Yesterday we had our Herefordshire Year in the Orchard April event - Photography in the Orchard - led by two multi-award winning photograpers Richard Crompton and Linda Wright.

About 14 people were on the course, all hoping for Richard and Linda to reveal their secrets, and enable us to get closer to their standard.

We were not dissapointed!

Rich led the workshop with some back to basics work on how cameras "see" and how best to overcome your camera's limitations, to achieve the depth of field and exposure you want.  He then moved onto composition, demonstrating some of the rules with his own photos.  Each session was punctuated with an opportunity to take shots ourselves, including help with portrait work - something I know I stuggle with!

In the afternoon, Linda told us her techniques to capture stunning wildlife shots, and gave us the chance to take photos of a Scops owl and a young Kestrel brought by the International Centre for Birds of Prey based in nearby Newent.  We managed to take shots, close up and in flight with our two very obliging and beautiful models!

Our final assignment (after a tasting session!) was to capture the essense of the orchard, using the techniques learned throughout the day.

All in all, everyone really enjoyed the day, and went away enthused and more knowledgable than they arrived.

A big thank you to Richard and Linda for an excellent day!

Click on "Read more" to see some of my photos I took on the day: