The Meadowlark Nature Festival is a five day event (May 19th to 23rd) that showcases the amazing diversity in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. The festival offers a variety of tours and workshops so that people of all ages can learn more about conversation efforts, natural history and habitat in the area. Take a look at the 2016 Festival at a Glance! Most of the tours are sold out but there are still a few tickets available.

Every year we participate in one or two festival events, usually something that my children can take part in. This year, however, I chose something for myself, a nature photography workshop with professional freelance photographer Caillum Smith of Preserved Light Photography. Before the workshop I did a bit a preparation: checking out Caillum’s website and then realizing I had left my camera outside…in the rain. Akk! My camera was fine, thankfully! It stands up well to the abuse I subject it to, not that I recommend leaving a camera in the rain. I have a LUMIX GX7 which is a digital single lens mirrorless camera. I love how compact and durable it is while still having great control and picture quality. The lens I most often have on my camera, and the one I used for the pictures in this post, is a LUMIX micro 4/3 lens.

During the workshop Caillum shared the basics of photography. I enjoyed having four leisurely hours to play with my camera and discover some new camera controls and skills. The lighting was a bit harsh at first but as the clouds rolled over it was much easier to capture images. I am always looking to improve my photography skills so this workshop was a great opportunity to continue that learning journey. Caillum offers several photography workshops on his website that have peeked my interest. I hope that I’ll more opportunities to work on my photography skills soon!