Jonathon Southend on Sea:

Hi all, thank-you for such a great photographic day at your big cat venue, by luck the weather was perfect but it was all the little tips and advice that really clinched it. The help and advice for my partner who is a novice was really brilliant, by the end of day I think she took around 450 images on a Canon G9, This is our second photographic day with David Southard the first being Gorilla Safari again great advice and tips. Looking forward to another day soon

Fran, Gillingham:

Hi everyone, I would like to thank you for a brilliant day at Woburn Safari Park. I had a great time and am very pleased with my pictures.

Duncan: 

David, just a quick e-mail to say thanks for an excellent Macro Studio Experience Session. To be able to take macro pictures in a studio environment was very interesting and something I hadn't done before. 

Greta, Bampton:

Just wanted to say what a lovely time I had on Monday at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, Digital SLR Training Day and to thank you for all your patience and the help that you gave to me. You were right when you said the penny would drop eventually regarding aperture, speed, exposure - it finally has! So thank you very much for teaching me the basics of my camera. It was such a useful and enjoyable day that I have asked for some more vouchers in the hope I can book for the day in June at the Park!

Elizabeth:

Essex:Dear Wild Arena, I just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic day at Worburn last Saturday. The weather couldn't have turned out better and my Dad and I had a great time.

Georgina, Hitchin: 

Dear everyone at Wild Arena,  I just wanted to take some time to thank you for the day I had on Saturday for the Bird Photography Day. Personally I found it thoroughly enjoyable and certainly learnt a lot! As a person who is fairly new to photography with an SLR camera I couldn't have asked for better guides, especially when I was given that lens to use for the whole day. It could have been a very intimidating day, as many people there were quite the experts with photography but I felt at ease throughout the day. The organisation of the day was great, with the photography guides and falconer on hand at every occasion. 

Ken, Midlands: 

I just wanted to say thanks to you, Wild Arena, Safari Consultants and the guides for a great safari to Tanzania: A Photographer’s Paradise.

Jenny, Cyprus: 

At long last I'm getting round to doing some emails - instead of dreaming over my shots of Rwanda and Kenya and wishing I was still there!

Thank you so much for organizing the trip and for the help you gave me. I loved every minute of the holiday. It was a good group and there was so much to see, do and photograph. Everyone I see gets an earful of how wonderful Rwanda, the gorillas, Kenya and the game drives were. People seem to be disappearing when they see me coming now - I can't think why!

Gillian, Hampshire: 

Once again, thanks for a brilliant holiday in Rwanda and Kenya and thanks also for all your help on the photographic front. I've loaded my pics onto the computer and am really pleased with them so I have plenty to occupy myself over the next few evenings organising all 1,382 of them!

Hope to hear from you soon and look forwarding to taking another Wild Arena holiday

Lynn, Essex: 

Thank you for sending the link to your images of the group. The images you took in the clearing with the second group of Gorillas certainly make you realise how close we were. Thanks Pete, for a wonderful trip and for all your help.

Eren, London: 

Thanks again for your time on the weekend with the wolves, it was a brilliant day and only made better with the snow. I have attached my favourite photo for the picture of the month competition!

Phil from Swindon: 

I just wanted to drop you a quick line to say a very big thank you for a wonderful day at the BWC on Saturday for the Secret Nature of Britain workshop.

David Jones: 

I would just like to say that the day at the Wildlife Park yesterday was outstanding; in particular the Wild Arena staff running the day were fantastic as well as the location. 

I will definitely be attending another day.

John and Lesley, Surrey: 

Hi Peter, We had an absolutely amazing time in the Galapagos Islands and many, many thanks for all you did to make it so enjoyable. We loved the place, the photography and the company, so altogether an unforgettable trip. We are still going through and sorting our pics so re-living the whole thing. We have looked through most of our images now and are really pleased. We have got some really good ones like Sealions with fish and pulling Iguana's tail, all sorts of birds in flight, just hatched Nazca Booby - wonderful - and some really good tortoises, etc, etc. Excellent, and many we can use for competitions. Thank you once again for everything and very best wishes.

Jenny, Cyprus: 

Dear Peter, Many thanks for a brilliant trip to the Galapagos Islands. I enjoyed every moment of it! I've looked at my shots and I am pleased with them. Thanks also for the birthday cards and arranging the cake. I really had a birthday to remember. Looking forward to seeing you in January for Rwanda. All the best.

