The second in the series of photography walks organised by the Scottish Wildlife Trust in conjunction with photoscot.co.uk took place on Sunday 22 April 2007, and attracted a good response.

Quotes from people who went on the walk, received as email feedback:

"I, like all the rest of the group thoroughly enjoyed the day, and I feel that I have progressed a little beyond the real novice stage, and would certainly be interested in joining any future group...  - David B"

"Thanks again for a good day - Neil Mackie"

Pictures taken by participants on the walk:

9 people met with the two leaders at the newly refurbished Falls of Clyde SWT Reserve Visitor Centre at 10am. Tea, coffee, herbal tea and biscuits were available, courtesy of the SWT, as people gathered in a room which was specially set aside for us, and had been prepared by the SWT staff, to whom our thanks is due. The event was about improving your wildlife photographic techniques, and had a theme of spring flower colour, and waterfalls, although people were able to focus on anything else they wished. The cost was £15 per person.

First there was a session involving a short presentation / getting to know each other / discussing what camera equipment people had brought. There was also a slide show of pictures taken the previous day, on a pre-run for the walk, to find out what was in flower, and what suitable photographic subjects there might be. Thereafter, we walked through the reserve at a leisurely pace, stopping to photograph mainly flowers, but also anything else which people wished to. Some people brought film SLRs, some digital compacts and there were more digital SLRs than on the previous walk. The idea was to help people maximise their use of whatever equipment they had brought.

Fortunately, we did not need to fall back on the wet weather programme, as it stayed dry all day, except for a brief shower while we were in the visitor centre. The first main stop was right outside the visitor centre, where a pair of dippers were flitting about. Fortunately one of the pair stayed on the near bank long enough for some photographs to be taken.

The second stop was on the board walk, where red campion, ladies smock, dandelions including clocks and wood anemones were in flower.

The third stop was near the power station, where there was a random (i.e. carefully placed!) selection of squirrel-chewed pine cones to photograph, and some interesting sap running out of a conifer trunk. Many people also photographed a small stream at this point.

The viewpoint above Corra Linn was again used to take a slow shutter-speed picture of the waterfall, to show the water flowing, and people were able to use a tripod, or use the time-delay and a bean bag to steady the camera.

Later, people were to be seen quite frequently at various points, kneeling on the ground to photograph flowers - wood sorrel, marsh marigolds and violets amongst them. There were also some early bluebells out, but mostly solitary and not enough to provide a carpet of flowers. Amongst techniques discussed and tried were looking for plants which could be photographed from the side, so as to get a profile view with an out-of-focus background, instead of simply shooting from above.

At the peregrine watch there was time for lunch. Unfortunately, the peregrines are nesting behind a rock this year, so it would not be very easy to photograph them, even if we had been allowed to, as use of a long lens now needs a permit from SWT.

The walk finished at 3pm back in the SWT Visitor Centre with a plenary session, which started with more tea and coffee and shortbread. It was possible to download most of the digital pictures and look at them using a video projector. A discussion of people's results and photographic techniques was carried out, and much previously undiscovered talent was brought to light! The plenary session finished about 4.30pm.

Anyone who was on the walk is invited to email me to clarify any points which have arisen in their minds, and to provide feedback and send a couple of photos for inclusion on this page.

Photography Walk Programme Sunday 22 April 2007

10am - Gather in the Falls of Clyde SWT Visitor Centre for coffee/tea/soft drink, biscuits and introductions.

10.15 - introductory talk with pictures, giving:

• some ideas on what you might like to photograph
• an indication of techniques you might like to use
• pictures I have taken, which you might like to try your hand at, and places to take them from

10.55 Toilet and getting ready break

11.00 Walk starts We will stop for packed lunch at some point, probably around 1pm (although if you get carried away with photography, eating is entirely optional!).

3pm Walk will finish back in the SWT visitor centre for a toilet/coffee/tea/soft drink and biscuits opportunity.

3.10 Session with a laptop and digital projector to show each other's digital photographs, and discuss how they turned out, and what future ideas you might like to develop.

4.00 - 4.30 pm The meeting will finish in time for the visitor centre staff to pack up behind us and close the centre at 5pm.