Some areas of the Zoo are CLOSED to allow us to prepare for our Halloween events. ... read more
Until 3rd November, there will be restricted access at Bears of the Rising Sun (lower viewing) and our Elephant Bushwalk will be closed.
From 14th October 2024, our Woodland Hollow will be closed.
Choose from:
Big Cat Photography Workshop
The Big Cat Photography workshop is a great opportunity to take photos of the Amur leopards and tigers, African lions, cheetahs and other animals along the way while learning about camera settings and other technical photographic aspects plus how knowing more about the animal species and their behaviour can help you to get great images.
More Information
Professional wildlife photographer, Barbara Meyer will be available throughout the event to offer advice and to help participants with the settings on their cameras. Based on Barbara’s connection to wildlife conservation, our customers will also benefit from learning more about the big cats and their situation in the wild.
As on all our photography experiences, the Big Cat Photography workshop participants will have the option to have a 30-minutes online photography tuition session prior to the photography workshop; having access to tuition, tailored to their individual needs.
The Big Cat Photography workshops will start at 9:30am and will finish at 4:30pm (4:00pm during the winter months).
The maximum number of participants on our Big Cat Photography workshops is limited to 4 photographers per event (minimum of two). The small group size will benefit our customers in respect of getting good positions around the enclosures and having easily access to one-to-one support when needed.
2024 Dates
11th October 2024
8th November 2024
29th November 2024
Wildlife Photography for Teenagers
The Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop is a photography experience for children, aged 10-15 years. This photography workshop offers the children and their guardian to learn different aspects of photography; starting with technical features like exposure and focus settings as well as composition of images plus how to approach taking photos of wildlife in captivity and in natural habitat areas.
More Information
In particular children, who have taken up GCSE-Photography, thinking about choosing a photography career or who have a keen interest in photography, will benefit from the Online Photography Tuition session, which is offered before the workshop as part of the package. The tuition session is individually tailored to each child’s experience level and needs. We can go over technical aspects of photography as well as photography projects, the children might work on and would like to add to with the photos, they intend to take as part of the Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop. Please just let us know what you would like to learn and get out of the photography workshop.
On the actual photography workshop day, professional wildlife photographer Barbara Meyer will help the children with setting up their cameras and teach them how to approach wildlife photography. Advice on any photographic aspects and how to capture the animal action will be available to the children (and their guardians) throughout the photography workshop.
The Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop will start at 9:30am and will finish at 2:30pm. As with all our photography workshops we limit the number of participants; in this case to 3 children and one guardian each. The small group size benefits our teenaged customers and their guardians as they will have more easily access to good positions around the enclosures and to one-to-one support when required.
2024 Dates
13th October 2024
10th November 2024
Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers
The Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop is a photography experience for our youngest customers (aged 6-9 years). This photography workshop offers the children and their guardians to explore photography by taking images of different wildlife species around a certain areas of the zoo. The main focus of the Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop is for the children to learn how to approach taking photos by observing the animals, recognising photo opportunities and looking for the best angles.
More Information
We will focus on different sections of the zoo on each of the Zoo Photography for Children workshop, and each workshop will have a theme. This means the individual Zoo Photography workshops will focus on certain species (plus other animals in the area of the zoo). Through this approach, we want to draw the focus more on the subject and that knowing aspects about the animals may help to get better and more interesting images of the different wildlife species.
On this photography workshop any type of camera from a digital SLR to a compact camera or even a mobile phone could be used. Though saying this, cameras with a longer zoom range will be of benefit. Furthermore, if a digital SLR camera or a bridge camera is available, the children and their guardians will also be able to learn more about technical photography aspects like exposure, focus and other functional settings on the cameras.
As with all our photography experiences, our junior participants will have the option to have a 30-minutes online session prior to the photography workshop at the zoo. This allows us to tailor the tuition to each child’s individual needs.
On the actual photography workshop day, wildlife photographer Barbara Meyer will help the children with setting up their cameras and teach them how to approach wildlife photography. Advice on any photographic aspects and how to capture the animal action will be available to the children (and their guardians) throughout the photography workshop.
2024 Dates
No dates available for 2024
African Photography Safari
The African Photography Safari workshop is ideal for people, who plan to go on safari and would like to make sure, they will be able to capture the wildlife effectively when they will see the different animal species while being out in Africa or on any other wildlife holiday. On the African Photography Safari workshop participants will be able to explore and photograph lions, fennec foxes, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hyenas, baboons, chimpanzees and many other wildlife species.
More Information
Professional photographer, Barbara Meyer offers a 30-minutes online photography tuition session for each participant on a one-to-one basis before the actual photography workshop plus support on camera settings and any other photography aspects throughout the photography workshop itself. Barbara will also share knowledge about the animals and how to approach photographing them at the zoo as well as in their natural habitat.
Based on Barbara’s personal safari experiences, our customers will also benefit from learning more about what to expect and what to look out for from a photographic perspective when being on safari or generally taking photos of animals in the wild.
The African Photography Safari workshops will start at 9:30am and will finish at 4:30pm.
The maximum number of participants on our African Photography Safari workshops is limited to 4 photographers per event (minimum of 2 people). The small group size will benefit our customers in respect of getting good positions around the enclosures and having easily access to one-to-one support when needed.
2024 Dates
No dates available for 2024
Primate Photography
Over the last few years, we have seen that there is an increasing interest in photographing primates. On our new Primates Photography workshop, participants can observe and photograph the wide variety of primates at Colchester Zoo, including apes, monkeys, macaques and lemurs.
More Information
Although there are seasonal differences in their behaviour, there will always be some action with the different types of primates. Our customers will be able to learn how to get photos, through observing the behaviour and anticipating potential photo opportunities. Throughout the photography workshop, participants will have access to advice on any photography aspects and help with the settings on their camera.
Additionally, our customers have the option to have a 30-minutes online photography tuition session before the photography workshop. Through this, participants will get one-to-one tuition on a level, they require The session could cover anything from an introduction to the exposure and focus settings to refreshing previously gained knowledge and more.
The Primates Photography workshops will start at 9:30am and will finish at 3:30pm.
The maximum number of participants on our Primates Photography workshops is limited to 4 photographers per event (minimum of 2 people). The small group size will benefit our customers in respect of getting good positions around the enclosures and having easy access to one to-one support when needed.
2024 Dates
No dates available for 2024
Please note, the Big Cat & Nature Photography terms and conditions apply to all photography workshop bookings.
