A fabulous photo day out at Marwell Zoo which occupies the grounds of the former Marwell Manor and where the old house itself Marwell Hall, with its connection to Jane Seymour of Henry VIII fame, still stands.

Mind you the current house is an 1816 rebuild of the original old house but with the medieval hall of the latter incorporated into it. Enough, however, of history and back to modern times and our excellent photography experience day organised and run by those fantastic people at Marwell Zoo. As it turned out it was one of the hottest days of the year but we were well and sensibly cared for by our hosts, but I guess they were well used to looking after strange exotic species including the weird photographer kind 😁.

There were five of us in the group and we were escorted by our guides to a range of exhibits across the park, including exclusive access to behind-the-scenes areas. As you might have expected the keepers and guides were able to meet our thirst for knowledge about the beautiful animals we were privileged to be able to photograph.

The pro wildlife photographer who accompanied us was excellent, very knowledgeable and actually understood what he was doing in supporting fellow photogs, quietly and thoughtfully passing on his experience, to everyone's benefit. This made a refreshing change from some of the loud mouthed, self-opinionated, ego-centric, show-off, self-promoters we have encountered before at other events. He was also a very good photographer in his own right to boot; go Raj! Top bloke.

At times it was great just to lower the camera and simply observe the creatures and marvel at the wonders of nature in all its variety. Just to stop, stand still, observe and wonder. Sometimes we were undoubtedly the show and provided great entertainment for the animals who found the antics of us two legged ape descendants most amusing.

So a worthwhile experience? A big yes. Well organised, well run, well thought out by a great bunch of people dedicated to the animals in their care and providing us with some fab photo opportunities along side this. Thank you Marwell. Loved it!

All pictures were made on my OM System OM-5 with my M.Zuiko 12-45mm f4 Pro and M.Zuiko 40-150mm f4 Pro lenses.