Cathy, Bognor Regis:

Two friends, my husband and I attended our first animal workshop and had an amazing time being inches away from the largest cats I have ever seen. Our day was led by Janet who could not have been a more pleasant workshop leader. From my day's workshop I would like to submit the attached photograph - I really like this photo because I think it looks more like a pastel sketch than a photo - I hope you like it too. Our next workshop is going to be macro which the four of us are really looking forward to already even though we have not yet set a date!

Hugh, St Albans: 

Hi David, Just wanted to write and say thanks so much for the Macro Masterclass last Friday - it was brilliant and has given me a lot more confidence to use my camera in manual mode. Thanks also for the loan of your camera after the mishap with my lens. I've sent it off to Sigma so hopefully they should be repairing it. I got some great shots on the day, but I thought you might like to see this one which I think is the best - I just can't believe that I managed to take it myself! For a beginner to macro photography, and photography in general, this course has really spurred me on to be more creative and experimental with my camera and the shots it takes. Thanks. Hopefully I'll see you some time in the not too distant future for another course!

Sally, Kent: 

Once again I had a fantastic day out with Wild Arena at the Wolves. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and got some great shots. I would recommend this workshop to anyone, fantastic day, excellent information and great guides. The staff at the centre were very informative and helpful, and Janet and David from Wild Arena were super. Many thanks for a great day!

Oddy, Bedford:

Just a quick note to say a big thank you for the brilliant Wolf experience which I attended on Friday 17th April, it was awesome getting close to the wolves and they were all so magnificent, I am now looking for my Christmas present on your site so I may be in contact soon. I have also attached a photo for you, this ones my favourites!

Martin: 

“Hi, thanks for the great day out at the big cats workshop last week. I hope to be joining Wild Arena soon as a member and may be my son as well.

Ron, Matlock:

"Thanks for a very interesting and rewarding session. I learnt so much and thoroughly enjoyed inter-acting with your wonderful little creatures!’

Marilyn, Woking:

I'm very proud to tell you that I won the Mary Darke trophy at Guildford Photographic Society tonight 

(It's the nature print of the year competition) with this picture taken on your Macro Experience session. I think I'll still be wearing the grin on Saturday when I see you again for Big Cats!!

Simon, Chester: 

Hi David, Just a quick note to say many thanks for the Macro Master class workshop yesterday. It gave a wonderful insight in to close-up photography. The variety of creatures and the studio set-up and lighting was superb. Thanks also for the loan of the macro lens on the day. Thanks, once again.

Ali, Chippenham:

Thanks for a fantastic time on your Digital training days, and sorry it has taken while to say it! I had a great time and came away much more confident in my head that I could use my camera properly! I am in the process of completely the membership payment this evening, and as we spoke about would then like to go ahead and book two further courses. Once again many thanks for a truly magical experience !

Gary & Ross, Redditch: 

Its going to take us ages to sort thought the hundred of images we took on your Macro Masterclass day so I thought I would drop you a note now to say thanks! We had a great day - we are both well used to VIP treatment on Wild Arena days, but with just 2 of us this day was even better than usual. Spending time with each subject has given us a lot of nice poses to choose from, but this is one that has caught my eye from the original sort through. I'll try and send you a couple more when they are processed (which will be a while!)

Thanks again for the loan of the lens (which is impressively sharp), and hope to see you again soon.

Pauline Hertfordshire: 

I chose Nature in close-up as my FREE experience day after becoming a member of Wild Arena and seeing some of the gallery photos on the website. I had a really enjoyable and informative day. It’s the first time I have used studio lighting and flash at the same time. I achieved some great shots and learnt some new techniques. Now I’m trying to decide which workshop to try next.

Steve, London: 

Just a quick note to express my thanks for a wonderful week in Norway! I am already in discussion about a return trip including the great grey owl!

Roy, South Wales: 

Many thanks for a most interesting, informative and enjoyable day at the Macro Master Class, yesterday. I have been reviewing the shots, and have some great pictures. I have printed out a couple of the Chameleon feed shots - awesome!! Many thanks again.

Diana, Northants: 

Thank you very much for the macro day, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps the biggest help of all is realising that lighting is not impossible to create, even though we had the advantage of everything set up to suit the occasion perfectly and I came home full of inspiration for trying out things myself! It is amazing how little 'tweeking' in Photoshop my pictures needed which, of course, is how it should be but the correct lighting certainly helped. Thank you, too, for the loan of the 100mm lens - I quite understand and agree with your reasons for me using it. 

Anyway thanks for a great day.

Fan and James, Sussex: 

Many thanks indeed for a superb Macro Master Class day on Monday which was most instructive and entertaining both from the photographic and animal points of view. Well worth while the trip across Sussex in the freezing weather!

