British Wildlife Centre photography days

Join us in 2023 at the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, under guidance from a full time wildlife photographer and Nikon Ambassador, getting up close with some of the UK’s finest species. Over forty different subjects from tiny harvest mice to magnificent red deer mean the BWC is host to some of the best native wildlife in Britain. Our photography days are held when the centre is closed to the public, giving us unrestricted access as we shoot from inside the enclosures.

DETAILS

Group size
Each day is limited to small group sizes of only 8. This allows for more room to photograph each subject.

Professional guidance and tuition
With small group sizes and full time wildlife photographer as your guide, there will be ample opportunity to discuss camera settings and techniques, to ensure you get the most out of your workshop.

Experience level required
These BWC workshops are open to photographers of all ability. From the very beginner to those who are more advanced, a relaxed approach is given to ensure you come away from the workshop having learned something new.

Access inside the enclosures
Because these workshops take place when the British Wildlife Centre is closed to the public, it allows us access inside the enclosures. This provides unrivaled photographic opportunity and close encounters with our subjects.

What equipment is suitable?
This is one of the rare times when photographing animals doesn't rely on large telephoto lenses. Because we are able to get so close to our subjects, 400mm lenses are usually the longest needed, with telephoto zooms offering the most flexibility. Please note tripods are not required.

What species will we photograph?
The animals we spend time with can change from time to time, at the discretion of the centres keepers. However we will endeavor to spend time with Foxes, Otters, Scottish Wild Cats, Barn or Tawny Owl, Harvest Mouse, Red Squirrels sometimes Hedgehog.

Group size
Each day is limited to small group sizes of only 8. This allows for more room to photograph each subject.

Professional guidance and tuition
With small group sizes and a full time wildlife photographer as your guide, there will be ample opportunity to discuss camera settings and techniques, ensuring you get the most out of your workshop.

GUIDE

Richard Peters is a Nikon Ambassador with a style that often favours dramatic light and contrast. He offers a relaxed, down-to-earth approach to his guiding and has won multiple international awards including twice in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He is also one of the only British photographers to have recieved the accolade of European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, alongside being a judge for both that and other international photography competitions.

TESTIMONIALS

N Kingston

As a fan of Richard Peters’ work I was delighted when my wife booked a 6 hour one-to-one workshop for my birthday. I have enjoyed taking wildlife photographs for a long time, gradually improving but realised I was taking the same old photographs. It was time for a new approach, good advice and a fresh pair of eyes. Upon arrival to our workshop, Richard bought me a coffee and we sat down to a short portfolio review. Richard looked at how I had composed, cropped and processed my images using Lightroom and suggested options and alternatives. It was a fantastic eye opener to have professional opinion and critique and Richard shared his technical skills and passion for photography, along with some methods of using light creatively. This Lightroom overview helped me learn some great shortcuts, which have since made a big improvement to my workflow. A run through of important camera settings, lots of questions from me and lots of great answers from Richard and we set off with our cameras to put the theory into practice. We soon spotted a very co-operative heron in some great light, I snapped away listening to Richards tips and it was great to see my shot then the next shot with Richards suggestions incorporated (you could really see the difference). The afternoon ended with an amazing sunset and, taking Richards advice, I waited until the sun had dropped low enough to experiment with backlighting. The 6 hours flew by and it was a fantastic day, with advice and encouragement from Richard throughout, and some great shots on the camera. Richard’s knowledge, and ability to pass it on in easy to understand ways, made this a valuable experience for me to push my photograph forward and help turn the same old photos into something new. Thank you!

K Bangs

As a relative newcomer to the world of photography, I booked a one-to-one with Richard with only 4 months experience of using a DSLR camera.

My aim was to improve my overall understanding of the different settings, including manual, with an overall objective to improve my wildlife photography (off the auto setting!) prior to my impending holiday to Africa. One of the specific issues I had been finding tricky was focusing on moving subjects, Richard soon put me on the right track and resolved this.

Richard also provided me with lots of well explained advice around different camera settings and image composition, which we put into practice throughout the day. I opted for the image review at the start of the session, I found this particularly useful as it helped highlight any areas that needed development during the session and also increased my confidence through the constructive feedback. Overall the workshop was really beneficial in terms of improving my knowledge and understanding, but it was also a really enjoyable day.

I would highly recommend a one-to-one to anyone wishing to develop their skills.

T Gehlot

Having seen Richard’s incredible work I was naturally a little intimidated when I initially booked my one-to-one with him. However he immediately made me feel at ease with his humour and friendly nature and our workshop had a great flow and was well thought out.

What I loved the most is that it was informative yet open and relaxed. Richard is a humble and passionate photographer who was very willing to share his tips and tricks and as a result of only a few hours together, I now have a much better understanding of where I am as a photographer and the areas I need to concentrate on to improve my photographic skills.

I wasn't sure going in how much benefit I would get from my workshop but it exceeded my expectations, everything was explained with great clarity and it inspired me to be more creative and confident.

Richard's knowledge and demeanour left me eager to push my photography further and once I’ve hit my next set of challenges, I’ll look forward to booking in again to learn more! Richard, thank you for such a wonderful experience.

ITINERARY

1415: Meet and greet with tea, coffee and biscuits.

1430: A short briefing and initial checking of camera controls for those who require assistance in setting up their equipment.

1500: Specific species may vary slightly on the day but we will aim to begin with Foxes and Scottish wildcats, then move on to Red Squirrels.

1730: Break for tea and coffee, which are provided for you. Please bring along any sandwiches or snacks you may wish to eat during our break. This allows us a chance to refuel and also go through photos from the first few shoots. You will have time during the break to ask me for any advice and tips not yet covered.

1800: We end the day with Owls, Otters, Harvest Mouse and to make the most of the late evening light, head into the second Fox enclosure. Those who wish to spend time with Badgers and Stoats may do so, although these are animals in which you must stay outside of the enclosures.

2000: Finish