Bird of Prey Photography Workshop

[@joncothranphotography9375]

That's like crossing portrait photography (with a model) and wildlife photography... Wildlife portraits! So cool!

[@danwillis_photography]

It certainly generates images you’d be hard pressed to capture in the wild. A fantastic experience 👍🏻

[@KennethDuggan.Wildlife]

Super welldone i really enjoy watching you and pops

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks very much Kenneth, appreciate it 👍🏻

[@Mr09260]

GREAT Video

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks Peter 👍🏻

[@omarallahouthi159]

Owl and Falcons, very beautiful, very beautiful photography, and what a wonderful and fun moment in photography

[@danwillis_photography]

Thank you Omar, I appreciate your feedback

[@BibBobBibOnVacation]

Awesome! Beautiful birds! Great father, son adventure, enjoyed watching you trip!

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks for the feedback and your support 👍🏻

[@vix2740]

Beautiful photography 🤠🤠 the Owls are wonderful. Thanks for sharing ☺️

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks for your feedback and ongoing support, it’s appreciated 👍🏻

[@herbertthuasne3153]

Very beautiful, it would be nice to join such a meeting, the Birds was very natural even if some Photographer has ben to near.

[@danwillis_photography]

Thank you Herbert, it really was an incredible experience 👍🏻

[@amandaleech5146]

Amazing photography Dan. The owls are so beautiful x

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks Mandy, really appreciate it 😊

[@DTAnglesey]

Dan i know what you mean about the thrill not the same. However your both have had an opportunity to shoot these stunning birds and no one else other than the people there, would be able to say this was a stage photo shoot! I really enjoyed watching this video. In fact, I'm going to book a place for myself soon! Very well done guys.

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks very much for your feedback, I can thoroughly recommend north west wildlife workshops, Mike is fantastic and Glynn is so knowledgeable about his birds and he keeps them in such pristine condition 👍🏻

[@laurencearnold5822]

Excellent video Dan , what a great experience I’ll have to give a Bird of Prey workshop a try. A good place to see Goshawk is the Forest of Dean in February or March when they courtship display. But distant views👍

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks for the feedback Laurence really appreciate it. I will definitely look into the Forest of Dean I would absolutely love to see Goshawks in the wild.

[@cerealkiller4248]

I know what you mean about ultra rare opportunities to photograph an Owl on a post. A few years back we were travelling to Lulworth Cove for a short break, I was driving in front with the luggage and my in-laws Labrador, whilst my wife was driving behind with her mum and dad. Suddenly, I noticed a Barn Owl on a fence post by the side of the lane, I slowed down and came to a stop, wound down the window and watched in awe. Behind my seat, on the floor lay my camera/100-400 with a fully depleted battery. And I mean deader than dead ☹️ The Owl was about 10ft away, it never moved, I sat and looked knowing this was one of those once in a lifetime moments, and my camera was dead.

[@danwillis_photography]

I feel for you, I’ve been in a similar situation myself but instead of battery being dead I’d left my memory card at home 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ Thanks for your comment 👍🏻

[@mikehudson4]

Thank you so much for doing this video and for your support. Like you say nothing will ever beat having these magnificent birds in the wild, but we do have to cater for the people who either due to ill health, lack of money or lack of time to go out and capture them in the wild. I am so glad that you and pop's enjoyed your experience with us. Was just a pity you didn't meet Roy Rimmer - he couldn't make it due to feeling unwell - who is also part of our team, he is, in my opinion the best nature photographer in the country bar none and the person who has taught me more than I ever could have imagined. You should really have a look at his facebook page and give him a follow too. Thank you once again

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks Mike, I would love to have met Roy and will definitely be taking a look at his work. Hopefully we will come back to you for another workshop and Pops and me could meet up with him then.

[@johngunning2123]

I love your videos but I wish you would include contact details for these places you visit?

[@danwillis_photography]

Appreciate your comment John, some of the places I visit don’t have straightforward contact details. This is another Facebook group North West Wildlife Workshops, you would need to join the group and wait for workshops to be posted 👍🏻

[@johngunning2123]

@@danwillis_photography Thanks Dan.

[@Gazzab6]

Great video once again guys. I know what you mean about taking photos of birds in captivity and I wouldn’t use them in certain competitions where it is not allowed but as you said, it’s a great way of getting superb shots and I would certainly do it to get images and print for myself. Also it’s a great way of testing out your new camera. I will look out for that and hopefully will give it a try. It looks to be near where my family live - is it a Merseyside address?

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks for the comments Gary I really appreciate it. The setup is right next door to Haydock Racecourse and is run by Roy Rimmer and Mike Hudson from North West Wildlife Workshops they are on Facebook and I would definitely recommend them 👍🏻

[@paulliversage4479]

Where is this please

[@danwillis_photography]

These are workshops run by Roy Rimmer, you will find them on Facebook if you search for North West Wildlife Workshops. Please mention the video if you book on with them 👍🏻

[@paulliversage4479]

@danwillis_photography cheers mate..Will do

[@klackon1]

Good video, I have subscribed. What a brilliantly clever set up. I'm very impressed. Let's not forget that photograhers have been staging scenes since the earliest days of photography, so it's nothing new. Many wildlife documetaries use staged scenes as well. The only time it is questionable, is if the images are submitted to a competition.

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks Pete, I agree and have had many conversations around this and say a studio setup with a model. Both Pops and me are wildlife enthusiasts so are always after the thrill of a wild encounter yet we both thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. Thank you for subscribing I really appreciate it 👍🏻

[@themarksmanABP]

Beautiful shots! Birds of prey up close are just majestic. What tripod & head are you using mate? Subbed

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks for your sub it’s appreciated. I’m on the Gitzo series 5 long and Gitzo fluid gimbal head. I’ve tried lots of different, cheaper options but find this just solid no matter what the conditions. Pops uses the Benro setup which is considerably cheaper and swears by it, although he uses pf lenses so they’re significantly lighter than my 500mm f4. Hope this helps 👍🏻

[@richardstone212]

Great video Dan , where did you both get your Z9s ?

[@danwillis_photography]

Cheers Richard, appreciate it. We both got ours from Panamoz.com they were absolutely fantastic and provide a 3 year warranty. I can’t recommend them enough 👍🏻

[@robertlawrence7958]

Great video. I see nothing wrong with taking images of birds under controlled conditions. It gives a good opportunity to see and photograph birds which you may not be able to see in the wild. However, if I do take images of captive birds / animals I always label them as such. I totally agree with you and pops stating that there is no comparison with photographing a truly wild bird / animal under natural conditions. Years ago I paid to photograph captive otters and was absolutely delighted with the images I got. However, once I'd started getting images of otters in the wild I found that the captive pics completely lost their appeal to me. They were still lovely images but I felt they lacked that bit of magic that comes with the difficulty of getting truly wild images. I'm not a very social person and I sometimes find it uncomfortable being with a group of strangers but I guess in that situation my main concern would be knowing that none of my photos would be unique. Just about everyone there would have the same images on their cards as I had. The big plus is getting up close and personal with such magnificent birds. All the best and I shall look forward to your next video.

[@danwillis_photography]

Thanks Robert, I completely agree with all your comments. Your comments about being around others particularly struck a chord with me, I work in an environment where there are lots of people and one of the draws of wildlife photography is quite often it’s just Pops and me and we don’t see another soul. Thanks for your feedback and your support it’s very much appreciated.

[@robertvantzelfde3162]

This is has nothing to do with wildlife!!!!!

[@danwillis_photography]

I don’t believe that I claim that it is to do with wildlife? I explain the purpose of the video in the description and the title does not mention wildlife.