Nightscapes in Norfolk Workshop
5 fabulous nights of Astrophotography – Noctilucent Clouds and the Milky Way!
Included
Kase filter kits for each participant
Dates & Times
1) 2023 dates TBA
Guaranteed Departure!
Fitness Level
Low- Moderate
Price
£ 850
Availability
Places Available
Join Us
Join us on this amazing 5 night photo tour capturing some of the most stunning night-time landscapes that Norfolk has to offer!
In this landscape astrophotography workshop, we’ll be making the most of the dark skies of Norfolk’s Coastal Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a protected picturesque landscape well known for its lack of light pollution, and boasting two official Dark Sky Discovery Sites.
During the evenings we’ll explore multiple locations for stunning nightscape opportunities, including Milky Way photography, and star trails, as well as capturing some bonus sunsets using a set of Kase filters (available to each participant).
We’ll be staying in a spacious modern barn conversion, just 5 minutes from one of our favourite feature locations, the picturesque Happisburgh Lighthouse, allowing us to quickly take full advantage of the clear skies before moving on to other locations, such as the Norfolk Broads windmills/windpumps, ruined churches, and unique decades-old sea defences on the beaches.
It won’t just be the Milky Way we’ll be hunting. On the workshop we’ll be keeping an eye out for the elusive Noctilucent Clouds, extremely rare high clouds of ice crystals that are lit up to produce a spectacular blue/silver display in the night sky. These are only visible at certain latitudes and times of year – and we’ll be there at peak season!
What we’ll cover:
- Intro astrophotography equipment
- Apps used for planning
- How to focus at night
- Settings for correct exposure – manual mode in astrophotography
- Effect of choosing different shutter speeds
- How to combat noise in astrophotography
- High ISO vs single shot with star tracker
- Advanced astrophotography tequniques
- Use of star tracker
- Filters – Light pollution and other filters to try
- Lighting our subjects at night (light painting)
- Editing our pictures using software (Lightroom Classic + plugins, but methods transferable to other software, plus free dedicated astro software)
Equipment to borrow!
To help our workshop participants capture great shots, we have a selection of lenses to borrow, including the highly regarded 14mm f/2.8 lenses for Canon EF mount, Nikon F mount, and Sony E mount.
We also have a star tracker that we’ll set up and use to get longer exposures of the sky.
Astro filters! – Kase Light pollution filter and Kase Star Glow filter.
This astrophotography workshop is a relaxed learning atmosphere and is suitable for beginners/intermediate/advanced photographers. Participants will need to be able to change their settings in manual mode, such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.
But what if we’re unlucky with the weather? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered!
There’s a great selection of fantastic photographic opportunities in Norfolk that we can visit during the day in addition to our sunset opportunities if clear night skies are not in our favour, so we’ll make the very best of staying in Norfolk’s AONB. This may include using our award-winning Kase filters for long exposure seascape photography (one set of filters for each participant to use), or exploring the nearby beaches to watch the famous Norfolk Grey Seals.
No matter what you’ll be sure to improve your photography!
Recommended Equipment
- Wide angle lens – 16-35mm, 10-24mm, 14-24mm
- Walk around/kit lens – 18-55mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm
- Longer focal length lens – 70-200mm (less used)
- Tripod
- Remote shutter release – we prefer a wired trigger as it saves battery over using your phone with wifi/bluetooth or a wireless trigger to reduce camera battery drain.
- Spare camera batteries – the multiple long exposures taken during astrophotography and the cold evenings will reduce battery life. You may also consider bringing your battery charger as we have a dedicated power station that takes wall sockets and USB.
- Extra Batteries
- Battery Charger (we have charging facilities on our vehicle)
- Extra memory cards
- ND Filters – optional/recommended for long exposures during the day – we have multiple sets of Kase ND filters available to borrow (please let me know the filter thread size of your lenses prior to the workshop)
- Full wet weather gear – just in case!
A full packing list will be provided prior to the tour.
Included / Not included
- Included:
- Professional photo guide & tuition.
- Return transportation from central London in our comfortable 8 seat vehicle.
- Cottage accommodation with own room.
- Kase filter kits if required
- Battery charging facilities in vehicle
Not included:
- Personal & travel insurance
- Food & drink
- Travel to start point or from end point of tour.
- Anything not specified as “Included”
- Professional photo guide & tuition.
Fitness Level
This tour involves walking of up to 30 minutes along paths/trails and requires occasional short steep steps or inclines. A person of average fitness level should have little difficulty.
Where we'll meet
Collection point for tour is outside West Acton Station at 10:30am. West Action Station is on the Ealing Broadway branch of the Central Line. Post code is W3 0DS.
Return journey will have two drop off points. The first is in central London, close to Warren Street, Euston Square, Euston, & Great Portland Street tube stations. Second drop off point will be West Acton Station.
We expect to return to London around 1-2pm.
Gallery
Testimonials
I have learnt so much on this trip – taking the most amazing photos! Yourself and Phil gave me so much help which I am very grateful for.
If you do another trip to the Lake District I would love to join you again!
Many thanks for a wonderful trip last week, I really enjoyed it and have taken away so much 😊.