David, Swindon: 

Hello, Just wanted to say a big thanks for a fantastic day on your Big Cats 2 event on the 4th January! All your staff were very friendly and helpful, and I can't wait to book some more workshops!

Thanks again!

Bob, Southampton: 

I thought you might like to see a picture taken on the Macro Master Class on the 13th November. I would also like to thank you for your help and hospitality, and for making it such an enjoyable day. I look forward to seeing you again at the ‘Big Cats Day’ on March 7th!

Beth: 

Just wanted to say what a great time Dave and I had on Saturday. We really enjoyed it, everyone was so friendly and we got some great photos - attached is my favourite. 

Anyway thanks for a really enjoyable day, I'm sure we will be booking something with you next year, I have my eye on the big cats next!

Pauline Worrall, Hertfordshire: 

I became a member of Wild Area and got the opportunity to go and photograph the seals at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire. What a great day out. We had a guide that checked the tide was right so that we could spend most of the morning photographing the adult seals in the surf and the bull seals squabbling over the ladies. After lunch we made our way to the nursery area, which although drew quite a crowd you could see pups of all ages.

It really pays to be a member as you get deals hot off the press (like this one). Photographing the seals at Donna Nook at this time of year was one of the best photographic experiences I have had and in the next few weeks I will be choosing my next adventure with Wild Arena. Thanks for a great days photography.

Cath: 

I attended the New Forest Landscape and Macro workshop with Heather Angel on October 25th 2008. The weather was 95% kind to us with subdued lighting, occasional bursts of bright sunlight and, I think, only about 3 spots of rain! 

Heather and David of Wild Arena were brilliant and attentive with their advice and tutoring; I didn't know my tripod could do some of the things David got it to do! I was also given invaluable advice regarding exposure compensation - something I'd never fully understood before this workshop!

An excellent day was had by all; Wild Arena's knowledge of the area we were photographing in, the friendly bunch of people involved and the expert technical knowledge from our two guides all helped the day to be a most enjoyable learning experience.

Caroline,

New Malden. I had a wonderful day at the big cat venue in Kent on 10th May and all the staff there were really helpful and friendly! I will certainly be booking more sessions with you in the future! Many Thanks.

Ffion, Chester: 

This is just to say thank you for a fabulous trip! We had a great time in India and would love to go back!

I had expected to love the wildlife obviously, and I did, but I hadn't anticipated enjoying the people, the traffic, the colours, the trains and so on as much as I did! I'm glad that we did the whole trip, not just because we saw the lions but also because we saw so much more of rural India than we otherwise would. I like some of the people photos every bit as much as the wildlife ones!

Thanks again for your hard work in India!

Sally, Kent: 

I had a brilliant time at The Big Cats 2 day on 9/5/08. I couldn't wait to get home and see the shots I had taken. I had 920 pictures that turned out great, and a fantastic day again on one of your workshops. This workshop is highly recommended. The staff there were very informative, David and Peter gave excellent advise on how to get the best shots. I cannot wait to go on my next workshop at the ‘The Rainforest Experience’!. Thank you for a fantastic day.

Fran, London. 

I attach a picture which was taken on the showery, but wonderfully atmospheric day at the Hawk Conservancy trust on weds 30th April. What a great visit - despite the rain....thank you!

Chris, Sheffield: 

Just wanted to say "thanks" for the Big Cats Workshop in Kent on 26th April. It was really well organised and we had a great time. Have some gorgeous shots, despite the initial problem with my 40d. Thanks once again, hope you all have a good summer.

Lis, Reading:  

Hi - just wanted to say thanks for an amazing day at your Big Cats 1 event on Sunday. Also wanted to share this photo I took of ‘Sade’ for your Photo of the Month competition. I ended up with just over 700 photos so it was hard to pick the best! I think my absolute favourite is the one I took of Sade right before she leapt at the fence where I was standing but it's a bit blurry – too close!

Thanks again for a wonderful day,

Joan, Kent: 

Thank you and everyone else concerned both for the splendid day with the wolves and for the photography we enjoyed. I am not far short of my 66th birthday and I cannot think of a day in my life which I have enjoyed more. Certainly I never entertained the idea that I should have an opportunity to touch a wolf let alone have three of the little rascals cavorting about the place looking for opportunities to have fun with a group of people. 

