Wildlife photography course | Canberra | 4 hours

You will learn the skills required to take photographs of native and exotic animals in a controlled environment, giving you photos that appear to have been shot ' in the wild'. It's a great opportunity for anyone who loves the fauna of our planet and wants to learn the skills of wildlife photography. Gain first-hand experience with all cameras. The perfect course for travellers and those wishing to build a nature photography portfolio and improve their technique. It is suitable for anyone at any skill level.

The National Zoo and Aquarium is privately owned by Canberra businessman Richard Tindale, and is maintained as a predominantly family-run business. The zoo receives no Government or Commonwealth support and relies on entry fees from the public to continue operations. The zoo also relies on a large number of volunteer recruits to aid in the management of its grounds and the animals residing there.

The zoo is the only combined zoo and aquarium in Australia. The zoo has both Australian endemic species and introduced species including the largest collection of big cats in Australia. The zoo is also involved in a number of breeding programs for endangered species.

■ Ideal for anyone who loves the natural world & photography

■ Gain first-hand experience with your cameras functionality

■ Composition and lighting best suited for wildlife & nature

■ Meet interesting, like minded persons who love wildlife, travel & photography

■ 117 pages of detailed notes and critique of your images

■ Interactive, dynamic, fun. Hands-on shooting

■ Expert tuition from professional photographer Andrew Thomasson

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

■ No previous photography experience is required

■ A digital SLR, mirror-less, compact camera ( with a zoom lens) or a quality smartphone

■ For DSLR and mirror-less camera users, at least one multi-range lens

■ Memory Card(s) - at least a 4GB card

■ Charged camera battery

■ DSLR Nikon & Canon cameras for hire ($50), 8GB cards for sale ($19)

INCLUSIONS

■ 117 pages of detailed notes

■ Repeat this course anytime for a refresher for just $100

EXCLUSIONS

■ zoo entrance fee. If you plan on coming back for a refresher or for whatever reason we suggest you get an annual zoo members pass with a range of benefits

WHAT ANIMALS YOU MAY SEE

(whilst it's impossible to photograph every animal, bird and fish, we try our best!)

Australian animals at the zoo include dingos, koalas, western grey kangaroos, swamp wallaby, parma wallaby, emu, Tasmanian devils, little penguins and wombats.

The zoo maintains a collection of large cats including tawny African lions, white lions, Sumatran tigers, Bengal tigers, Sri Lankan leopards, cheetahs and servals. Other mammals include rhinos, sun bears, zebras, giraffes, common eland, blackbuck, barbary sheep, wapiti, fallow deer, alpaca, meerkats, black-capped capuchin, siamang, common marmoset, pygmy marmoset, cottontop tamarin, black-and-white ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, black-and-white colobus, francois langur, squirrel monkey, red pandas, and Oriental small-clawed otters. Also on display are Goodfellow's tree-kangaroos, African wild dogs, spotted hyenas.

The Aquarium includes a variety of tropical marine and freshwater bony fish including Murray cod, Queensland groper, humphead wrasse, barramundi as well as giant moray, zebra moray. There are several shark species including blacktip reef sharks, zebra shark and epaulette shark.

Reptiles and amphibians at the zoo include shingleback skink, blotched blue-tongued skink, green iguana, rhinoceros iguana, Taiwan beauty snake, reticulated python, Malayan blood python, boa constrictor, American alligator and magnificent tree frog.

Birds at the zoo include little penguins and peafowl, musk lorikeet, bush stone-curlew, tawny frogmouth, satin bowerbird, golden pheasant, Java sparrow, plum-headed parakeet, noisy pitta, Orange-bellied parrot, mandarin duck, whistling duck, black swan, helmeted guinea fowl, Cape Barren goose and Egyptian goose.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Payments:
Paying for your course in full upon booking will confirm your attendance. Places are limited on all courses.

Refunds:
We reserve the right to cancel and reschedule any course, due to inadequate enrolment, bad weather, instructor illness, an 'act of God' or a force majeure such as a pandemic. As an example, a photography course has to be cancelled or deferred to another date and time due to Covid 19 border closures and lockdowns which is beyond the control of Focus 10 Pty Ltd and other related parties. We also reserve the right to cancel any course if there is insufficient demand, especially if it means that our costs would be higher than our income. Please therefore do not leave it until the last few weeks if you are interested in a particular date, as you may find that it has been cancelled. As our costs for each training event remain the same no matter how many delegates attend, like any pre-booked tickets for the theatre, concert, flights etc, we are unable to give a full refund in the event of non-attendance, regardless of the circumstances. If withdrawal occurs within the 14 days before the course starts we will try to put you on an alternative date if places are available. Please note that we cannot be liable for any other costs incurred by yourself, so please check with us before booking any non-refundable accommodation or transport.

Workshop Photography:
We reserve the right to take photographic, (both still and video) records of any of our workshops/courses which may be used for promotional purposes, submissions, advertising and records. We grant permission for participants to use any images captured by them during this workshop for self-promotion only. Participants may not make any financial gain from any images captured during this workshop/course.

Availability

There are currently no dates scheduled for this workshop. Please get in touch if you'd like to know when this workshop will run in the future.