Otago Wildlife Masterclass Workshop - 4 Days

Our Wildlife Masterclass Workshop is based around the Otago Peninsula, otherwise known as the ‘wildlife capital’ of New Zealand. You will spend four-days with photographers Richard Young and Shaun Barnett as your tutors, to capture the area’s exceptional wildlife.

This includes New Zealand sea lions and fur seals, as well as a host of rare bird species, such as the yellow-eyed penguin, northern royal albatross and petrel. Our Otago wildlife workshop includes a boat charter around the peninsula and a visit to the Orokonui Wildlife Sanctuary, with another highlight being a stay and dinner at the famous Larnach Castle.

Day 1
Meeting at Dunedin airport to be picked up from the early-morning flights, we drive out to our accommodation for the next three nights, Larnach Castle. We will run through our introductory programme for the finer points of capturing amazing wildlife images and advanced settings for wildlife photography. The afternoon will see us heading out for our first wildlife shoot, to photograph the magnificent New Zealand sea lion, which breeds along the rugged coastline of the Peninsula area.

Day 2
Today we head further afield to photograph the forest birds at Orokonui, which is also home to New Zealand’s tuatara, a relic from the dinosaur age. Spending the whole morning in the reserve will offer us the chance to photograph a number of rare birds including South Island Kākā and the Takahē. This afternoon we head out to photograph Yellow-eyed penguins on a private beach as they return from a day out at sea, with luck we also likely find a few more sea lions to photograph on the same beach.

Day 3
After sunrise to capture wading birds silhouetted in the morning light, we will spend the morning in the hotel conference room to offer some group critique of the photographs from the last days and in-depth post-production of wildlife your images. This afternoon we take a boat charter to photograph many of species of birds from the sea, we will also visit the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatross. We end the day by returning to Larnach Castle for dinner (included) which will be the culinary highlight of the tour, eating a three-course meal in the castle’s grand dining room.

Day 4
This morning we will capture the sunrise from an exclusive location on private land which offers unparalleled views across the Peninsula. After sunrise, we will help you finish processing your best two images from the workshop and produce a finished 16x22" fine art prints of these to take home. We will have some time today to explore inside Larnach Castle if we have not already had the chance and maybe one final wildlife shoot, before returning to Dunedin airport to connect will late afternoon flights.

Price includes:
- Tuition by Richard Young and Shaun Barnett
- Private chartered boat around the Otago Peninsula
- Private penguin trip on the Otago Peninsula
- Entry to Orokonui Wildlife Sanctuary
- 3 nights single room accommodation at Larnach Castle (Own double stables room, with the option to upgrade to a lodge room)
- 3 breakfasts at Larnach Castle
- A three-course dinner at Larnach Castle
- Copy of Pocket Guide to Wildlife Photography
- E-book on masterclass workshop topics
- Two 16x22" Fine-Art Prints from the Epson SC-P800
- Use of Tamron 150-600mm lenses (Nikon & Canon mount)
- Trial of Nikon cameras & lenses
- Conference room for processing & printing
- Transport during the workshop
- Dunedin pickup/dropoff
- DOC concession fees
- DOC marine mammals permit
- Donation to our Conservation Fund
- Native tree planting to Carbon Offset your workshop

For more information or to book, go to the official website.