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David Speight Photography

Whitby landscape photography workshop

Whitby landscape photography workshop

Whitby landscape photography workshop.

The historic fishing port of Whitby on the east coast of Yorkshire has masses to offer photographically. There is the Olde Worlde charm of the whitewashed cottages with their red pantiled rooftops which give the ‘Old Town’ its distinctive character. On the clifftop above the town itself there is the imposing presence of Whitby Abbey, and of course there are the iconic and instantly recognisable east & west piers which mark the entrance to Whitby Harbour. Travel no more than a stones throw up or down the east coast from this most picturesque of Yorkshire Coastal towns, and you have the expansive beach at Sandsend to the north with it's battered sea defences, and the fantastic geology, cliffs and sea stacks of Saltwick Bay to the south. With so much photographic potential available to us, Whitby and the east coast of Yorkshire are the perfect area to learn all aspects of landscape photography whatever your ability level.

Rather than sticking rigidly to any kind of location plan and set times, we will instead attempt to react to prevailing weather conditions and lighting. However, it is good to have an idea of how the day will break down, so here is a brief possible itinerary.

In the summer months, we’ll more than likely meet around midday and work up until sunset with a break for food and refreshments around the midpoint. For the winter workshops we meet in time for sunrise. We will start by meeting at our pre-agreed point in Whitby. From here it's likely that we’ll head to the area around the east and west piers and the harbour. For anyone wishing to try their hand at long exposure here, I have filter kits available from both Lee and Kase filters, and these are available to try out. After we've made the most of the area around the piers and the harbour, possibly trying out some long exposures, we can head to any one of a number of other locations around the Whitby area.

Throughout the day it's possible we'll visit anywhere between at least three to five different locations. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants in the area, so we will stop for a bite to eat and refreshments around the midpoint of the day. If time permits, I can also demonstrate some of the basic steps used to process images using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom software on the laptop. This will also give us a chance to review the images we've already captured during the first half of the day. As always, group sizes are kept to a maximum of five people, and all tuition is tailored to individual requirement by way of a short and basic questionnaire so you can get exactly what you want from the day. Walking on the day is not too strenuous, though we will more than likely head down the cliff path into Saltwick Bay, which is quite steep, usually taking around 15 to 20 minutes.

Please see below a selection of previous client testimonials.

"Hi David. Thanks very much for the two day North Yorkshire Coast workshop last weekend. I absolutely loved the weekend. With your help, advice and knowledge, I have hopefully moved on now from someone who only shot photographs in automatic, to someone who is now beginning to understand and explore the real potential of my camera. The photographs I took are stunning and by far and away the best I have ever taken.

I now need to practice further all I learnt from you, but recognising there is still more to learn, I will be considering booking another course with you, just waiting for slightly warmer weather!"

Nigel R

"Hi David. A big thank you for the one-to-one course held on the East Coast on Wednesday. You started with really basic help on manual shooting and helped me understand what my micro four-thirds is capable of. Much more than I thought, and I can't wait to keep practicing non-automatic images!! We had amazing weather, but your knowledge of the tides and the timing of the sunset set me up for some beautiful sunset shots that I didn't think I would be able to get. You have really fired my imagination with your references to patterns and lines, and I can't wait to get the tripod out again in Scotland next week. Thank you very much. Sue."

Sue S

  • 12th Jan 2025 - Available
    08th Jun 2025 - Available
    06th Aug 2025 - Available

  • £150 / £50.00

    • Full Days tuition

    • Transport to Whitby

    • Food/Drink

    • Personal/equipment insurance

  • Low - Average - No long walks

  • One Day Workshop

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