Photography Expeditions in May

Ubud puts three of Bali's most photogenic subjects within 45 minutes of each other: the UNESCO-listed Tegallalang rice terraces, the volcanic crater of Mount Batur (best at pre-dawn), and the water purification temple of Tirta Empul. Several operators run dedicated photography workshops — from smartphone walks through the rice paddies to DSLR dawn expeditions to Batur's crater rim. The variety of subjects within a small radius is what makes Ubud exceptional for photography — landscape, culture, architecture, and portraiture all within a morning.

The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert on earth and sits at the edge of one of the world's most important astronomy zones. The combination produces extraordinary conditions for astrophotography: no light pollution for hundreds of kilometers, negligible atmospheric humidity, altitude between 2,400m and 4,500m, and 300+ clear nights per year. The Milky Way core is visible overhead for much of the year. Beyond night photography, the daytime subjects are equally distinctive: the Valle de la Luna salt formations, the red and white salt flat of Salar de Atacama, the Tatio geysers at dawn, and the flamingo colonies of the high-altitude lagoons. The landscape looks like no other place on the planet.