About Us - UK Photo Tours

Dion Hitchcock - founder and lead guide, UK Photo Tours

The Guide

Meet Dion Hitchcock

I began guiding photographers in 2011 through the London Photographic Meetup Group, teaching light painting and leading day trips to castles, wildlife locations and events. UK Photo Tours followed in 2014, alongside my first overseas tours, and by 2018 I was running my own groups full time. The question people kept asking was always the same: "How do you find these places?"

The answer took years of fieldwork: pre-dawn drives, tide tables, weather apps and hundreds of miles of footpaths. I wanted to share that knowledge with photographers who were ready to take their images to the next level, without spending years working it all out themselves.

Today I lead every tour personally. I keep groups small (up to 5 participants) because great photography coaching has to be one-to-one. Your composition. Your settings. Your creative vision.

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Our Philosophy

Why we do things differently

Every decision we make, from group size to location selection to equipment policy, comes back to one question: what gives photographers the best chance of returning home with images they're truly proud of?

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Groups of Up to 5

Large groups mean waiting, compromising, and watching the light change while someone else gets their shot. Most tours are capped at 5 so your guide can work with you personally on your composition, your gear and your creative goals.

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Off the Tourist Trail

We deliberately avoid the obvious viewpoints. After 15 years of fieldwork, we know where the crowds aren't, and where the light is at its best. Locations most visitors will never discover on their own.

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Guaranteed to Depart

Every tour we list is guaranteed to run. No cancellations due to low numbers. No last-minute disappointment. Book with complete confidence. We're here because we love doing this, not just when the numbers work out.

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All Abilities Welcome

We've had complete beginners alongside photographers with 25 years' experience on the same tour, and both came home thrilled. Our approach adapts entirely to where you are right now, not where we think you should be.

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Three Disciplines

Landscapes, wildlife and astrophotography. We're one of the very few UK operators covering all three. Wherever your passion lies, we have a tour designed specifically around making the most of it.

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Fully Protected

All bookings carry full financial protection under the Package Travel Regulations. An insurance certificate is issued on deposit. Your money is safe. Full stop.

The Journey

How it all started

2011

The Beginning

Dion begins guiding photographers through the London Photographic Meetup Group, teaching light painting and leading day trips to castles, events and wildlife locations across the UK.

2014

First Overseas Tour

Dion guides his first overseas photography tour to Iceland in partnership with Iceland Photo Tours, shooting landscape photography under the midnight sun and the Northern Lights.

2018

UK Photo Tours Launches

Dion starts running his own Meetup Groups and UK Photo Tours is born, offering small-group photography workshops across England, Scotland and Wales. The first Scottish Highlands workshop sells out by word of mouth alone.

2019

Kase Filters Partnership

Officially recognised as a Kase Filters Recommended Partner. Every landscape workshop participant now uses award-winning Kase Wolverine filter systems, free of charge. In-camera light sculpting on every tour.

2021

Wildlife & Astrophotography

The Farne Islands puffin tour and Perseid meteor shower workshop launch, opening up wildlife and dark-sky astrophotography alongside the landscape programme, quickly becoming some of the most in-demand tours of the year.

2025

Still Growing

Over 2,376 client hours led. New tours across the Jurassic Coast, Norfolk Nightscapes and Wales Waterfalls. The same founding belief: small groups, locations worth the early start, and the light. Always the light.

Supplementary Kit on Tour

£18,473+ of equipment. Try it on tour.

Bring your own camera and lenses. Dion carries his own kit plus a selection of backup gear you can try during the tour, alongside your own. Kase Wolverine filter kits are on every tour; other items are lent as the situation allows. No deposit, no hire charge.

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Backup Camera Bodies

Backup camera bodies available to borrow if needed, alongside your own kit.

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Telephoto Lenses

A selection of telephoto lenses to try on wildlife workshops, great for experiencing longer reach alongside your own kit.

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Kase Wolverine Filter Sets

Award-winning ND and GND filters for balancing light in-camera on every landscape workshop.

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Star Trackers

Move Shoot Move star trackers for sharp, noise-free Milky Way and meteor shower images.

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Backup Tripods

Backup carbon fibre tripods and ball heads available to borrow, lightweight and stable for long exposures.

Long exposure landscape photography using Kase filters - Kilchurn Castle Scotland

Fifteen years chasing Britain's best light