A Wild Weekend! (Wildlife Photography Workshop)
Level up your wildlife photography at our one-day workshop with animal and wildlife photographer, Diana Andersen!
Level – Intermediate
Date: 4th November 2023.
Location: Yanchep National Park
Instructor: Diana Andersen
Cost: $399. This price is for the workshop only. An entry fee is also payable to the national park ($ 15 per vehicle).
Maximum participants: 10
WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights include:
- Shoots focusing on birds.
- Sunset shoots exploring backlight.
Yanchep National Park is a favourite for photographers keen on photographing birds. The park is visited by flocks of Carnaby’s Cockatoos, and has a resident population of Splendid Fairy Wrens and other tiny bird species as well as ducks and other water birds that frequent the lake at the park.
The Park is also home to large numbers of kangaroos that are used to human activity, making them an ideal subject for developing your wildlife portraiture skills. November is breeding time for our kangaroos, so there will be plenty of pouch joeys to see and photograph.
There is also a Koala enclosure for those who would like to capture these sleepy Australian icons.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Assessing the wildlife scene and choosing your location based on light and landscape.
- How to choose the appropriate aperture, shutter and ISO settings.
- Exposing for the lightest part of your subject.
- The different types and uses of exposure metering modes.
- Shooting action/moving subjects by using continuous focus modes.
- Shooting angles to enhance the impact of your images.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Your interchangeable lens camera.
- Preferable telephoto/zoom lens between 100mm and 600mm.
- The manual for your camera.
- Notebook and a pen.
- A towel or mat to sit or lay on.
- This workshop is suitable for digital cameras with manual controls (P, A/Av, S/Tv and M modes) including DSLRs and interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras.
OVERVIEW OF THE WILD WEEKEND
For those who like an early start to bird photography, Diana will be onsite and available from 5am.
8am – Meet and greet. Introduction to what makes a good wildlife image.
- Seeing the potential in a scene rather than just chasing an animal for a specimen shot – what to look for and why.
- What we hope to achieve with wildlife portraits.
- Preparing your camera with the appropriate settings.
8.30-10am. – Walk and shoot, looking for birds and wildlife, choosing the best approach based on the principles discussed in the introduction.
10am – Break for morning tea
10.30am – 12pm – Walk around the park. Working with hard light.
12 pm – 1.30 pm – Lunch break
1.30pm – 4pm – Review the morning’s shooting and any difficulties in a group discussion.
- Thinking outside the box when shooting in hard light.
- The benefits of monochrome in hard light. Using light and shadow to your creative advantage.
4pm – 4.30 pm – Break for afternoon tea
4.30pm – 6.45pm – Kangaroos and birds with an emphasis on golden hour light and backlight.
7pm – Finish