BIRDS IN FLIGHT WORKSHOPS

At the Barn Owl Centre in Gloucestershire
Dates for 2010:

24th September 2010

The main purpose of these workshops is to teach techniques for better flight photography where you will have the opportunity to practice photographing a variety of different birds of prey in flight. The key element of these workshops is that the birds will fly the same flight path repeatedly, enabling you to practice and fine tune your tracking abilities. Vince from the Barn Owl Centre is an expert falconer and will be able to get the birds to fly and land exactly where we want them to (wind direction permitting!). We will be working with European Eagle Owl, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl and Common Buzzard. There will also be opportunities to take portrait shots of Little Owl and Long-eared Owl in natural surroundings.

All the birds fly outdoors over a large area of rough grassland. The day will begin indoors with a brief slide show and some technical tips, such as correct camera set-up. We will then move outdoors where you will be given a more thorough explanation of the techniques used to photograph birds in flight. We will spend as much time as possible photographing the birds in the field. I will review your images as we go and offer advice on how to improve your success rate. The minimum requirement for this workshop will be a 200mm lens. Longer lenses can sometimes produce more pleasing results. A combination of a 70-200mm zoom and a 300mm (or longer) telephoto would be ideal. However, any lens that reaches 200mm will be fine. I will explain techniques which will help to improve your success rate when using a less than ideal camera system (the more expensive pro level cameras offer significantly better autofocus and focus tracking, especially in combination with fast aperture telephoto lenses). I will have my own camera and telephoto lens (Canon EOS1DmkII and EF400mm f2.8LIS) set up on a heavy video tripod for participants to have a go with.

The cost of these workshops is £160 per day. Start times will vary according to the time of year but all workshops will finish just after sunset – making use of the best light of the day. Each workshop will last at least six hours. In the event of poor weather we will still fly the birds as much as possible but more time might be spent taking portraits and explaining flight photography techniques. Please bring suitable warm waterproof clothing. In the event of very poor weather I will attempt to contact everyone the day before and reschedule for a later date. We ask that each participant brings a packed lunch. Hot drinks will be provided throughout the day. This is an intensive workshop so expect to go home with a lot of good images!

LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS

Please click HERE to request more detailed information and a booking form