Insect photographic workshop at Le Moulin de Pensol, France
29th June to 4th July 20-25
Join award-winning nature photographer and OM System Ambassador Andrew McCarthy FRPS on a 5day photographic workshop in central France, from Sunday 29th June to Thursday 4th June 2025 inclusive.
The workshop is ideal for aspiring macro / close-up photographers who would like to learn new photographic skills with like-minded people, whilst enjoying a relaxing break in an inspiring wild location in the Perigord-Limousin Regional Natural Park. You will receive 5 days of friendly tuition as part of a small group, which will give you the confidence and skills to take your photography to the next level, whilst at the same time enjoying a proliferation of insect life that is unlike anything in the UK.
There will also be plenty of time for you to relax and enjoy the grounds of Le Moulin and local area, including visits to local vineyards, produce markets and nearby villages and towns.
You will stay on-site in comfortable and well-equipped gites and although the cost doesn’t include food we can arrange for breakfasts and evening meals to be provided. Your comfortable gite will give you privacy but there will also be an opportunity to share knowledge and experience with the rest of the group. The aim is for you to leave feeling inspired and better equipped to take your photography to the next level.
Highlights
- 5-day invertebrate photography master-class with OM System Ambassador and RPS Fellowship & Associate Distinctions Panel assessor Andrew McCarthy FRPS
- Opportunity to photograph a rich variety of insect life unlikely anything in the UK
- 6-nights’ accommodation in comfortable self-catering gites
- Small group with maximum 7 participants
- Introductory presentations on macro photography and rewilding
- Minimum 6-hours group tuition per day
- Fresh seasonal evening meals and breakfasts can be provided by prior arrangement at separate cost
- Non-photographic partners very welcome
Photographic workshop costs per person
- Tuition and accommodation per person (sole occupancy) – £1390.00
- Tuition and accommodation (per person, couple sharing) – £1195.00
- Accommodation for partners who are non-participants on photography sessions- £120.00
If you would like to extend your stay either side of these dates, additional nights may be available by prior arrangement with the owners.
A deposit of £200.00 per person is needed to secure a booking – this will be paid via the www.andrewmccarthyphotography.co.uk website which uses a secure PayPal route.
We will send you a booking confirmation and invoice for the balance once we receive your deposit. The balance must be received via secure bank transfer (details of which will be on the balance invoice) by the end of April 2025. The exact balance will depend on whether your allocated accommodation has en-suite or shared facilities – the latter will incur a slight cost reduction as room allocation will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
We require a minimum of 5 participants for the workshop to run. We will advise the workshop status (i.e. its confirmation or cancellation) no later than 6 weeks (mid-April) before the start date. Therefore we recommend you do not incur travel / other expenses unless you are covered by travel cancellation insurance, prior to confirmation. If the workshop will not be going ahead, your deposit will be refunded in full (otherwise deposits are non-refundable).
You will need suitable personal medical and travel insurance including insurance against last-minute cancellation of the workshop for any reason.
Food is not included in the above costs. Evening meals and / or breakfasts can be provided by prior arrangement at a supplementary cost (the bill for which would need to be settled directly with the owners at the end of the workshop). Evening meals cost an additional 30€ per person per night (including wine/beer) whilst a continental-style breakfast is 8€ per person per day. Meals must be booked 24 hours beforehand and are normally taken with other guests.
Lunch would normally be provided by guests themselves in their self-catering accommodation (alternatively there will be plenty of time for you to visit local restaurants for lunch).
Unfortunately, we cannot cater for guests with life-threatening allergies but will accommodate minor allergies / intolerances and requirements where we are reasonably able to do so, and as long as we have been advised in writing in advance..
You will be asked to complete a simple health and food questionnaire before commencement of the workshop – in particular to check that the workshop is suitable for your level of activity ability.
Le Moulin de Pensol
Nestled in the valley of the River Bandiat, in the Limousin region of France, Le Moulin de Pensol is a converted water mill that was in the past largely used for grinding apples and oilseed rape; it ceased as a working mill in 1966. The river is one of only eight in France which still supports populations of freshwater pearl mussels and brook lamprey have been recorded nesting in the gravel-bottomed riffles.