I’m about 80% through post processing, it’s really difficult to choose as there are so many great shots!
I’ve been considering buying Kase filters too!
Guide
Dion Hitchcock
Dion is an expat Australian based in London, United Kingdom. A prodigious traveller, after visiting 40+ countries he decided it was high time to learn about photography so he could better document his travels and quickly caught “the bug”. He became involved in several camera clubs assisting them running workshops and now runs his own, including in the UK, Iceland, and his home country of Australia. A qualified pharmacist, he’s now swapped helping patients and teaching pharmacy students for helping clients with both the technical aspects and artistic side of photography. Although an unconventional transition, he sees this as a natural progression as both of his parents are artists who instilled in him an appreciation of the beauty of the wondrous world around us.
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Terms of Service
Please note that our tours and workshops are always in high demand and usually sell out. We historically have over 90% occupancy so we strongly advise to book early.
As photographers ourselves, we always do our utmost to ensure each participant has the opportunity to get the best shots possible on every tour. However, we are dependent upon the weather, which is highly unpredictable. Your photo guide will monitor local weather conditions and adjust any proposed itinerary according to conditions and any local weather warnings.
We highly recommend that you have your own travel and medical insurance. For our overseas clients, please be aware that your own domestic medical insurance and private health scheme may not cover you whilst you are overseas.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
We strongly recommend you to get a Trip Cancellation & Travel Insurance after booking your trip. If you cancel your booking and the tour is otherwise filled, we will refund you the full amount you have paid towards the tuition, minus a £150 service fee. If you cancel and the tour does not fill, then you will be refunded according to the following schedule, based on the full fee of tour:
Greater than 90 days from the start date of the Workshop: full refund minus the £150 service fee.
75 days or more: 75% refund
60 days or more: 50% refund
Less than 60 days: no refund
Refunds will be paid by the same method that the original payment was made.
If UK Photo Tours have to cancel a tour then you’ll be offered another place on an existing tour or a full refund. We cannot be held liable for any loss of any kind resulting from the cancellation of a tour beyond the tour ticket price.
Pricing
Prices listed on the UK-Photo-Tours.com website are per person, unless otherwise specified.
Prices are based on the local tariff at the time of quoting, converted at the prevailing foreign-exchange rate as determined by UK Photo Tours.
Price quotations are subject to change without notice, until a booking has been confirmed.
Unless otherwise specified, prices do not include any local taxes or use-fees, including foreign departure, security, port charges, park fees, customs, immigration, agricultural, passenger-facility charges or international transportation tax.
Prices do not include tips/gratuities to tour directors, drivers or local guides; passport and visa fees; baggage and personal insurance; any items of a personal nature; and any beverages or food not specifically listed under “Included” on the product pages of the UK-Photo-Tours.com website
Tour start/end
Our tours have a designated start and end point and it is each participant’s responsibility to ensure they are at the designated starting point on time and the tour price does not include any flights, accommodation, transport, taxes or charges, etc prior to our start or after our end points/time. We are happy to give advice on such should it be needed.
Passports, Visas, & Insurance
It is the responsibility of all passengers, regardless of nationality and destination, to check with the consulate of the country they are visiting for current entry requirements.
As visa and health requirements are subject to change without notice, we recommend that you verify health and visa requirements with the appropriate consulate prior to departure.
Disclaimers & Limitations of Liability
UK Photo Tours cannot be held liable for any loss, damage, accidents, injuries or sickness during your tour. The same applies for any changes in tour schedule due to weather, strikes, industrial action, viral pandemic, civil disturbance, wars, floods or sickness, or any other force majeure. UK Photo Tours reserves the right to change routes, schedules and itineraries if needed because of weather, road, boat route conditions or should the necessity arise because of unforeseen reasons. We advise all travellers to purchase comprehensive travel insurance to minimize possible losses due to unforeseeable situations during your travel.
Covid-19
We are taking great care to follow the current guidance from the government regarding Covid-19 ( https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus ), along with up-to-date advice from tourism organisations such as VisitEngland.com and VisitScotland.com in order to keep safety a priority.
All of our guides are fully vaccinated and have had booster doses. We encourage participants to be fully vaccinated if clinically able to.
To further reduce risk, we’re continuing with requiring masks to be worn in the vehicle (unless medically expempt). Vents will be open and windows lowered in the vehicle to increase fresh airflow. We provide antiviral hand gel in the vehicle and at any accommodation, along with spare surgical 3-ply face masks for participants if required.
We’ve adopted the tour industry standard of requesting a negative Covid-19 lateral flow test within 72 hours of the start of the tour, and ideally for the result to be logged on the government website. This test can be done at home.
By asking for a negative test we hope you’ll agree it is for everyone’s protection and helps to provide a smooth and safe tour. In the UK, you can obtain free lateral flow tests from either your local pharmacy scanning a QR code, or sent direct to your home through the website https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests , or by calling 119.
We ask or participants to please be vigilant in reducing their exposure risk to Covid-19 in the 10 days leading up to the tour, and remember to test if you have any symptoms and ensure that you have adequate travel insurance in place.