not reached. In that case, deposits collected will be refunded in full. The workshop is confirmed once minimum enrollment is reached and the required vessel charter commitment has been made to the operator.
Payment and Refund Policy
This workshop is based on a fixed-cost private Galápagos vessel charter with very limited participant spaces. After the workshop is confirmed, each scheduled payment, cabin upgrade, or supplement becomes final once paid. No refund is provided for participant cancellation, no-show, late arrival, early departure, missed days, or unused services.
Replacement / Transfer Policy
If you need to cancel, you may request to transfer your place to an approved replacement participant. Transfer requests should be submitted as early as possible and no later than 75 days before the workshop. The replacement participant must be approved by the workshop leader, complete all required paperwork, and pay the full workshop fee. If your place is filled by an approved replacement participant who pays in full, eligible amounts may be refunded less the non-refundable deposit, unrecoverable costs, and applicable bank, transfer, credit card, or processing fees. A replacement is not guaranteed, and you remain responsible for your booking unless and until the replacement participant has been approved and paid in full.
Travel Insurance
Comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical, medical evacuation, personal belongings/equipment coverage, and Cancel For Any Reason coverage where available. Cancel For Any Reason coverage often must be purchased shortly after the initial deposit.
Galapagos Itinerary Note
All Galápagos vessel itineraries are subject to approval and control by the Galápagos National Park and Ecuadorian authorities. Planned landing sites, visit order, and daily schedules may change before or during the workshop due to park regulations, weather, safety concerns, vessel operations, wildlife conditions, or decisions by the vessel operator and naturalist guide. Such changes are outside our control and are not grounds for refund, provided the workshop remains substantially similar in nature as a Galápagos wildlife photography expedition.
Full participant agreement terms are reviewed during booking and signed before a reservation is completed.