Overview

An intense 5-night Wildlife Photography Workshop set  in and around Koros-Maros National Park, Hungary. Every day we’ll be photographing a variety of wild birds from a mixture of pop-up and permanent hides.  As all the subjects are wild, we can’t guarantee exactly which species will turn up, but trip highlights usually include:

•  Rollers (photographed from a tree leveltower hide)
•   Hoopoes (nesting, flying, feeding)
• Bee eaters courting
•  Wading birds (Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Egret, Grey Heron) and Whiskered terns nesting on Lake Tisza, photographed from boats
• Woodpeckers (Syrian, Green, Great-spotted) and woodland birds (Hawfinch, Nightingale,various  tits, assorted finches, doves etc.)
• And, with a little luck, we may get to photograph raptors such as Sparrowhawk, Goshawk and Buzzard close-up or exotics such as Black Woodpeckers and Golden Orieles

The workshops are limited to three participants and I will rotate around the group to provide advice and help with shots. In between photo sessions I’ll be giving illustrated talks to explain wildlife photography techniques and tricks. 

This is real wildlife photography:  we’ll be starting early to be in position for the best light and activity, sometimes as early as 4am. The hides are built for photography rather than comfort and can become quite hot on sunny days.  Our accommodation is basic but comfortable – we stay in river side log cabins in which each guest has a private bedroom and shares a bathroom and lounge with one other participant. There is WiFi available. We’ll have packed lunches prepared for the field and dinner will be at a local restaurant in the evening after we’ve finished photographing for the day. Breakfast will be self-service in the cabins.

Cost:

£660 for 5 nights including accommodation, food and transport/airport transfers(please note flights to Hungary, travel insurance and alcoholic drinks not included). 

Dates:

Sat May 21st – Thurs May 26th 2016

Thurs May 26th – Tuesday May 31st 2016

What you’ll need:

DSLR with long telephoto lens(for a crop-sensor camera, 300mm upwards, for a full-frame sensor 400mm upwards) and a medium telephoto (e.g70-200mm), sturdy tripod, lots of memory cards, batteries etc. Tele-extenders (1.4x, 1.7x, 2x) can also be very useful for smaller birds. If you don’t have a suitable lens, you might want to hire one for the trip from www.lenses-for-hire.co.uk. By all means bring a wide angle lens for landscape shots on Lake Tisza, but this is not a necessity.

Dark or muted clothing (Green, Black, Brown) to help concealment in the hides, walking shoes, sunhat, sunscreen, mosquito repellent.

Travel insurance (we’ll need the policy number and emergency phone numbers before departure)

Return plane ticket to Budapest for a flight scheduled to arrive in Budapest by 12:30pm on the 1st day of the workshop and depart after 12pm on the final day. At the time of writing British Airways, Easy Jet and Ryan Air offer suitable direct flights from London to Budapest.

If you have a laptop, this can be very useful for backing up images and reviewing results so please bring it along. We’ll also be looking at post-processing images so having a laptop will enable you to try the techniques for yourself.

Booking:

Places are very limited and will be offered on a first-come basis. To reserve a place, you’ll need book below, complete your details and pay the trip deposit (£150). Please note that, should you cancel the trip, the deposit will only be refunded if your place is taken by somebody else. The remaining  balance (£510)  is due 6 weeks prior to departure – any cancellations after this will not receive a deposit refund.

Some photos from previous trips: