IMAGES OF SHETLAND
Holiday Overview
This week long residential holiday is an ideal opportunity for both the beginner and the skilled photographer, as it concentrates on taking pictures out in the field while offering ‘one to one’ tuition as required. We promise to cover any areas of your photography which you feel are in need of improvement, whether you work with digital or old fashioned film.
These holidays are timed to see Shetland at its very best, taking in the most spectacular locations for breeding birds, sea mammals, wildflowers and the landscapes which make these islands a dream come true for nature photographers.
In the evenings there is an optional extra for those wanting to make the most of their day, with sessions in the Digital Light Room where we can share the day’s experience and take a constructive look at the pictures you have taken. A limited amount of time can be spent looking at how cameras and computers work together, but the main emphasis will be on how to get the best picture from your camera out in the field.
Itinerary
Day One – Saturday
Welcome dinner at the Orca Country Inn, in Hoswick. An optional evening excursion for anyone wanting to get started straight away.
Day Two – Sunday
Sumburgh Head
The morning will be spent at the RSPB Bird Reserve at Sumburgh Head, where the spectacular cliffs provide the backdrop for some of Shetland’s largest colonies of Puffin, Guillemot, Shag and Fulmar, while Gannets sail by on the breeze. Puffins return to their burrows just feet from your lens. Great and Arctic Skua, the pirates of the air, cause mayhem as they mob other seabirds. Darting around close by will be Shetland Wren (unique to the isles) and Twite, amongst others.
In the afternoon we will photograph the stunning landscape of South Mainland.
Day Three – Monday
Fetlar
We will need a very early start for our day trip to the “Garden of Shetland”, the island of Fetlar where 95 per cent of the UK’s Red Necked Phalarope breed. These attractive birds offer an outstanding photographic opportunity as they quietly go about their business sometimes within yards of the camera. Fetlar is home to another RSPB Bird Reserve and has many other species, including Dunlin, Whimbrel and Red Throated Diver.
Day Four – Tuesday
Mousa
The uninhabited isle of Mousa has been rated Scotland’s top tourist attraction, largely for its incredible 2000 year old Pictish Broch, an Iron Age fort standing more than 40 feet tall and home to a thriving population of Storm Petrels.
We travel there in the morning by private boat charter to take in one of the UK’s best sites for seeing Harbour Porpoise, Common Seals and, with luck, Killer Whales. Once on the island we will find ourselves surrounded by Arctic and Great Skua, Eider Duck, Oystercatcher, Shetland Wren and Black Guillemot.
We’ll spend the late afternoon viewing our work, before returning to Mousa later that evening to take pictures of the thousands of Storm Petrels that live in the Broch and its surrounding walls. Be prepared for a breath taking sight, which will also require us to master our flash photography.
Day Five – Wednesday
Noss
Noss is a tiny island east of the isle of Bressay, whose sheer cliffs provide one of the most awe inspiring experiences any bird lover can expect. The 600 foot high cliffs of Noss are home to one of the biggest seabird cities in the world – 150,000 birds, including 45,000 guillemots, 8,000 gannets, 2,000 razorbills and hundreds of puffins. It’s a wildlife photographer’s dream come true.
We will travel around the island from Lerwick with award winning tour operator Dr Jonathan Wills on board Dunter III, who will take you closer than you can imagine possible to the cliff’s seabird colonies, and introduce you to the local seal population. He also has underwater cameras to show what is happening under the waves.
In the afternoon we will visit the Iron Age Broch on Clickimin Loch and focussing on local wildflowers and Landscapes.
Day Six – Thursday
Landscapes , Moorland Birds and Wildflowers.
We will spend the whole day savouring some of the best sea views in the whole of Britain, enjoying a variety of landscapes while taking in the surprising range of wildflowers and moorland birdlife. You will be amazed at the surprises Shetland has in store, from the rugged, alpine conditions to the yellow sands of St Ninians Isle, the finest tombolo in Europe.
The whole countryside is brought to life with the vivid colours from the hundreds of species of wild flower that carpet the earth here, and the quick movements of moorland birds including Dunlin, Lapwing, Curlew and Golden Plover.
Day Seven – Friday
Yell and Unst
Shetland’s two most northerly isles have some of the most exhilarating experiences of all, but it takes an early start and two ferry trips to enjoy them. At the Keen of Hamar National Nature Reserve we will see some of Britain’s rarest flowers surviving on the lunar landscape surface which exists on this unique serpentine environment. Species include Northern Rock Cress, Norwegian Sandwort and rarest of all, Edmonston’s Chickweed, found by a 12 year old boy in 1837 who went on to become a well known botanist.
The rest of the day will be spent at Britain’s most northerly point, the world famous National Nature Reserve at Hermaness. Another extraordinary breeding site for Gannet, Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill and the second largest colony of Great Skua in the world…who like to show off their aerial skills and make their presence felt.
The views at Hermaness with 100,000 birds and the backdrop of the stacks of Muckle Flugga and Out Stack provide an unforgettable finale to our photographic journey.
Day Eight – Saturday
Farewell breakfast and then departure.
