Samphire

WORKSHOP WEEKEND AMELAND

Friday October 10 - Sunday October 12, 2025 - Starting at € 545
Oystercatchers and bar-tailed godwits


INTRO
Suddenly all the oystercatchers, sandpipers and curlews choose air. The viewfinder image is filled with birds, the sound of calling oystercatchers and thousands of wings dominates. Cameras click, rattle. What a spectacle! The cause appears to be a peregrine falcon, now flying low over the sandbank.

We are on Ameland, the Wadden diamond. At high tide, wading birds seek out sandbanks and shallow water and thus come close to the coast of Ameland, within range of our cameras.

Do you also want to experience this? Then book a weekend workshop on Ameland led by award-winning Amelander photographer Anja Brouwer and award-winning full time professional photographer Martin van Lokven.

Besides birds on the mudflats, there is of course much more to photograph on Ameland. During this workshop we photograph young dunes on the North Sea beach at sunrise, the Wadden coast, the beach, poles on the beach, sand structures and maybe even a seal on the beach. In the salt marshes samphire turns red, worth a photographic visit. Sometimes even a red-breasted goose. Depending on the weather of that weekend, we look at where we can best take pictures.

We will stay in Buren, where we have two luxury villas at our disposal. From there we cover the mudflats in the south, the sun in the west and the beach in the north with three cars. We have a beamer and projection screen, so that we can discuss photos taken during the weekend.

INTENDED FOR
What we especially want to teach you this weekend is to learn to look. Anticipating what we will see. The workshop is accessible to everyone, but it is not a basic workshop in which we extensively discuss the basics (shutter speed, aperture, ISO). This way we can spend the time we have on photography, on capturing the beautiful moments. With two workshop leaders we can give you a lot of attention. First and foremost is enjoying Ameland, being inspired by nature and having fun taking pictures!

WORKSHOP LEADERS
Anja Brouwer was born and raised on Ameland. She knows the most beautiful places on Ameland and knows a lot about them. Nature photography is her passion and she has won several prizes with her photos, including winner of the Frans Lanting Photo Award WWF! In 2021 she won her first international prize at Big Picture, followed in 2022 by a highly commended at MontPhoto. At the Lowland Photo Contest 2022 she won the People and Nature category and had an honorable mention in the Birds category. She has won several prizes at the Groene Camera. In 2023 she even became the overall winner with her series about Oystercatchers on the Wadden and she was awarded the title Nature Photographer of the Year!

Martin van Lokven is a professional photographer for 25 years. He works in assignment for Natuurmonumenten, National Geographic, publishers, communication agencies and travel organisations. He has been guiding travel within and outside Europe for almost 30 years, the last 20 years special photo tours. Workshops he has been giving in the Netherlands since 2008. Originally a biologist, he left a carreer as biologist behind him 30 years ago, to pursue a carreer as photographer. Martin is winner of several awards, including overall winner of the international Oasis Photo Contest.

PROGRAM
Depending on the weather and the condition of the weekend, we’ll see where we can best shoot. We will discuss the final program on site in consultation with you.

INFORMATION
After your registration you will receive additional information by email.
We would like to inform you as well as possible. If you have any questions, please MAIL or call me.

REGISTRATION & BOOKING
Book and pay via my workshop website WWW.WORKSHOPNATUURFOTOGRAFIE.NL.

TRAILER

Information

Date: Friday October 10 - Sunday October 12, 2025
Time: Friday 12.30 - Sunday 14.15 hour
Location: Ameland, Buren
Minimum group size: 6
Maximum group size: 10
Fee: starting at € 545

Photographers on a beach at sunset.

Included

- Boat return
- All transport on the island (car and bicycle)
- Breakfast (2x), lunch (2x) and dinner (2x)
- Drinks
- Catering team!
- Photo reviews

NOT INCLUDED
- Parking in Holwerd
- Single room supplement € 55 - € 95
- Electric bicycle surcharge € 20
- Travel and cancellation insurance

Sunrise above beach at low tide

Required

- Camera and lenses *
- If you have a macro lens, take it with you
- Do you have a tripod, bring it **
- Full battery(s), charger(s) and sufficient memory
- If you have filters, take them with you
- Clothes that can get dirty
- Garbage bag to sit and/or lie on or to put your camera bag on
- Boots or hiking boots that allow you to walk through little water
- Take the manual of your camera with you just to be sure
- Possibly your laptop and card reader

*   Bring all the lenses you normally shoot with.
** Around sunrise and sunset, a tripod is necessary for sharp photos.