Isle Of Harris And Lewis Photography Workshop (11th to 16th October 2026)

Description

Join me on a 6-day photography, small group size, workshop on the stunning and dramatic Isle of Harris & Lewis. Capture stunning sea scapes, long exposures, white sand beaches, miles of sand dunes, millenia old standing stones, mountain views and rugged cliff tops.

These beautiful islands offer some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, often topping polls, and it’s easy to see why. However, there are also dramatic, rocky landscapes to be captured as well as the classic Callanish Stones. Harris which is the southern island has lots of coastal photography to offer, and it is where we will spend most of our time, but head north to Lewis (which is actually not a separate island) and the landscape vastly changes becoming more rugged. It is also an island with a gorgeous mountain backdrop, especially from Luskentyre or on the road to Hushinish.

The great thing about Harris & Lewis is that even in poorer weather you can quite often capture dramatic and moody images and long exposures on the beautiful white sand beaches and while we all love those beautiful sunsets and golden light, you can still come away with some amazing images even in poorer conditions.

When I first visited here in 2018, I loved the place so much that I extended my stay from 1 week to 2 weeks! I have now enjoyed running a number of workshops here and thoroughly enjoy every visit. The conditions and ever-changing sea scapes makes it a different experience each year.

We will be staying in a charming self-catering cottage with 4 bedrooms on the Golden Road and overlooking the sea. I have used this cottage for every workshop. It is ideally located for all of the locations on Harris, and we are just a 20-minute drive from Luskentyre. A self-catering cottage is great as it allows us to mingle when we are not out with the camera, do post-processing, and is just generally more sociable. As we are in a self-catering cottage, it also gives us much more flexibility to come and go as we please and also cook meals in the cottage (if you wish). A certain amount of flexibility will be required as we may be out shooting during some meal times, but we will discuss on a day-to-day basis. For those who don’t wish to cook, Tarbert is also just 10 minutes away and you are welcome to eat out where possible, providing we are back in time from our sunset shoots. I always like for us to have a meal out on the last evening though to sign off the week and celebrate a good week of photography.

There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms in the cottage, enabling you to have a room to yourself, and towels & linen are provided. If you would like to bring a partner or friend, then there is a 50% discount available for the second person to those wishing to do so and happy to share a room. There is only one opportunity for this discount, as it would raise the number of participants from 3 to 4. There are two double rooms and one twin room, all rooms are spacious. Rooms are handed out on the basis of order of booking.

The cottage provides WiFi, kitchen facilities, a washer/dryer, a lounge and a dining area.

I have put the start time on the first day as 13:00 meeting at the cottage in Grosebay (10 minutes from the Tarbert ferry) but the ferry timetable is not available yet, I will adjust accordingly once this has been confirmed. If you are travelling on foot, I will also be happy to meet you in Tarbert. You should make your own way to the Island. You can either get the ferry from Uig to Tarbert, Ullapool to Stornoway or you can fly into Stornoway. If travelling on foot to Stornoway please be aware no public transport runs on Sunday – you may wish to arrive on the Saturday and stay in Tarbert.

Upon booking you will be sent an order confirmation email which includes meeting details, kit list, discount codes, and a questionnaire for you to fill out. This questionnaire just allows me to get information about you so I can plan the day appropriately for the whole group.

I run these workshops mainly focused on sunrise and sunset with breaks in the day. However, if the weather is good we may be out for prolonged periods. We take a completely flexible approach and I will inform you on a day-by-day basis. If the weather is poor for example we may also leave sunrise but spend more time out at the coast in the day. Post-processing can be done in the cottage, either during periods of bad weather or in the evening.

I run relaxed workshops that require flexibility. With the Scottish weather, plans can often change and I will advise on a day-by-day basis what we are to do. I aim to take you out and show you how I would work as if I were there on my own. 

Throughout the week we will look at basic techniques such as focusing, using a tripod, use of filters vs exposure blending, composition, working with the light and much more. We will also look at more advanced techniques as the week progresses and there will be plenty of processing sessions where we can showcase our images (if you’re comfortable) to each other.

This course has been listed as easy difficulty but please read the itinerary closely below. Most locations are less than 15 minutes from the car. If you have any health concerns, please contact me for advice prior to booking. Please also check out the photo gallery and video below so you can see some of the locations we will be visiting and what to expect from your experience.

Itinerary:

Below is a rough itinerary to give you an idea of what the trip entails. We are likely to change the order depending on the weather and light. We essentially aim to do sunrise and sunset every day but if the weather dictates, we may be out in the day for longer.

Day 1: Meet around 14:00 at the cottage to go onwards to Luskentyre for sunset. We will do a quick meet and greet with everyone before heading down to the coast. This is a nice relaxed day where I will get a chance to know you, teach you some of the basics, and play with filters.

Day 2: Sunrise at the Manish viewpoint. Photograph Scarista Beach before heading to Scarista Salt Flats for sunset.

Day 3: Sunrise at Callanish Stone Circle followed by Mangersta Sea Stacks and Stac A’Phris. This is a long day on Lewis, trying to do everything up there in one day. We may get back before sunset depending on the weather.

Day 4: Sunrise on the Golden Road photographing one of the many lochs. Sunset at Hushinish with a stop-off to photograph the mountain scenery on the way.

Day 5: Sunrise at Garry Beach near Stornoway. Sunset at Luskentyre or Scarista if we didn’t get the conditions here before. Head out for a meal after sunset.

Day 6: Sunrise at Little Beach before checking out at 10am.

We will also likely tag on some other coastal locations before the sunset spot each day depending on where we end up. If the weather is overcast we could spend more time in the day shooting.

The itinerary is subject to change, usually due to weather and more suitable locations may be scouted in these instances.

There is a £400 non-refundable booking fee required to secure your place with the balance due no later than 8-weeks before the start of the workshop. I have added the ability to pay the full workshop/balance via the website if you wish to use something like Klarna/PayPal Credit or your credit card.