Taw and Torridge estuary photography workshop
Coastal landscape photography in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Saturday 9th May 2026, Crow Point and Instow, near Barnstaple, north Devon
Course location: Crow Point and the town/harbour at Instow, in the estuary of the Taw and Torridge Rivers, near Barnstaple, north Devon
Times: 3pm-sunset (approx 9pm)
Price: £100 per person
What this Taw and Torridge estuary workshop entails
This Taw and Torridge estuary photography workshop covers an afternoon and evening of coastal landscape photography, using the magnificent twin river estuary as our outdoor photo ‘studio’. This area is at the heart of a huge international protected area, the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere reserve, whose biodiversity protection focuses on the estuary’s huge area of sand dunes, Braunton Burrows.
We’ll start the day at Crow Point, on the north side of the estuary, and on the edge of the Braunton Burrows dunes. Here we’ll initially photograph
around a picturesquely disintegrating wreck, before then moving on to photograph some of the dunes and perhaps their plants. There’ll also be more disintegrating human structures, this time some old seashore groynes.
Later in the day we’ll move across the estuary to the shoreside town of Instow, where we’ll photograph more sand and boats, but more importantly the sunset and dusk over the harbour town of Appledore, on the opposite shore of the River Torridge.
What I shall be teaching
During this Taw and Torridge estuary photography workshop I’ll be aiming to teach the following photographic principles:
- To understand that, in going from the 3D all-encompassing surrounding real world to a flat 2D restricted view image, we lose a lot of visual cues about the location, and that it’s therefore not surprising that it’s quite a challenge to create images that really capture the essence of a place;
- The result of the above is that much of the world around us cannot be translated into great images, no matter how beautiful it may look to the eye;
- So to create great images we have to spot and then compose those cameos/vignettes within the scene that either just happen to or can be brought into a great photographic composition;
- One of the aims of the day will be to show how to find and then compose such images, plucking the compositions out of the chaos of the world around us;
- Such a technique is not just about finding a great subject, but also about how everything else in the image frame must support that subject and not compete with it for attention. I’ll be showing you how this can be achieved at the sites we’ll be shooting in;
- Part of this will entail learning to pick and use the best perspective, the right choice of lens focal length, and the best focussing for a subject in order to maximise the effectiveness of a composition;
- In additon to this aesthetic/mental processing, we’ll also be looking at how to make the best use of your digital camera. This will include ensuring that you understand such processes as ISO, shutter speed and lens aperture, exposure compensation, depth of field, and use of the image histogram. In a camera with a bewildering plethora of functions, these are by far the main and most important ones, which you’ll use with almost every shot.
- The camera is your friend and your tool, your passport to great photography. Don’t be intimidated by it, and don’t let it control your photography. You should be in control of the camera to maximise your photographic creativity.
Participants should have at least an understanding of what shutter speed and lens aperture mean, plus a knowledge of how to operate their own camera in order to get at least basic images. Beyond this, the main requirements are enthusiasm, an open mind and a readiness to learn!
Note: Since we’ll be working outdoors, what we are able to do during the day is very weather-dependent. Weather conditions may make it necessary to vary the itinerary.