Eco - Workshops
This newsletter I am so so excited to say for the very first time I can combine my environmental work with delivering new workshops.
Here's how it works. For most of my tours and some of my workshops next year, not only will you be able to get some incredible images and experience some world class moments you also get to genuinely help the animals or their habitat that feature on the tour or workshop. Here is a flavour of what we are doing:
Red Squirrels
Hours of incredible photography combined with tree planting to create more habitat for these amazing wizards of the forests.
Beavers
Great photography combined with helping the Argyll Beaver Centre with their camera trapping monitoring program. This is vital work for the national re-population of beavers in Scotland.
OttersGreat photography combined with a study project using your images to log what animals are where and doing what. Including activity levels, survey work and logging what they eat. This will enable us to monitor the long term health of this area and protect it against any threats that may arise in the future. On the last day we also do a fun litter pick to make sure our otters habitat is the best it can be.
Grey SealTop class photographic opportunities of one of the most epic wildlife spectacles in this country. Then to put something back we are teaming up with Seal Conservation Society to gather data to help both protect seals and also help with the rehabilitation of seal pups.
All our gift vouchers
will be valid for these tours and workshops.
Apologies for the hard sell, but I really am super excited about this and would love to share wonderful photography and great conservation work with as many people as I can. Lets make the world just a little better!
Loch Visions Eco Tours - click here to find out more
Partnership working
Next year our eco tours also include partnership working with other organisations.
Scotland The Big Picture: Wilding out West
I will be guiding the first ever rewilding retreat on the west coast. This is not a photography tour but a way to learn and see first hand some of the very best examples of rewilding this country has to offer. This is run by Scotland the big picture who I have worked with on various projects over the last few year.
Argaty Red KitesI am teaming up with Tom and co and Argaty to deliver some tours with a real contribuition to the wildlife on the farm.
Argaty Eco Tours - click here to find out more
Technical - The Weather
There seems a constant drive for images in magical light, with many photographers making this there unique selling point and sole purpose of being out taking images. I can see why, there is something utterly wonderful about this time of day, either early morning or late evening, with a low sun, diffused soft sunlight and simple magic. However I find that other types of weather beg for a photographer to be out with their favourite animal.
While sunlight is wonderful, even in the golden hour when photographing black and white animals it can be a pain, these black guillemots are a brilliant example of this, overcast conditions and keeping the background dark in my opinion works much better.
Sometimes dappled light is the way to go, just getting a hint of sun on an autumnal overcast day can add drama to a picture.
And then there is my very favourite weather condition rain, lucky really living here in Argyll! But to create the sense of drama and highlight how tough wild animals are then nothing beats rain. However good waterproofing (cut off waterproof trousers if you want to save a bit of money) and a monopod or tripod usually essential. With rain usually comes low light which means either upping the iso or keeping your camera far steadier to make sure the slower shutter speeds still result in sharp images.
Animal behaviour is probably the best reason to sometimes be out in less than ideal weather conditions. For example damselflies sit much better on cooler overcast days meaning you can get much closer and be more creative with these enchanting little insects.
I hope that helps inspire a bit of bad weather photography for you. My newsletters don't really exist during the season as too busy out there running workshops but I am going to try and make it a regular feature for my off season. So expect a few more out in the next few months. I hope they are helpful and you enjoy them. Thanks for getting this far and happy snapping.
