Photography Workshop at Bradgate Park
25th October 2025
Earlier this month, I was back out with customers at Bradgate Park. We were lucky with the weather and also the photo opportunities. Although the rut appeared to haven't fully started at the time of our Der Rut Photography workshop (we caught only two younger stags clashing their antlers, though we had quite a few mature stags bellowing and chasing each other off). Maybe it was still too warm.
I always love to be at Bradgate Park and have always made sure, I knew what the deer was up to, by spending the day before the actual photography workshop being out in the park on my own to explore. With the exception of the first year back in 2017, I always have done this and got through this some photos myself. On photography workshops my focus is always on my customers, their safety and photo opportunities for them.
Bradgate Park has been a very special venue for me as I was not only looking at that customers are comfortable with their camera and its settings but also keeping a close eye on the animals and their actions plus the related photo opportunities, and also looking out for my customers' safety. The feedback, I have received from photography workshop participants at Bradgate Park has been generally very positive, including on the workshop earlier this month.
Nevertheless, I have now taken the decision not to continue with my Deer Rut Photography workshops at Bradgate Park. This is with huge regret but it is based on getting the right balance between the costs and the pricing while maintaining the standard of quality on the photography workshops (small groups and exploring the park before the day). As I now live in East Suffolk, Bradgate Park is more than 150 miles away from my home. This results in quite expensive travel costs for the journey to and from the park and also the hotel accommodation to explore the park before the workshop and the stay inbetween workshops (hotel costs have increased over recent years like everything else).
This year, I decided to leave the prices for my photography workshops as they are as I am aware that salaries or generally personal income has not increased at the same rate as the costs of living have gone up. Hence, I do need to look more carefully at the costs associated with my photography workshops. And as I said, the costs in view of my workshops at Bradgate Park make it difficult to keep these going at the current pricing and the limited participant numbers.
I have not found anything comparable with both fallow and red deer, which offers such a great surroundings with different type of natural habitat and access to many of the areas, where deer roams, feeds and rest. This means for now, there won't be any Deer Rut Photography workshops, run by me. I still do recommend Bradgate Park for people, who are looking to photograph fallow and red deer, especially if they are living in the East Midlands (like I used to do until a few years ago) or plan to visit the area. It is even worth to plan a stay around Bradgate Park (north of Leicester) just to see and photograph the deer during the rut but also at any other time of the year.
You probably sense based on what I have written here that the decision "to call it a day" at Bradgate Park has been very difficult for me. In the end, I do run however a business and need to look at the financial side of my photography workshops. As with many other places, which are further away for me now, I do hope to be back at Bradgate Park one day as this place is definitely one of my favourite places in Britain.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Bradgate Park Trust for allowing me to run photography workshops at their park, and in particular to Michele for all her support over the years, I have been doing this at Bradgate Park - THANK YOU.
The photos on this page are a small selection of my favourite images from over the years, I have run my photography workshops at Bradgate Park (including images, taken at summer time).
I always love to be at Bradgate Park and have always made sure, I knew what the deer was up to, by spending the day before the actual photography workshop being out in the park on my own to explore. With the exception of the first year back in 2017, I always have done this and got through this some photos myself. On photography workshops my focus is always on my customers, their safety and photo opportunities for them.
Bradgate Park has been a very special venue for me as I was not only looking at that customers are comfortable with their camera and its settings but also keeping a close eye on the animals and their actions plus the related photo opportunities, and also looking out for my customers' safety. The feedback, I have received from photography workshop participants at Bradgate Park has been generally very positive, including on the workshop earlier this month.
Nevertheless, I have now taken the decision not to continue with my Deer Rut Photography workshops at Bradgate Park. This is with huge regret but it is based on getting the right balance between the costs and the pricing while maintaining the standard of quality on the photography workshops (small groups and exploring the park before the day). As I now live in East Suffolk, Bradgate Park is more than 150 miles away from my home. This results in quite expensive travel costs for the journey to and from the park and also the hotel accommodation to explore the park before the workshop and the stay inbetween workshops (hotel costs have increased over recent years like everything else).
This year, I decided to leave the prices for my photography workshops as they are as I am aware that salaries or generally personal income has not increased at the same rate as the costs of living have gone up. Hence, I do need to look more carefully at the costs associated with my photography workshops. And as I said, the costs in view of my workshops at Bradgate Park make it difficult to keep these going at the current pricing and the limited participant numbers.
I have not found anything comparable with both fallow and red deer, which offers such a great surroundings with different type of natural habitat and access to many of the areas, where deer roams, feeds and rest. This means for now, there won't be any Deer Rut Photography workshops, run by me. I still do recommend Bradgate Park for people, who are looking to photograph fallow and red deer, especially if they are living in the East Midlands (like I used to do until a few years ago) or plan to visit the area. It is even worth to plan a stay around Bradgate Park (north of Leicester) just to see and photograph the deer during the rut but also at any other time of the year.
You probably sense based on what I have written here that the decision "to call it a day" at Bradgate Park has been very difficult for me. In the end, I do run however a business and need to look at the financial side of my photography workshops. As with many other places, which are further away for me now, I do hope to be back at Bradgate Park one day as this place is definitely one of my favourite places in Britain.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Bradgate Park Trust for allowing me to run photography workshops at their park, and in particular to Michele for all her support over the years, I have been doing this at Bradgate Park - THANK YOU.
The photos on this page are a small selection of my favourite images from over the years, I have run my photography workshops at Bradgate Park (including images, taken at summer time).