On Monday, I attended a close-up animal photography workshop run by Going Digital. This was held at an alpaca farm on the outskirts of Sheffield. The place also rescues and cares for a lot of other animals.

Below are a selection of photos, picked to give a taste of the variety.

This was such an enjoyable day. Even if I’d not taken a camera, it was great fun being there among the animals.
The alpacas especially - but I’m biassed - I have a soft spot for them. The black one in these pictures was especially friendly and stood next to me for most of my time in the field with them.

The tiny animals were photographed indoors and that adds to the difficulty due to the relative lack of light compared to outside. Additionally, the lens I had for getting close was a 50mm macro lens that could focus about an inch in front of it - so I was often having to be very close to get photographs. I think if I was doing this type of photography more often, a longer macro lens would be more convenient.

The meerkats were lovely! - I was sat in the enclosure with them and I wasn’t really thinking about photography - they didn’t mind me being there as long as I didn’t irritate them. Some of them climbed on me, and the one in the picture had a nibble on my shoe.

My next animal related workshop is in September - also run by Going Digital. This will be at Yorkshire Wildlife Park with animals that are larger!