Photography in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

My day job, as a professional photographer, is producing images in stills and video for commercial clients for broadcast, books and magazine around the world via the RSPB Images, Alamy and POND5 agencies. I consider myself very lucky to do that from a home base in the fabulous Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. With all of this natural beauty and inspiration on my doorstep – life is good.

I still travel though and I think I always will. For me travel, as well as enriching the soul and broadening perspective, has a curious knack of heightening my appreciation of home and the beauty that surrounds us here in Britain’s favourite forest and valley.

The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley although often mentioned as one are in fact two separate and distinct areas. The River Wye and Valley marks the border with Wales to the west. Whilst the Forest of Dean sits in Gloucestershire with the River Severn woven through the landscape like a thread. At Chepstow, the two come together in confluence to fuel the tidal engine that is the magnificent Severn Estuary. Both have different characteristics but in proximity and habitat, complement each other perfectly.

Who wouldn’t want to take a couple of pictures of that!

I established The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley School of Photography in 2009. It all started at Puzzlewood in fact when established client and the then General Manager, Helen, was on a mission to diversify the offering of this little piece of magical woodland by offering photo lessons to visitors. A collaboration with Kate Humble quickly followed to supply all of the photography training for the now, sadly, discontinued Humble by Nature training centre in Monmouthshire. The farm is still going strong though as a centre for fantastic small local businesses.

Back then we all thought that group courses would be the most popular, but my one-to-one sessions have proved over the years that a lot of you also like that personal touch. Since 2009 I have trained hundreds of photographers at all levels and ages immersed in the fresh air and natural splendour of this landscape.

Now you can book small group or one to one session with me at any number of my stunning DeanWye venues or take a photography course together with your Forest Holidays luxury lodge package or book a Group or VIP session at WWT Slimbridge where I’ve been the photography trainer in residence for several years. But still the most popular option are my one-to-one sessions at these venues and in the great outdoors at any time in a fabulous wild venue.

Over the years these bespoke sessions have covered every conceivable genre of photography. I regularly run Dark Skies sessions teaching you how to photograph the stars from the depths of the forest to the tops of the hills or at my dedicated Dark Sky and drone school site. Even in the heat of our ever-warming summers, we can escape to the cool of the forest on even the hottest days our current Mediterranean style weather has to offer. Or choose an architectural or documentary photography session in the lovely towns of Chepstow, Lydney and Monmouth. The attraction of the one to one is its flexibility.

But our wonderful area isn’t just a retreat for the increasingly hotter summers it is also staggeringly beautiful and being immersed in the forest or beside the River Wye is also good for the soul.

The area has year-round interest if you are at all interested in nature. A great population of Hawfinch; Goosanders en masse in early spring on the forest lakes before they move to their breeding territory on the Wye; Roe and Muntjac deer, wild boar; Mandarin ducks arrived as escaped wildfowl from collections but loved it and now they thrive and are spreading naturally across the area. In the unspoilt meadows orchids thrive. There are little fragments of ancient heaths and bogs and, of course, water everywhere. Why not take the big skies view from my favourite spots on the rivers, marvel at the power of nature at the Tufa stream or take in the majesty of the night sky to explore what your camera can do at night time and push your own boundaries of what’s possible. It’s up to you.

Today the Internet is awash with advice in varying quality from the very good to the just plain wrong! So often the answer to any photography question is; it depends. Because we need to balance the camera settings, the ambient light and composition, there are seemingly infinite variables. But you can’t sell too many magazines or collect a million followers telling everyone “It depends” - so, is born the ubiquitous marketeers top ten – a fairly pointless process in my experience but here goes mine;

At One!: It’s meant to be fun.

At Two!  There are only three and a half things you can mess around with.

In at Three! Nothing has changed since 1850 – about when I started..

Fantastic Four! It’s never about the equipment.

At Five! It’s a creative process – be creative.

Six! The answer to any photography question is normally, it depends.

At Seven.. Always beware of “always” in photography. Anyone who tells you to always set your camera up in a particular way is actually telling you more about themselves and their limits as a photographer than they are about photography and they misunderstand the basic tenant of what it is to be a photographer.

If you want to know the killer rest, treat yourself and come on a course with me. Or, make a learning weekend of it. We have some great accommodation partners and run a hotel pick up service for your training sessions. The Forest of Dean and Wye valley is always worth a visit - don’t forget to bring your camera.

Need a voucher for the photo nut in your life or just want to ask something? info@davidbroadbent.com

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Additional notes

A professional photographer for over 40 years David has also been training fellow photographers from complete beginners to professionals in groups and one-to-one sessions in the fabulous Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. Small group courses and bespoke one-to-one sessions in the great outdoors and in partnership with our key commercial partners are available throughout the year. David’s commercial work is represented worldwide by the RSPB Images, Alamy and POND5 agencies. You can see samples of his work at www.davidbroadbent.com or follow his socials.

https://www.instagram.com/davidbroadbent/

https://www.facebook.com/DavidBroadbentPhotography/

https://www.facebook.com/ForestofDeanSchoolofPhotography/