Just before the end of the season the club received a flyer from Herrings Green Farm advertising their forthcoming Raptor photo days in June. Having never done anything like that before I thought this would be a great way to spend a day doing photography, so I signed up. Booking on-line the day cost just £39, which included welcome coffee or tea, lunch (which turned out to be very well organised BBQ), and 2 two and a half hour sessions with a handler and selection of different birds.
There were approximately 30 people attending the day, however we were split into 2 groups to ensure we had good access to the birds. Following a quick pep talk we split into our groups to do either Static shooting or BIF (Birds in Flight). My group did static shooting first and our guide took us into one of the garden areas and returned a few minutes later with a tawny owl. Using her knowledge of the bird’s behaviour our guide was able to place the birds in a number different perches, but was happy to take direction about which perches to use to get the best light and backgrounds.
Over the next 2 hours we had the opportunity to shoot several other birds including a kestrel, a golden eagle, a Goshawk and my own personal favourite a Barn Owl. Having access to farm provided a number of interest locations and backdrops including, of course, a barn in which to shoot the Barn owl!
After lunch it was my group’s chance to shoot birds in flight. Again our guide was happy to move the bird’s perches around and adjust her position to give us the best shots. Again we had access to a number of different birds, starting with the slowest flyers first.
This was an excellent day and well worth the time and money. I’ve recently learned that due to the success of the June photo days Herrings Green will be running further photo days between 10:00 and 4: 00 as follows;
- September 30th
- October 22nd
- November 5th
If you’d like to know more visit Herrings Green Farm’s website www.birdsofpreycentre.co.uk.