JOIN RAYMOND AND ESPEN ON A SPECTACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN ORKNEY IN FEBRUARY 2026.
For this workshop we will be based on the island of Sanday which is 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.
If we got some winter storms we’ll also have the chance to photograph dramatic seascape under Orkney’s huge skies.
On Sanday, we're renting some luxurious cottages to make our stay on the island comfortable.
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.
workshop details
what´s included
Chefs Raymond and Espen will cook dinner at the accommodation and some days we’ll head out to the local pub for a meal. 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.
For pub meals, one soft drink is included as well as the main meal.
what´s included
COST
INTINERARY
What you should bring
meals:
5 nights in cottages on Sanday (23rd - 27th).
Accommodation:
Crossing to Sanday on the 23rd and 28th are included.
Ferry:
GET IN TOUCH to book
not included:
Accommodation for the 22nd in Kirkwall and accommodation on the 28th.
We will return to Kirkwall with an early ferry on the 28th.
COST:
Total price for the Waves & Wader Workshop in Orkney is £2000.
Get in touch to book.
£500 non-refundable deposit required to secure a spot and the remainder 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 6 people
Day 1 (23rd)
Day 2 - Day 5 (24th - 27th)
Day 6 (28th)
DATE
DETAILS
ACCOMODATION
Meet early in Kirkwall (time to be confirmed), we can pick you up at your accommodation.
Take an early ferry from Kirkwall to Sanday where we’ll check into our accommodation and have lunch.
Spend the afternoon photographing waders on the stunning beaches of Sanday.
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.
Return Ferry to Kirkwall.
We will stay in three beautiful cottages on Sanday.
(Double bed available for couples).
We will stay in three beautiful cottages on Sanday.
(Double bed available for couples).
✓ 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