This 8 Ha site is now a rewilding project https://lemoulindepensol.com/nature/ which is lovingly run by the owners Nik and Heidi Smith, who graze the site with a small herd of horses and donkeys. The animals (which are not routinely wormed so their dung is not toxic to invertebrates) disturb the ground and shape the landscape in a natural way, allowing a wide variety of wildlife to thrive. Although the site is modest in size, the habitat is highly diverse and includes a stream, ponds, acid grassland, mature woodland, fen meadow, and even a cave which houses an important population of bats.
Le Moulin de Pensol is around an hour from the historic town of Perigueux, which is well worth exploring for its historic interest and cuisine. The area is well located to access the Dordogne valley too, should participants want to continue their holiday after the workshop finishes (or beforehand). There is a large local market – the biggest in SW France – on Tuesdays within 20 minutes’ drive; this is well worth visiting. There is a small local market on Sundays in the next village as well as a well-stocked local shop. The nearest well-stocked supermarket is around 15 minutes’ drive.
The photographic tuition
Le Moulin de Pensol is superb for invertebrate photography, with over 65 species of butterflies having been recorded during the past few years. There is also a wide range of other invertebrates on site in addition to butterflies, so there is lots of subject choice, including via use of a moth trap overnight if this is of interest. Andrew was there in early September 2024, but still managed to photograph over 25 butterfly species, as well as other invertebrates, despite there being fewer nectar sources at that time of year.
The photographic element of the workshop will start on the morning of Sunday 29th June and will run through till the late afternoon of Thursday 3rd July. On Sunday afternoon Le Moulin de Pensol co-owners Nik and Heidi Smith will give an overview of their rewilding project and there will be a presentation / Q&A session on invertebrate and macro photography by course tutor Andrew McCarthy FRPS.
You will receive 5-days of at least 6-hours tuition per day, as well as 1-1 advice and critiques on your images throughout the duration of your stay (we can if needed review images in the evenings). Photography is of course weather dependent but it is envisaged that core shooting times will be from early morning (around 05.30 / 06.00am) until around 09.30 / 10.00 am when we will break for breakfast. The afternoon sessions will recommence around 15.30 / 16.00 hrs and will continue till around 19.00hrs. In part this approach is to avoid the heat of the day but the break will also enable participants (together with any non-photography partners) to explore the local area. Andrew is likely to be around on site most days outside the core shooting times, in order to answer questions if needed. There is no obligation to join in any of the sessions and photographers can mix and match, work alone, or work at other times if they wish – the approach is completely flexible.
Prior photographic experience
Participants will need a digital camera (DSLR or mirrorless) together with macro and short telephoto lenses, as well as a tripod, spare batteries / charger, and plenty of spare memory cards as you will take lots of images! Whilst all camera makes are welcome Andrew is an OM System brand ambassador and if you do use OM gear, there will be an opportunity to try out a selection of lenses that you may not be familiar with.
We recommend that participants have at least a basic understanding of exposure, depth of field, and use of the histogram, and are reasonably familiar with their camera’s menu system as well as the main controls for shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
A laptop computer together with means of downloading images to it would be beneficial.
Fitness levels
All photography locations are within a couple of minutes’ walk of our accommodation. Whilst there are a few low hills and a stream to negotiate, walking is not strenuous, but the ground can be muddy along the stream and after heavy rain, and can be uneven in places. Note that macro photography can also involve lying on the ground, but this is obviously optional!
Clothing
Wellingtons of various sizes are available to borrow but you may want to bring your own to be on the safe side and ensure a good fit. A waterproof jacket is recommended, together with stout boots or walking shoes with a good grip, as well as clothing suitable for warm weather (including a hat).
How do I get there?
A number of UK airports (for example Bristol, Stansted and Manchester) fly to the two closest airports to Le Moulin de Pensol (Limoges and Bergerac). The nearest airport is Limoges which is a 45 minute drive, and flights to it from Bristol for example run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Flights to Bergerac (a 1.5 hr drive) from e.g. Bristol are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is a mainline TGV station at Angouleme 1hr away, with regular trains to Paris and Eurostar connections.
Whilst it is not necessary to have a car, of course it would be useful for supermarket trips and you may like to hire a vehicle to travel to and from your travel hub. Car hire is available from both local airports.
If participants do not wish to hire a vehicle, a pick-up can be arranged from any of the above travel hubs at a cost of 50€ each way.
Bicycles are available to borrow if needed, to get to the nearest shop (in the village of Marvel which is a 10 minute cycle ride up a challenging hill!).
If you have any additional queries, please email andrewmccarthy9988@gmail.com or call +44(0)1392 834755 / 077 40054005.