If you enjoy watching and photographing smaller wildlife, such as dragonflies & damselflies, and want to improve or expand your photography skills and creativity, this workshop is for you!

We will be exploring a wonderful nature reserve on the internationally important Somerset Levels and Moors, an area covering approximately 170,000 acres. We will spend the morning at Westhay Moor, part of the Avalon Marshes. It is one of the finest remaining lowlands left in Britain and an important habitat for many different species. As such it is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Westhay Moor is reclaimed from the remnants of industrial-scale peat extraction and has the largest surviving remnant of lowland acid mire in the South West. It is home to many different and interesting plant and invertebrate species including many damselflies and dragonflies and sundew carnivorous plants.

We will take a slow walk to the reserve from the car park keeping our eyes open for all kinds of wildlife, including amphibians and roosting invertebrates in the grass. We will take a walk around the mire and through the alder and birch woodland where we can find sundews and royal ferns and if we’re lucky green tiger beetles.

The workshop is designed to be of benefit for people at any level with their photography. However, a good working knowledge of your camera equipment is important, allowing us to concentrate on finding and photographing subject,  working on various skills and trying some different ideas and techniques.

What photography topics we will cover

Aperture

wide (f2.8) allows for blurring of surrounding areas

small (f9) brings more of the image into focus

Light

natural (daylight)

artificial allows for different lighting options

Composition

backgrounds, foregrounds & surrounding areas

Shutter Speed

Fast shutter speed give crisp sharp images

Slow shutter speed with allow for movement blurring

Photographing In The Field

The welfare of the wildlife will always come first and we will not be moving any of the subjects or gardening around them for a better photograph

Instead we will look at how to use the habitat to frame and work with our subjects

We will cover some field craft skills, how and where to look for different species and how best to photograph them both for identification and more creative images

What To Bring

Camera(s), lenses (ideally a macro lens), compact camera also works if that is what you use and I would recommend a tripod if you have one

Outdoor clothing – waterproofs, fleeces, outdoor shoes, it can be very chilly at that time in the morning and very wet

Lunch/snacks/drink – these are not provided for this workshop

Important Information Including Health & Safety

• Please DO NOT leave any valuables in the car or leave anything visible
• The car park charge is £3 per visit (not included) & can be paid on the day by card or later, within 24 hours of your visit
• There are ticks present so please be mindful of this
• If it’s a clear sunny day, please bring sunscreen/hat as parts of the reserve are exposed to the elements
• There are NO facilities at the reserve, please make a pit stop if needed before hand
• It can be wet first thing so it’s worth brining waterproofs, especially trousers
• The ground can be uneven in places but it is flat, we will be taking it very slow so we don’t miss anything

Contact us now to find out more or reserve places on what we expect to be a very popular workshop!