London Outdoor Photography! (walks and workshops)

𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡❜𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧❜𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭.

Enjoy the unmistakable roar of the Spitfire's Rolls Royce Merlin engine along with other favourite aircraft, and if the weather is kind the skilled pilots will do their magnificent best in the 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭!

The extensive collection also contains some of the only airworthy examples of genuine combat aircraft from WW1 and WW2, along with the graceful lines of multiple world aviation speed record holders from the 1930s. It is a rare display unlike any other in the world.

The Old Warden airfield is unique in having an L-shaped airfield, allowing the aircraft to bank close to the spectators and to pass at the perfect angle for practicing our panning technique.

We'll have 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 if required to help you get some great shots! 1 x Canon & 2 x Nikon setups.

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝:

*Entry to the airshow

• Return travel from central London (from Starbucks, Unit 1A Euston Tower, NW1 3DP), in our comfortable 8-seater vehicle.
  *Photographic Tuition at the event (focussing on shutter speed and panning to blur the background and propellers but keep the plane sharp)
• Camera and telephoto lens setups to borrow (just bring a blank SD card)
  *Battery charging facilities if required (bring your USB or wall plug charger)

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝:

• Food and drink (hot drinks and food are available on site but feel free to bring your food/picnic)

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: Please check and dress for the weather. Hat, sunscreen, etc.

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:

*Tripod/monopod optional - we'll have a tripod and gimbal setup.

• Lens choice - telephoto lenses (ideally 200mm+ full frame equivalent)
  *We'll have 3 setups to use: 1 x 200-500mm (Nikon F), 1 x 100-400mm (Canon EF), 70-200mm + 1.4x extender (98-280mm equivalent - Nikon), 70-300mm (Canon EF & Nikon F), Sony E adapter.
• Wide-angle/mid-range lenses for stationary (flight-line) aircraft or vintage vehicles.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞❜𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭:

Starbucks Coffee, Unit 1A Euston Tower Podium, Regents Place, London NW1 3DP, at 9.15 am. We'll have plenty of time at the venue to talk about what to expect on the day and look through previous photos of the event, discuss settings, composition, etc. The flying display starts at 2 pm and will end around 5 pm. We expect to return to London around 7 pm.

Note: This event is combined with other photography Meetup groups that I run, so I'll update RSVP numbers accordingly (i.e., myself +3 will mean 3 members from other groups attending).

𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭:

Last Place available!
Single Occupancy with en-suite, £1845

Join us on a magical 7-day trip to experience one of the most exciting seabird colonies in the UK!

We have scheduled six separate boat trips to photograph the birdlife on the Farne Islands, and our lovely accommodation is close to one of the world's great coastal castles, Bamburgh Castle!

Along with Dunstanburgh Castle, this gives us the unique opportunity to indulge in some bonus landscape photography with two stunning subjects in the evenings.

Northumberland's Farne Islands are home to more than 20 bird species, with the highlight being over 80,000 incredibly charismatic puffins!

Along with the puffin extravaganza, the islands' other species include arctic terns, guillemots, razorbills, shags, kittiwakes, eider ducks, plus grey seals basking in the sun by the water's edge. More info can be found at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/farne-islands/features/wildlife-calendar

Accommodation:
We have an amazing 6-bedroom (including 2 rooms with en-suites) close to Bamburgh Castle!

Single Occupancy Room, £1595 SOLD OUT!
Single Occupancy with en-suite, £1845, Last Place!

Suggested equipment:

• Telephoto lens - e.g. 300mm+, 100-400mm, 200-400mm
• Walk around wide/mid-range/kit lens – e.g. 18-55mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm
• Wide-angle lens, e.g. 16-35mm, 17-40mm (optional for landscape subjects in the distance)
• Don't have a telephoto lens? We'll have 3 telephoto setups available (please let me know at the time of booking). We also have 2 x branded 1.4x (Canon & Nikon DSLR) and 2.0x (Nikon DSLR) are available.
• Tripod (for landscapes)
• Monopod if required

Filters (for landscapes). I'll have some KASE filter kits available (please mention it when booking).

Includes:

• Return transport from central London, plus transport in Northumberland to/from boats & castles.
• Accommodation: An entire beautiful house in Bamburgh! (self-catering, restaurants, pubs, & shops close by)
• Boat fees for 6 boat trips to the islands.
• Photographic tuition on location
• Camera and lens setups to borrow, if required.
• Your funds are fully protected by our Travel Operator Insurance and Financial Failure Insurance.

Not included:

• Food and drink
• National Trust Landing Fees (free for NT members)
• Personal and travel insurance

Note: The boat captain's decision to delay if adverse weather conditions are beyond our control (which is why we go for 6 full days just in case).

Price:
£1845 + National Trust islands landing fees (~£13 per boat trip or FREE for National Trust members)

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 astrophotography 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