Tuition - Workshops
This is where you will find my latest photographic workshops, which mainly are held at the Hawk Conservancy trust near Andover in Hampshire.
2 & 4 May 2025
Birds of Prey & Owls Spring Workshop - Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, Hampshire
This exciting workshop gets you close to many wonderful British and European birds of prey and owls in natural settings.
The key focus for the spring workshop is to utilise the beautiful flowers and trees around at this time of year. Blues and greens of the woodland flowers to yellow of the meadow make the birds look stunning in these natural surroundings.
Oliver provides many of the props and will help you throughout the day to capture beautiful images, including close-ups, portraits or action shots of the birds in flight. Oliver will discuss composition, lighting angles and shooting settings.
Here is a rough guide to the itinerary for the day.
09:15 - Arrival
09:30-10:00 - Introduction in the restaurant with welcome drinks. Oliver presents a short slideshow to offer some additional ideas and suggestions for your shoot. This can be emailed to you in advance once your booking is confirmed.
10:00-11:00 - Shoot 1: In the meadow, where we’ll start the day with two classic British bird species on a variety of props or amongst the grassland and flowers depending on the time of year.
11:00-12:00 - Shoot 2: In the woodland. Here we have an opportunity if the light is good to practice some flying shots of owls. Practice close-ups of the feathers and headshots, as the markings of birds of prey are exquisite.
12:00-13:00 - Lunch provided by the centre in the restaurant. A good time to refuel, recharge batteries and check your images. I will be available to answer any questions about the day so far, general wildlife or photography questions or perhaps something about image editing and processing techniques.
13:00-14:00 - Shoot 3: In a woodland setting with a variety of perches for posed images. There are some lovely trees, which look very natural and offer a great opportunity for images with a nice green background or dappled lighting. There may be a chance for a short flying display too but this depends on time and the lighting conditions. The woodland can be quite dark so slow shutter speeds would be required. However, when it works the results can be excellent.
14:00-14:30 - Aerial public display for eagles, vultures and kites in the upper flying meadow with a grandstand view. This will be a chance for you to test your tracking skills. This is also a great opportunity to learn more about the work of the Trust, as well as an opportunity to be able to admire some birds of prey really close up as they fly just above your heads!
14:30-15:00 - Shoot 4: We can remain in the meadow before heading for our tea break.
15:00-15:30 - Tea break, a chance to take a breather before the final shoot.
15:30-16:15 - Shoot 5: Returning to the meadow or woodland and using the afternoon light to capture some final memorable shots.
16:15-16:30 - Final thoughts, questions and packing up.
Duration: 09:15-16:30
Tutors: Oliver Smart
Handlers: Provided by the Trust
Dates & places:
02/05/2025 - max 12 (10 spaces available)
04/05/2025 - max 12 (8 spaces available)
Bookings: Online booking is available through the Hawk Conservancy Trust. Book your place here.
The slideshow shows a number of Oliver's images taken at the Trust venue in the spring. More images from the workshops can be seen on the diary page.
31 October & 2 November 2025
Birds of Prey & Owls Autumn Workshop - Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, Hampshire
This exciting workshop gets you close to many wonderful British and European birds of prey and owls in natural settings.
The key focus for the autumn workshop is to utilise the beautiful colours around at this time of year. Yellows, oranges and coppery colours abound in all directions and the birds look stunning in these natural surroundings.
Oliver provides many of the props and will help you throughout the day to capture beautiful images, including close-ups, portraits or action shots of the birds in flight. Oliver will discuss composition, lighting angles and shooting.
Here is a rough guide to the itinerary for the day.
09:15 - Arrival
09:30-10:00 - Introduction in the restaurant with welcome drinks. Oliver presents a short slideshow to offer some additional ideas and suggestions for your shoot. This can be emailed to you in advance once your booking is confirmed.
10:00-11:00 - Shoot 1: In the meadow, where we'll start the day with two classic British bird species on a variety of props or amongst the grassland and flowers depending on the time of year.
11:00-12:00 - Shoot 2: In the woodland. Here we have an opportunity if the light is good to practice some flying shots of owls. Practice close-ups of the feathers and headshots, as the markings of birds of prey are exquisite.
12:00-13:00 - Lunch provided by the centre in the restaurant. A good time to refuel, recharge batteries and check your images. I will be available to answer any questions about the day so far, general wildlife or photography questions or perhaps something about image editing and processing techniques.
13:00-14:00 - Shoot 3: In a woodland setting with a variety of perches for posed images. There are some lovely trees, which look very natural and offer a great opportunity for images with a nice green background or dappled lighting. There may be a chance for a short flying display too but this depends on time and the lighting conditions. The woodland can be quite dark so slow shutter speeds would be required. However, when it works the results can be excellent.
14:00-14:30 - Aerial public display for eagles, vultures and kites in the upper flying meadow with a grandstand view. This will be a chance for you to test your tracking skills. This is also a great opportunity to learn more about the work of the Trust, as well as an opportunity to be able to admire some birds of prey really close up as they fly just above your heads!
14:30-15:00 - Shoot 4: We can remain in the meadow before heading for our tea break.
15:00-15:30 - Tea break, a chance to take a breather before the final shoot.
15:30-16:15 - Shoot 5: Returning to the meadow or woodland and using the afternoon light to capture some final memorable shots.
16:15-16:30 - Final thoughts, questions and packing up.
Duration: 09:15-16:30
Tutors: Oliver Smart
Falconers: Provided by the Trust
Dates & places (dates to be released shortly):
31/11/2025 - max 12 (11 spaces available)
02/11/2025 - max 12 (12 spaces available)
Bookings: Online booking is available through the Hawk Conservancy Trust. Book your place here.
The slideshow shows a number of Oliver's images taken at the Trust venue in the autumn. More images from the workshops can be seen on the diary page.
