Seabirds of the Shetland Islands: In collaboration with Nikon School

Led by Rachel Bigsby in collaboration with Nikon School, this immersive eight-day workshop explores the Shetland Islands at the height of the seabird season, a landscape of immense cliffs, endless northern light, and wildlife shaped by the raw conditions of the North Atlantic. Combining dramatic land-based colonies with exclusive boat charters, the workshop offers exceptional opportunities to photograph Gannets, Puffins, Skuas, Arctic Terns, Storm Petrels, and more while developing a deeper understanding of behaviour, composition, and observation-led photography in the field.

Workshop Highlights

• Eight days exploring Shetland’s seabird colonies and coastal landscapes

• Four private boat charters to the cliffs and Gannetries of Noss

• Photograph the same diving gannet spectacle featured in Rachel’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year-winning image

• Exclusive late-night charter to Mousa for European Storm-Petrels

• Full day at Hermaness National Nature Reserve on Unst

• Arctic Terns, Great Skuas, Arctic Skuas, Puffins, Fulmars, Black Guillemots, and more

• Small-group environment with just 9 photographers

• Tailored tuition from Rachel Bigsby alongside Nikon School instructors Neil Freeman and Ricci Chera

• Creative techniques including high key, low key, and in-camera multiple exposures

• Strong emphasis on producing finished images in camera

• Access to Nikon mirrorless cameras, super-telephoto lenses, and KASE filters during the workshop

Shetland is shaped by sea, wind, and seabirds. At the height of summer, darkness barely arrives. Light lingers long into the 'Simmer Dim', softening across cliffs crowded with seabirds while the Atlantic continues moving beneath them. It creates an environment where photography rarely feels confined to fixed hours, conditions shift constantly and opportunities emerge unexpectedly.

Across eight days, we explore some of Shetland’s most significant seabird locations by both land and sea, combining dramatic wildlife encounters with a slower, more observational photographic approach. The defining experience for many participants is the series of private charters to Noss. Here, Northern Gannets move through the air with extraordinary precision before plunging into the sea at remarkable speed. From the boat, the sandstone cliffs rise vertically around you while birds dive through constantly changing light and weather. The experience can feel overwhelming at first, which is precisely why repeated time on the water becomes so valuable, allowing you to refine timing, composition, and anticipation with each session. Hermaness offers a different scale entirely. At the northern edge of the United Kingdom, seabirds fill the cliffs in astonishing density. Great Skuas patrol overhead while Puffins gather along grassy slopes and Gannets circle endlessly above the sea stacks. The landscape itself becomes part of the image-making process, vast skies, exposed cliffs, and weather systems moving visibly across the horizon. Some of the most atmospheric moments come later in the day. On Mousa, as the light softens toward near-darkness, European Storm-petrels begin returning silently to the ancient broch and surrounding stonework. Their movements are delicate and fleeting, creating an entirely different photographic challenge from the intensity of the gannetries earlier in the workshop.

Throughout the expedition, locations and timings remain responsive to weather, wildlife activity, and light conditions. The aim is not simply to photograph species, but to develop a more instinctive understanding of how behaviour, atmosphere, and environment come together within an image. Rachel’s teaching combines practical technical guidance from Nikon School with a strong emphasis on observation-led photography. Participants are encouraged to slow down, recognise patterns, anticipate behaviour, and develop a more personal visual style in the field. You will work with Rachel’s distinctive creative techniques including high key and low key imagery, in-camera multiple exposures, and motion-based approaches such as intentional camera movement and shutter drag. Central to her teaching is a commitment to creating images in camera, refining light, composition, and timing in the field, rather than relying on post-production.

Whether you are developing your confidence in wildlife photography or refining an established approach, this workshop offers rare access, immersive field experience, and the opportunity to work closely with wildlife in one of Europe’s most spectacular seabird environments.

👉 Sign up at Nikon School: https://nikonschool.co.uk/course/8077/nikon-school-adventures-shetland/12500

About Rachel

Rachel Bigsby is a wildlife photographer specialising in seabirds, known for work that balances visual impact with behavioural depth. Her images are shaped as much by observation and fieldcraft as they are by composition and light, an approach developed through years of independent study and time spent volunteering with seabirds in remote coastal environments. She is the winner of the 'Natural Artistry' category in Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Portfolio Winner of Bird Photographer of the Year. Her work has been published by organisations including National Geographic, and she is a Nikon Europe creator and RSPB ambassador. Rachel has photographed extensively across the Antarctic, subantarctic islands, the Falklands, the Arctic, and the British Isles, often working in challenging marine conditions. Alongside her photography, she lectures internationally, with talks hosted by institutions such as the Royal Geographical Society and the Natural History Museum. As an IAATO-certified expedition guide, licensed powerboat operator, and advanced first aid professional, she brings a high level of operational experience to her workshops. This ensures that participants are supported not only creatively, but practically, allowing them to focus fully on their work in the field. Her teaching combines tailored, in-field tuition with an emphasis on observation-led photography, helping participants develop a personal visual style while working with light, movement, behaviour and creative technique in a deliberate and considered way.