List of Events for 2024
Below is an exciting list of up and coming events.
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The Photography Show
I will be at the Photography Show on the 8th and 9th March (Saturday and Sunday), I will be giving a talk on the Fundamentals Stage on Saturday at 2:00pm on Getting Grips With The Basics.
I will also be presenting a macro talk on the Sigma stand at 11am on Saturday and Sunday, stay tuned for further details on the subject......
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Global Birdfair 2025
Stayed tuned for further details.
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Workshops & Photo Days
Join me for a fun filled day at a leisurely pace enjoying macro photography of a variety of species in different habitats in my home county of Somerset. I have over 20 years experience as a professional photographer alongside being a naturalist working on responsible, ethical and creative photography techniques to make the most of the subject and its habitat. I have been running workshops, teaching and leading tours for over ten years.
Sigma Masterclasses
If you have a passion for wildlife and/or macro photography, this small-group SIGMA Masterclass is an absolute must-do. The workshop focuses on capturing close-ups of nature during the summer; butterflies, orchids and a variety different of plants and animals, under the guidance of professional nature photographer Victoria Hillman.
You’ll learn how to create impactful and technically precise nature images and find out how to get the best out of a macro (or macro-style) lens. The session will cover focusing methods, using aperture to control depth-of-field, using natural and artificial light for different effects, how to achieve pin-sharp results, multiple exposure, and composition.
I will be running two different days, one aimed at summer species such as butterflies, flowers, orchids and whatever else we can find and an autumn based one which will focus on fungi and autumn colours.
Summer Macro on the Polden Hills In Somerset
Saturday 14th June 10:30am - 3:30pm, £99 per person.
https://sigmauk.com/product/summer-nature-macro-workshop-with-victoria-hillman-14-june-2025
Autumn Macro on the Polden Hills In Somerset
Saturday 1st November 10:30am - 3:30pm, £99 per person.
Greenwings
Spring Macro on the Somerset Levels
Friday 16th May 8am - 12pm, £85 per person, £3 car park charge payable on the day.
https://greenwings.co/our-holidays/photography-tours/photography-workshop-spring-in-somerset/
If you enjoy watching and photographing smaller wildlife, such as dragonflies & damselflies, and want to improve or expand your photography skills and creativity, this workshop is for you!
We will be exploring a wonderful nature reserve on the internationally important Somerset Levels and Moors, an area covering approximately 170,000 acres. We will spend the morning at Westhay Moor, part of the Avalon Marshes. It is one of the finest remaining lowlands left in Britain and an important habitat for many different species. As such it is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Westhay Moor is reclaimed from the remnants of industrial-scale peat extraction and has the largest surviving remnant of lowland acid mire in the South West. It is home to many different and interesting plant and invertebrate species including many damselflies and dragonflies and sundew carnivorous plants.
We will take a slow walk to the reserve from the car park keeping our eyes open for all kinds of wildlife, including amphibians and roosting invertebrates in the grass. We will take a walk around the mire and through the alder and birch woodland where we can find sundews and royal ferns and if we’re lucky green tiger beetles.
Summer Macro on the Polden Hills, Somerset
Friday 20th June, 8am - 12pm, £85 per person, free parking.
https://greenwings.co/our-holidays/british-wildlife-breaks/photography-workshop-orchids-butterflies/
If you enjoy watching and photographing smaller wildlife and flowers and want to improve or expand your photography skills and creativity, this workshop is for you!
We will be exploring The Polden Hills in Somerset, these are calcareous grasslands, an intricate and diverse ecosystem containing many specialist species that are found nowhere else. These chalk grasslands are in huge decline due to changes in farming, in some cases reduced grazing leads to the dominance of course grasses, scrub and woodland.
The Polden Hills in Somerset remain a special place full of life if you know when and where to look and are home to numerous species of orchids including the Greater Butterfly Orchid, and butterflies including the Large Blue.
We will take a slow walk to the grassland from the car park through the woodland and once on the hill we’ll be searching in amongst the grass, on fence posts and in the small wooded areas.
These workshop days will not be species specific. Instead we will spend the day out in the field looking for different species in particular butterflies and orchids, although there are many other plant and invertebrate species to look out for.
Autumn Marco on the Mendip Hills, Somerset
Friday 17th October, 10am - 2pm, £85 per person, free parking.
If you enjoy watching and photographing smaller wildlife and flowers and want to improve or expand your photography skills and creativity, this workshop is for you!
We will be exploring woodland on the Mendip Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The ground reveals the rise and fall of lead mining over 2,000 years. The Mendip Hills had rich veins of lead running just beneath the surface in seams. These seams or ‘rakes’ were dug and then reworked over generations as machinery and techniques improved. This activity has led to the industrial wasteland or gruffy ground of lumps, bumps and rock outcrops that are visible today.
This woodland is also known for its abundance and variety of fungi species and we will spend the day slowly wandering the paths looking for different species and anything else we can find as well including the mosses and lichens that can be found.
These workshop days will not be species specific. Instead we will spend the day out in the field looking for different fungi to photograph.
Wells & District Wildlife Group
Forgotten Little Creatures Talk
Tuesday 25th February, 2:30pm start, £5 per person, (under 16s free)
It’s nearly 10 years since Victoria Hillman introduced us to her Forgotten Little Creatures Project – an inspiring enterprise that celebrates plants, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles through photography, historical and scientific information.
Join us for an update to find out what has been happening with the project, how she's incorporated art and folklore into the work and some exciting new developments and organisations she is now working with, along with plans for the future.
WELLS MUSEUM (enter via side entrance) off Cathedral Green, Wells BA5 2UE
Full Disabled Access 2.30pm start. No need to book. Admission £5 payable on the door (under 16's free)
Tea / Coffee and biscuits served in the interval
Photo Ramble
Saturday 10th May, 10am - 12pm, £10 per person, parking close by.
Join Wildlife Photographer and Artist Victoria Hillman for an interactive photo ramble (10am - noon) at the Combe in Wells and learn how to observe and take better photos of nature.
The Combe is a long, narrow valley which extends north from the junction of Ash Lane, New Street and College Road, and curves slightly east towards Walcombe. Although physically and visually separate, The Combe forms part of the grounds associated with Milton Lodge.
No special equipment is required.
Just bring what you've got - DSLR, smartphone or whatever.
Numbers are limited so advance booking is essential.
For more details or to reserve a place email bookings@wdwg.org.uk
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1-2-1s & Private Workshops
I do have some dates available if you would like to book a 1-2-1 or small private group workshop, please drop me an email to info.vikspics@gmail.com if you are interested.
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Talks
I am taking bookings for 2024 and 2025, these can be online or in person, for full details on pricing and talks available please take a look at the dedicated page.
https://www.forgottenlittlecreatures.com/post/talks-1-2-1s-small-group-workshops