South Moravia Photo Tour

Why shoot South Moravia?

South Moravia is a wine-growing region in the southeast of the Czech Republic, about 270 kilometres and three hours' drive from Prague. The land rolls in long, smooth waves of fields and vineyards, dotted with sentinel trees, lone chapels, and small villages. Photographers compare the abstract crop lines to Italian Tuscany or the Palouse in Washington State. The UNESCO-listed Lednice chateau sits at the western edge of the region, and the medieval town of Mikulov rises above the lowlands further south. Mid-April to mid-May is the peak window: trees blossom in the third week of April and the rapeseed turns the hills bright yellow in the first half of May.

On a South Moravia photo tour with me, you'll catch two sunrises and two sunsets in the rolling fields, work telephoto compositions of crop lines and sentinel trees, walk the Lednice chateau and gardens at midday, add Mikulov or the Moravian Holland windmills depending on the light, and step into a 270-year sandstone cellar in Vrbice for a candlelight shoot one evening. We drive from Prague (about three hours) and use the car as our base across the region; most shooting locations are within a 20-minute hop of each other. Bring a telephoto (200mm or longer; 100-400mm is ideal); a wide-angle and mid-range zoom add variety. Beginners leave with a sharper eye and confident use of aperture priority. Pros leave with compositions they wouldn't have found alone.

What you'll photograph

The frames you'll typically take home include abstract crop-line compositions of the rolling hills, vineyards under blossom in late April, the rapeseed-yellow waves of early May, sentinel trees and lone chapels at first and last light, the Lednice chateau in its UNESCO park, the medieval cityscape of Mikulov on the ridge, and warm candlelight on sandstone in a 270-year wine cellar in Vrbice. We adapt the route to the season and the subjects you like to shoot.