Saturday 21st Oct 2023. On Exmoor, in Somerset and Devon
Course location: A wildlife photography course in countryside near the towns of Dunster and Lynmouth
Times: 10am to 5pm
Price: £100 per person.
This wildlife photography one-day course will be a day tracking and photographing wildlife on Exmoor. We’ll start with photography of Dippers on the East Lyn River in Lynmouth, and in the afternoon will track (and photograph) Red Deer in countryside near the Somerset town of Dunster.
The course will aim to teach the following skills:
● How to look out for, track and behave around wildlife;
● The use of a telephoto lenses for wildlife photography;
● Catching the moment with a quickly and erratically moving subject;
● How to control and make use of the balance between shutter speed and lens aperture to gain the best exposure, and to control depth of field (ie the amount of the image that is sharply in focus);
● How to use some of the camera’s most important features, such as semi-manual modes, in particular shutter-priority, in order to help you to get away from ‘auto-everything’. I’ll also teach use of the ISO settings, image histogram and exposure compensation;
● Executing the image, using positioning, perspective, focus control, use of light, and lens focal length to create simple, strong compositions.
Participants should have:
● 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.
● You will also need to have reasonably powerful telephoto lens, a minimum of 300mm (preferably longer) if using a DSLR, or an equivalent zoom range on a compact or bridge camera.
● 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.