Wildlife Photography Workshop - December 2010
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December 10-13, 2010
Portland, western Victoria, Australia
Come and learn to take beautiful photos of birds in flight! The core of this workshop is working with the birds at Australia's only mainland colony of gannets. These birds will be busy at their nests, providing lots of opportunities for photographs at rest and in flight. We will also be photographing seals and other wildlife at nearby reserves. The workshop runs over a long weekend, beginning with meeting at our accommodation on Friday night, and finishing mid-Monday. The class size is limited to 6 participants, and will be led by David Burren.
The last time we ran this workshop was in mid-January. This time we'll be with the animals a little earlier in the breeding season.
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Accommodation
We will be staying as a group at Victoria House in Portland.
We've stayed here in the past, and it's very comfortable and just the right size, including space for the indoor sessions that make up part of the workshop.
We have arranged a group rate including breakfasts for the workshop weekends. The breakfasts are huge!
Rooms from single through 4-occupancy are available.
We provide lunches for each day, but your accommodation and all other meals are NOT included in the workshop fees.
Most days we head out for dawn photography and come back for breakfast. We visit the gannet colony multiple times over the weekend, mixed in with other activities.
Who should come?
Photographers who know the basics of using their cameras, and are interested in exploring the techniques involved in capturing beautiful images of wild moving subjects. We will be guiding you through techniques for photographing wildlife. Not just where to point your camera and when, but also techniques for optimising composition, exposure, and autofocus with moving subjects.
Most attendees will be using SLR cameras (most other cameras don't respond quickly enough to capture the moving subjects) with telephoto lenses. They don't have to be multi-thousand-dollar camera bodies: even the cheapest DSLRs these days can do a good job. Attendees are expected to be familiar with the basics of their equipment. For example we do have detailed knowledge of most camera models and will be teaching you to make the best of your cameras, but won't be able to spend the time during the workshop to start at the basics with every attendee.
What should you bring?
Telephoto lenses of at least 300mm are recommended for the wildlife work, but attendees should also bring wider lenses as there will also be opportunities for landscape photography and environmental portraits.
Camera, lenses (and hoods), tripod, monopod, lots of memory cards, your laptop computer (with card reader, power supply, and enough storage for lots of photos), flash, camera manual (even if you think you know how to use your camera, bring the manual anyway!).
Sturdy walking boots, head torch, snacks, rain coat, umbrella.
The weather can vary from raining, through overcast, to bright sunshine. So remember the sunscreen and a hat as well as the raincoat!
Sturdy footwear is required.
At times we will be carrying our equipment over a kilometre or so of uneven ground, and care is always needed.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops and be familiar enough with their software to load and review their photography during the workshop. Daily review and feedback on the participants' work forms an important part of the learning process. In the past, most participants on this workshop have used Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to manage their photos, but if you have and use other software for managing and processing RAW files you can bring that instead.
Marine photography
On the boat trip we may get slightly wet.
We travel in an open RIB (Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat) to reach the seals and there can be some spray while we're moving.
We will be discussing techniques and preparation for photographing in this environment during the workshop.
If you have your own special rain covers/etc please bring them, but they are not strictly necessary (plastic bags to cover your gear will be on hand).
Motion sickness is rarely an issue for anyone on this short trip.
Cost
AU$600 per person. AU$100 deposit required to reserve your place, with the balance due by November 26, 2010. Payments can be made online with credit cards (via PayPal) or via direct deposit. See the online store for details.
If you need to cancel your booking prior to November the 26th, all funds paid will be refunded minus a $50 cancellation fee. We reserve the right to cancel a workshop at any point prior to workshop commencement. In this event, all funds paid will be refunded. If you need to cancel your booking after a fortnight before the workshop, no refund is possible unless we can find a replacement attendee. Where possible we maintain a waiting list for each workshop to help facilitate this. If you are on a waiting list for a workshop no deposit is required until we contact you to offer a vacant place. If this is less than a fortnight prior to the workshop, full payment will be required immediately.
Transport
Portland is about 4 hours drive west of Melbourne (or ~1.5 hours east of Mt. Gambier in South Australia). If you don't have your own transport, talk to us and we can probably help arrange a lift wth another attendee (especially if you'll be travelling from Melbourne).
Feedback from previous participants
"Thanks for a fantastic weekend. Lots of advice to remember, hopefully most of it makes it into my regular shooting."
"I enjoyed the weekend immensely with the great photo opportunities with the gannets and your guidance on how to take advantage of these opportunities."