One of the things I’ve really enjoyed over the last year is teaching photography at RSPB Saltholme. It’s one of those places that just works perfectly for beginner photographers. You’ve got wildlife all around you, peaceful surroundings, great walking routes and plenty of opportunities to stop, slow down and really enjoy photography properly.

Every time I run a workshop there, I’m reminded that photography isn’t just about the pictures — it’s about the experience of being outdoors, learning something new and noticing moments you’d normally walk straight past.

That’s exactly why I love teaching at Saltholme.

There’s a place on the Yorkshire coast where the air feels different – sharp with salt, alive with sound, and thick with a kind of magic that stays with you long after you’ve turned for home. That place is RSPB Bempton Cliffs, and for me, it’s more than just a nature reserve – it’s somewhere my soul feels completely at rest.

I still remember the first time I walked along the cliff top paths here. Below me, the North Sea stretched out like a sheet of rippled blue glass, meeting a sky so wide it felt endless. But what took my breath away – literally – was the noise. Thousands of seabirds calling, crying, and wheeling in the air; a swirling, living carpet of wings, feathers and movement. This is one of the most important seabird colonies in the whole of the UK, and standing there, surrounded by Gannets, Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills, you realise just how precious and wild our natural world really is.

I’ll soon be back at RSPB Saltholme running another Beginner Photography Workshop, and honestly, I’m really looking forward to this one.

Saltholme is one of those places that’s perfect for learning photography. You’ve got wildlife everywhere, open landscapes, peaceful walks and constantly changing light, which means there’s always something interesting to photograph no matter your experience level.

What I love most about running these workshops at RSPB Saltholme in Teesside is how relaxed they feel. There’s no pressure, no complicated jargon, and no expectation that you need expensive camera gear or years of experience. Most people who come along are simply wanting to understand their camera properly and feel more confident using it.

Some of the best moments in photography aren’t planned.

I was at RSPB Saltholme recently, running a one-to-one beginner photography workshop, when this grey heron stepped out from the reeds and into the water. There was no rush, no sudden movement — just that slow, deliberate pace they have, completely at ease in their surroundings.

It’s funny how quickly everything else fades when something like that happens.

We’d been working through the basics earlier in the session, getting comfortable with camera settings, understanding light, and just building confidence. But moments like this are where it all starts to make sense. Not because of the technical side, but because you realise what photography is really about.

Scarborough seafront has always been one of those places I keep coming back to with a camera. During the day it’s busy, colourful and full of life, but once the evening settles in and the lights begin to glow, it becomes something completely different.

It’s also one of my favourite places to run a night photography workshop on the Yorkshire coast.

There’s something about razorbills at RSPB Bempton Cliffs that always makes me stop and watch a little longer.

They’re not the biggest or the most dramatic seabirds on the cliffs, but they’ve got so much character. Small, compact, with that distinctive black and white colouring and the thick, blunt bill, they almost look like little wind-up toys dotted along the rock edges.

I was photographing at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire recently and found myself completely drawn to one particular razorbill. It was just sat there quietly, perched on the cliff face, totally unfazed by everything going on around it. Then for a brief moment, it turned and looked straight into the lens.