I enjoyed every moment of the schedule of events which had been organised for us but even though it provided the least opportunity to take photos, the last session with the cubs took first prize - it was simply delightful. Being a keen rather than a skilful photographer my expectations about the fruits of my labours with my camera were not high but luckily, by some fluke, I have quite a few respectable (at least by my standards) shots to show for the day! As it happens I did not need to resort to "borrowing" any additional memory cards on the day but I think it a really thoughtful additional facility to have been provided as indeed was the presence of the expert photographers to offer help and advice.

So, a heartfelt "thank you" to everyone and also the wolves themselves, come to think of it.

Sally, Kent 

I would just like to say a big thank you for the excellent day I had at Port Lympne Yesterday. It was totally amazing. I cannot wait to book another experience with you very soon. I have some fantastic shots, and cannot stop talking about it. Best day ever!

Mike, St Helens.

Thank you very much for an extremely enjoyable and productive day at Knowsley! I really appreciated your photographic guidance and knowledge of the subject matter and despite the weather, we made best use of the day and got some wonderful results! I hope to come back soon!

Louise, Liverpool: 

I just wanted to thank you both for such a fantastic day on Sunday at Knowsley Safari Park. My Dad really enjoyed the day and even though my technical knowledge is basic, I really enjoyed the day too. You've inspired me to learn more!! All the animals were great, but I have to admit that surprisingly, the otters were my favourite! Hope to see you again sometime. Good luck with the rest of the courses.

Hazel, West Ruislip.: 

I just want to thank you for your help and advice and to let you know that I had a fabulous day on Saturday. I took over 750 photos and am really surprised at how many turned out well. As this was my first experience of doing anything remotely like this my composition wasn't always great and I tended to stick with my tweaked Programme Mode (not Auto), though I did gain confidence enough to experiment at times, however I received some great advice and once I have taken all that on board, I'm really looking forward to going on another of your days. I'm definitely interested in the Wolf workshop you hold and probably the Gorilla one too and will most surely go back to the Tigers with you again within the next year!

Please do pass on my thanks to and Mark for a most memorable day that will stay with me for many years to come.

Leanne, London 

Thank You for a wonderful day down in Kent with the Big Cats. It really was a great day; not only being able to photograph the cats for as long as we wanted but also just to be away from it all in the countryside. I came away with some fantastic shots despite the rather poor English summer! Very well organised and thoroughly enjoyable day that I would recommend to anyone with a love of animals and/or photography. All I need to do now is decide which workshop next!

Tony, Derby.: 

Thank you so much for a GREAT day out at the Hawk Conservancy on Friday! It was really enjoyable, great photo opportunities and I learned so much, the advice and help was really appreciated. Going through my shots at the weekend I could see how the photos improved as the day went on - that’s down to Wild Arena. You’ll be seeing me at another workshop, just got to make my mind up about which one next!

Terry, Hampshire:  

“The British Wildlife Centre in Surrey was the location for the first experience of a Wild Arena workshop for 10 members from Farnborough Camera Club in Hampshire. It proved to be an exciting day, as this was the first time that any of us had been so close to foxes, wild cats and otters, enabling us to get some excellent close-ups of these attractive animals. With some beautiful owls, deer and several other species to photograph, it was an excellent opportunity to get some unique wildlife images. David’s expert photographic input was most helpful, while Matt, the keeper, had the knack of getting the animals to pose – well some of the time. We all thoroughly enjoyed our day and are looking forward to the next one.”

Ilana, London: 

I just wanted to say many, many thanks for a glorious day on your 'Wild Kites and Eagles' workshop. David was a great teacher and guided us through the day brilliantly. All I can say is 10 out of 10! 

Dawn, Northampton

I just wanted to say thank you to you and your team as well as the guys at the wolf sanctuary for a wonderful day, both Jessica and I had a very enjoyable day. The wolves are beautiful...and the chance to get to meet them was unforgettable. I'm sure we will be coming along to another of your photographic days soon.

Caroline, Oxfordshire: 

“Thank you so much for our wonderful day last Saturday at Cotswold Wildlife Park. We had a really good time and Barry got some great pictures, particularly the wolf and Saboo, the Lion and weren't we lucky with the weather!

Sue, Kent: 

“It was late autumn when I visited the sanctuary, a lovely calm day when my friend Chris and I arrived to be greeted by the organisers. After coffee and a short introduction, and a safety chat, we were taken to see the wolf cubs, where we were encouraged to meet them on a one to one basis, under the watchful eyes of the handlers. There were plenty of opportunities to tack photos. At one point, the cubs were fed which encouraged them to interact, thereby creating some wonderful opportunities to take action shots

After the cubs we met the adults wolves, magnificent creatures, long snouts, long teeth and although kept in captivity and constantly in touch with human beings, these were wild creatures. Ample opportunity was there to handle these animals under supervision with much scope for photography. I can thoroughly recommend a day at the Sanctuary.”

