Fun and Friendly Photography! Walks, workshops, tours.

𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞!

• Includes accommodation and return transport from London
• Fully insured photography tour operator
• Star trackers and filters to borrow

Dear Lords, Ladies, and photographic squires!

Loxwood Joust, the U.K.'s most spectacular medieval festival, is back again this year and we will practice some dramatic action photography!

This amazing extravaganza is held in the picturesque woodlands of West Sussex and features full-contact jousting, along with other daring displays of weaponry, including archery, muskets, and cannon fire as armored knights and their retainers prepare to meet in great numbers for the melee on the thunderous battlefield, granting us many photographic opportunities.

You can also "wander the Living History Village, situated in the Mediaeval Meadow, where inhabitants live and work exactly as they would have in the Middle Ages". Peruse their traditional wares in the Mediaeval Marketplace, where traders and hawkers vie for your attention and wandering minstrels, dance troupes, and a court jester entertain the crowds throughout the day." So several interesting and unusual portrait possibilities are available.

Almost 50 re-enactment groups take part in Loxwood Joust each year so it is on a scale, unlike many other medieval events.

Our previous photographic scouts scoured Loxwood for the best photographic spots and opportunities, devising battle tactics to enable you to capture some amazing shots!

Guaranteed departure.

Join us on this magical 8-𝐝𝐚𝐲/7-𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 tour to explore the picturesque Lake District in colourful autumn with a small group (maximum of 5-6 participants only) guided by a professional photographer, and 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

As a bonus - as if the amazing scenery isn't enough! - The best filter company in the business, Kase Filters, is kindly sponsoring our workshop & will be providing multiple sets of their Pro filters just for us - so you can get the most out of this amazing workshop!

𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲:
𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏 – Journey to The Lakes
We’ll collect you from central London & begin the journey to our lovely accommodation in central Keswick.

We'll aim to check in and freshen up, then, if time permitting, head to our first sunset opportunity at the spectacular Castlerigg Stone Circle.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐 – Ullswater
We’ll begin our first morning with sunrise at the iconic Duke of Portland boathouse, looking down Ullswater towards the distant fells. From there, we’ll pay a visit to Hallin Fell with a gorgeous view down two valleys, with Beda Fell in all its autumnal glory dividing them. During the day, we will visit the powerful Aira Force, the most famous of the Lakes’ waterfalls, falling 70ft below a slate bridge into a rock pool & surrounded by Victorian landscaping.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟑 – Derwent Water
Crow Park will start our day with sunrise, looking down Derwent Water with Borrowdale Valley and the surrounding Fells beyond. Nearby is Isthmus Bay, where you will find the remains of some concrete jetties looking towards the Cumbrian Mountains. Other options for later in the day are Ashness Jetty or Tewet Tarn.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟒 – Buttermere
This morning, we will head for Buttermere and once again put those Kase ND filters to work capturing the famous lone tree with tranquil views across the lake, followed by a short journey up the lake, where we will have views of Char Hut and the autumn colours on the mosaic slopes of Haystacks. Later in the day, we will explore the Southern shore of Crummock Water with several composition options of rocks or trees to choose from.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟓 – Great Langdale
We’ll start the day at the River Brathay near Elterwater hoping for a touch of mist at sunrise with a couple of oak trees and a small copse reflecting in the calm water. Later, we will head down the Great Langdale Valley towards Side Pike & Blea Tarn both of which have gorgeous views of the Langdale Pikes.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟔 - Lowther Castle
Our last full day will see us exploring another great attraction in the morning, and our afternoon will be spent visiting Lowther Castle or a similar attraction.

Day 7 - We'll look at returning to locations suitable for the weather on the day, with the intent of capturing better shots or images with different conditions.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 8 – Return Journey
For our final day in the stunning Lake District, we will begin with a visit to Tewet Tarn, or even Castlerigg Stone Circle, for sunrise with views towards Blencathra and Skiddaw fells. We'll then say goodbye to Keswick & journey back to London with full memory cards and many happy memories.

Please note: This is a MAILING LIST ONLY, NOT AN EVENT.

This is for people who wish to be contacted when we run Astro events (as per feedback, as Meetup's email communication has been sketchy at best for years).

We'll announce our multi-day Astro tours and occasional single-night events here first, then via the usual Meetup announcement.

The Milky Way season runs from late February to early September each year.

We're going to be holding several astrophotography events during the year, so we're putting together an email list of those people interested so we can contact you directly (as many people miss the Meetup messages & emails) and offer you early access to book places at the events.

We'll photograph the Milky Way at various locations throughout the year, teach you how to take star trails and capture special events such as meteor showers and supermoons.

How it will work:
We'll likely let you know the prospective date(s) a couple of weeks in advance. Two days before the event, we'll update and confirm once we have the short-term weather forecasts. Due to weather conditions, some events may be scheduled or cancelled at short notice. Weather forecasting just isn't that good yet, I'm afraid!

We'll provide the transport to the chosen location(s) up to 2 hours away. To reduce time stuck in London traffic, the meeting point will be at our studio in West Acton, a 3-5 minute walk from West Acton tube station (Central Line) and North Ealing tube station (Piccadilly Line). Street parking is available.

Equipment:

• With a tripod and cable release, anyone can take star trails and meteor shower photos with a standard camera and lens.
• For single-shot Milky Way photos, we recommend lenses with an aperture f/2.8 or lower, with a focal length of 24mm or lower. (Edit: a 35mm f/1.8 is also a great lens if you're able to use post-processing software to stitch photos together)
• Using either the high ISO technique or a star tracker allows "slower" lenses to be used, ie a minimum aperture of f/4 or f/5.6
• As usual, we'll have a few dedicated setups and lenses to borrow between the group – just bring an extra SD card.

We look forward to exploring the night skies with you!

Note: This listing is not an event in itself (ignore time & date). The £2 payment will put you on our astrophotography list and allow us to email you announcing upcoming Astro events prior to them being published on the Meetup group listing. We've done this as people often miss/ignore Meetup announcement emails.

Kind regards,
Dion