Waves & Waders in Orkney workshop
Join Raymond and Espen on a spectacular photography workshop in Orkney in early March 2025.
The west coast of Orkney boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK. Face on to the Atlantic Ocean it bears the brunt of the winter storms, providing some fantastic opportunities for wild and dramatic seascape photography under Orkney’s huge skies. Swell generated far out at sea meets its end here often resulting in huge cliff topping waves.
In contrast, the island of Sanday is low lying but full of character. The largest of Orkney’s north isles at sixteen miles end to end it is most famous for its stunning white beaches and sand dunes.
Fortunately these wide expanses host a wide variety of wading birds during the winter months, attracted by the rich pickings on offer. Flocks of Sanderling remain faithful to these sites and return to the same
stretches of beach year after year chased by the waves. Bar Tailed godwits and Ringed Plover probe amongst the sheltered lagoons and the rocky shores are alive with Purple Sandpipers, picking amongst the
seaweed covered rocks.
Sanday is surrounded by a vast underwater kelp forest and so cast kelp torn from holdfasts during winter storms piles up on the shore. Turnstones love to pick amongst it often approaching closely if you sit still in the same place. Curlew are more wary but their bubbling call an ever present part of the landscape.
Raymond Besant
Although watching wildlife has been my passion since childhood, the early part of my photographic career was as a press photographer in Aberdeen before embarking on a career as a wildlife cameraman.
I’ve been fortunate to spend the last 15 years working all around the globe for clients such as National Geographic, the BBC, Netflix and Apple TV. I got my break with BBC Springwatch and have gone on to work on productions such as Highlands: Scotland’s Wild Heart for BBC Scotland, BBCs Wild Isles and Frozen Planet II narrated by David Attenborough as well as working further afield on projects such as Wild China filming wolves at 16,000ft and the beautiful courtship lekking of the Ruff for Wild Scandinavia in arctic Norway.
I was born in Orkney and deeply passionate about the wildlife that also calls it home and the extraordinary light that often shines upon the landscape. Photography is still my first love and I’m currently working on the third in my series of Naturally Orkney wildlife photography books.
Waves & Waders in Orkney
workshop details
what`s included
Chefs Raymond and Espen will cook dinner at the accommodation. We’ll have breakfast at the accommodation before we leave in the morning. Depending on the activities on the day we’ll make up lunch to bring with us, or pop around the house to eat. On day 6 we'll have dinner at the Hotel in Kirkwall (Meals and dietary requirements will be agreed in advance)
what`s included
COST
INTINERARY
What you should bring
meals:
5 nights in cottages as well as the hotel stay on the 8th are included (6 nights)
Accommodation:
Crossing to Sanday on the 5th and return on the 8th are included
Ferry:
GET IN TOUCH to book
COST:
Total price for the Waves & Wader Workshop in Orkney is £1800.
Get in touch to book. 30% payable on booking, 70% due 30 days before the start of the workshop.
what`s included
COST
INTINERARY
What you should bring
GET IN TOUCH to book
limited to 4 people
Day 1 & Day 2 (3rd - 4th of March)
Day 3 Early ferry to Sanday
Day 3 - Day 6 (5-8th of March)
End of Day 6 (8th of March)
DATE
DETAILS
ACCOMODATION
Spend the days photographing seascapes along the cliffs on the mainland of Orkney. We are hoping for slightly ‘wilder’ weather to make the most of the dramatic locations on offer. Raymond knows this coast intimately and so will use his knowledge of the best places in different wind conditions to get some great images. All hopefully by staying out of the wind ourselves in the nooks and crannies!
You will be transported to the ferry in Kirkwall for the early boat at 07:40am getting us into Sanday at 9:05am
Spend the days photographing waders on the stunning white beaches of Sanday. We will work with the tide to our advantage at a variety of sites, wide expanses of open beach, inland tidal lagoons and rocky shores, all employing different techniques and approaches including the use of hides in order to get close to the wading birds utilising Sanday’s beaches.
End of Day 6 Ferry to Kirkwall and to Hotel (8th of March)
we’ll stay together in two cottages on the West Mainland close to the coastal sites we will photograph.
we’ll stay together in two cottages on Sanday Island
you’ll stay in a hotel in Kirkwall
✓ Warm clothes, hat, buff and gloves
✓ Thermal clothing
✓ Waterproofs
✓ Wellies
✓ Hiking Boots
What you should bring:
Gear
✓ Camera and Lenses
✓ Wide angle for Seascapes
✓ Telephoto lens for waders
✓ Waterproof cover for camera and lens
✓ Tripod for seascapes
✓ Ground Pod for photographing waders (other options, beanbag, handhold)
✓ Ground mat to lie on