Helen, Wiltshire: I just wanted to feed back what a great day last Saturday was at the Cotswold Wildlife Park for the Digital SLR training.  Having had a number of years struggling with some of photography's most basic concepts, your morning session using hose pipe and paddling pool analogies finally enabled the penny to drop!  It has fired me up with renewed enthusiasm to go out and just take pictures again with the knowledge that I may know what I am doing now – thank you!

Mike Needham, Chesterfield:

"I have only one general comment about the trip [Kenya:North & South and Great Migration extension], brilliant! I really enjoyed the trip and it managed to exceed both my expectations and my hopes. The latter being a very tall order. The effort that you personally put in both before and during the trip really paid off. I know some may say that it was your job to do that but I think that you often went further than you needed to. So thank you, it was really appreciated."

Chris, Avon: 

“I am sure you know, but I did have the time of my life, everything was better than I could have ever expected. I will tell all that will listen what a great photographic safari you organize.”

Peter, Berkshire: 

“I'd just like to thank you for a superb day. I think I learned more in one day with you than I've learned in several weeks of book-reading - nothing quite like a practical workshop to make things sink in”

Gary and Ross, Redditch: 

“The staff of the centre were tremendous all day, making sure that birds were positioned nicely for our photos – nothing was too much trouble - and the birds seemed to be trying to help too! Plenty of photographic advice was on offer, and I’ve certainly got some of my best shots to date ... I felt like a VIP all day”.

Pauline, Essex:

 ‘Just a quick note to thank you for a truly wonderful day at Woburn Safari Park. I have now been on a number of Wild Arena workshops and they have always exceeded my expectations. We were allowed much closer to the animals than the general public and I therefore believe that no one could fail to come home with some photographs to be proud of - even me! Being allowed in the cage to hand feed the Black and White Ruff Lemurs was a fitting end to a very magical day. Thank you also for the loan of the image stabiliser lens which came in very useful when I made eye contact with one of the Tigers!’

Hamish, Berkshire: 

The Kites and Eagles day was a birthday present from my wife and proved to be a real treat. The wild arena team and sanctuary staff worked together to stage superb opportunities to photograph the birds in natural and varied surroundings. The highlights were definately the flying displays, both private and public, which were both challenging to photograph and wonderful to watch. Up close and personal with the majestic subjects is the name of the day and friendly advice is always on hand to help achieve the best results. A special day out.

Chris, Surrey: 

Many thanks for the D-SLR course at Port Lympne. I was concerned that my limited knowledge might hinder me having only used the camera on the Auto settings but this was definitely not the case. After the course I understand more about my camera and am looking forward to getting out and trying to use the A, S, & M settings – at least some of the time! I found the analogy to the paddling pool particularly useful in getting to grips with understanding aperture and shutter settings alongside the basic principles of the camera itself. I was pleased with many of the pictures I took today and look forward to getting to know my camera better. The zoo & mansion house are a wonderful setting for the course & offered a great range of photo opportunities. No doubt I will be back for another workshop to achieve some photos ‘without bars’ on 1 of your workshop days!

Karen, Basingstoke 

I'm a regular visitor to the Zoo, probably visiting once a month. And I always end up taking 2 or 3 reels of film. But we obviously don't normally get the opportunity to cross safety barriers and hand-feed animals and really get as close to them as we did on Saturday - we felt very privileged! It was fantastic to be able to touch wild animals but I also learnt so much from the photography aspect. I've never had the confidence to press buttons and experiment with changing apertures, etc. So from that point of view, it was extremely useful and it's given me the confidence to be a bit more creative. I have actually booked to come along again in July. I would be happy to recommend the day to anyone. Thanks again for all your help and advice and making it such a great day. See you in July!

Helen, Salisbury. 

It was a brilliant day and well worth the money. The close encounters with the animals was an experience not to be missed - thank you!

Jonathan Ryan: 

I was down at the Zoo day at the weekend. I had a great time, in fact I enjoyed it so much that I rang today to book up for the big cat day in July!

Paul Malaure: 

Thanks for a gread day at the Zoo last week. Not only did I have a great time but I also learnt some stuff. Your approach was spot on, great knowledge of the animals in a relaxed and fun enviroment. I am keen to book up for the big cat Workshop.