For the past 6 years, NaturesLens has taken guests to Lake Kerkini to photograph the Dalmatian Pelicans during the winter months; in 2019, we added a new photography tour, to photograph the birds of the lake & it’s environs during spring, when new life & young birds were on the lake; for 2020, we are pleased to invite guests for a week of amazing macro photography – join Iordan for the Greek Macro Wildlife Of Kerkini photography holiday, which will offer fantastic photo opportunities as you venture in & around the surrounding lakes, mountains & meadows.
Lake Kerkini, in the Northeast of Greece close to the border with Bulgaria, is one of those scarce places in Europe where you can get up close to nature & bird life. Kerkini & the surrounding areas are wetlands like no other you have ever experienced before; the wetlands are home to a vast number of birds species, many of which have a status of endangered.
Since this photography tour is all about macro photography, you will find the amphibians, reptiles, insects & flowers to be incredible, with 100’s of varieties, for example, of moths & dragonflies.

The area we will visit is rich in various habitats within a relatively small area, making it an excellent location for discovering this unique ecosystem. The habitats which are ours to explore are home to a wide variety of flora & fauna; therefore, a wide range of different & exciting macro possibilities will be on offer.
Our hotel is close to Lake Kerkini but nestled against the Belasitsa Mountains which provides a stunning backdrop. This hotel offers the perfect home for our week of photography, additionally allowing us to set up specific areas for evening moth photography. Finally, our view over the lake & back to the mountains will provide us with, conditions allowing, a stunning vista for at one or more evenings of Astrophotography.
Iordan will be on hand to advise on how to capture intimate & captivating portraits of frogs, toads, lizards, moths, butterflies, insects, flowers & other invertebrates in their natural habitats. Iordan will be available to provide tuition & guidance for all levels, including the basics of macro photography, working with both light panels & natural light & composing your macro shots.
While it would be a tall order to find & photograph all the following species during the trip, all of the following have been found in the area during previous visits
Eastern Festoon, Southern White Admiral, Little Tiger Blue, Camberwell Beauty, Scarce Swallowtail, Large White, Small White, Black-veined White, Eastern Bath White, Orange Tip, Eastern Wood White, Clouded Yellow, Green Hairstreak, Ilex Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Green-Underside Blue, Iolas Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Duke of Burgundy, Large Tortoiseshell, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Nettle-Tree Butterfly, Eastern Knapweed Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Lesser Spotted Fritillary, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Northern Wall Brown, Wall Brown, Lattice Brown, Large Brown, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Safflower Skipper, Small Copper, Grecian Copper, Woodland Ringlet, Comma Butterfly & more.
Giant Peacock Moth, Slender Scotch Burnet, Grass Eggar Moth, Forester Moth, Wood Tiger Moth, Cream-spot Tiger Moth, Yellow Underwing Moth, Five-Spot Burnet, Nine-Spotted Moth, Six-Spot Burnet, Transparent Burnet Moth, Ermine Moth Enterpia Laudeti, Puss Moth, Small Emperor Moth, Emperor Moth, Spurge Hawk-moth, Hummingbird Hawk-Moth, Olive Bee Hawk, Narrow-Bordered Bee Hawk & more.
Green-Eyed Hawker, Blue Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Southern Skimmer, White-Tailed Skimmer, Red-veined Darter, Balkan Goldenring, Lesser Emperor, Broad Scarlet, Common Darter, Yellow-winged Darter, Small Pincertail, Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Agrion, Large Red Damselfly, Common Bluetail, Common Clubtail, Small Blue-tailed Damselfly, Variable Damselfly & more.
Sand Boa, Grass Snake, Balkan Whip Snake, Salamander, European Glass Lizard, Common Wall Lizard, European Green Lizard, Balkan Green Lizard, Hermann’s & Spur-Thighed Tortoise, European Terrapin, Green Toad, Common Toad, Tree Frog, Eastern Spadefoot, Yellow-Bellied Toad, Marsh Frog, Agile Frog, Pool Frog & more.
Lady Bird Spider, Philaeus Chrysops – a Jumping Spider, Praying Mantis, Balkan Spoon-Winged-Lacewing, Rose Chafer, Pollen Beetle, Minstrel Bug, Southern Green Stink Bug, Giant Centipede & more.
Wedge-Lipped Orchid, Еarly Marsh Orchid, Eastern Lizard Orchid, Dragon Lily, European White Water Lily, Fringed Water Lily & more.
We keep the itinerary throughout the week flexible as we guarantee that under the guidance of Iordan, the group will want to take advantage of the local conditions & species.

This trip may be combined with our Butterflies & Macro Subjects of Bulgaria Photography Holiday which runs the following week & is also led by Victoria – the combination of this pair of trips will ensure that any photographers portfolio of images of Lilliputian world of dragonflies, moths & butterflies is packed full.