Periodically, the CRBA organises Wildlife Photography courses.
Courses are opened to everybody, there is no need to be a UB student to access them. They are intensive courses that are taught during two or three consecutive weeks, combining theory sessions (at the Facultat de Biologia from 6 to 9 in the evening) and practical fieldwork (during the weekend). Courses are 30h long, equivalent to 2 ECTS Credits.

Along the year, four types of courses are offered: Introduction, Advanced, Specialized Techniques and Digital Laboratory all of them taught by Wildlife Photographer Francesc Muntada.



1. Wildlife Photography Course (I): Introduction

Objectives: setting the basis to understand processes involved in the taking of wildlife photograpies.

Aimed to : anyone who is interested in wildlife photography but lacks basic photography knowledge or needs to get it organised.

Schedule: 30 hours (along two weeks). 15 hours of theory (5 sessions of 3 hours from de 6 to 9 in the evening) and 15 hours of practical work (2 fieldtrips during the weekend).

Contents:
• What is photography? capturing light
• Required equipment in wildlife photography and how it works
• The camera
• Sensitive material
• Lenses
• Accessories
• The photographic process: exposure (diafragm and speed) or controlling colours
• The photographic process: shrpening or controlling details
• The photographic process: composition or controlling aesthetics
• Workflow: taking, developing, editing and archiving

Material: Even though it is not compulsory, in order to practice concepts and thus making the most of the course, it is advisable that students bring a camera that allows manual exposure control, that is, any DLR camera (analogical or digital), mirrorless, or a prosumer type digital camera.



2. Wildlife Photography (II): Advanced

Objectives: explaining specific techniques required for each field of wildlife photography

Aimed to: anyone interested in wildlife photography who has a good knowledge of basic photographic concepts
Note: It is not compulsory having taken the Introduction course to access the Advanced one, but basic skills on photography are required.

Schedule: 30 hours (along three weeks). 6 hours of theory (2 sessions of 3 hours from de 6 to 9 in the evening) and 24 hours of practical work (weekend fieldtrip plus a Saturday fieldtrip).

Contents:

Session 1: Theory (3 hours):  The four nature photography environments:

• Presentation of the course
• Four environments, four techniques, four languages:
• Landscape photography: playing with light
• Macrophotography: a world inside the world
• Wildlife photography: animal seduction
• Night photography: origins revisited

Session 2: Practical field work (6 hours): Macrophotography. In the Pla de la Calma

• Choosing the subject and the point of view
• Composition and depth of field
• Lighting
• Setting the way

Session 3: Practical field work (12 hours): Wildlife photography and night photography. In the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà

• Wildlife photography
• Compositión in wildlife photography
• Materials: lenses and tripod heads
• Using hides and camouflage nets
• Techniques for tracking animals in action
• Camera traps
• Night photography
• Theory and  techniques
• Paractical night photography

Session 4: Practical field work (6 hours): Landscape photography. In Cape s’Arenella and la Albera

• Planning: taking photographs of the sun coming up behind the s'Arenella lighttower
• Choosing the point of view
• Composition
• Being in the right place at the right time

Session 5: Classroom session (3 hours)

• Projecting and commenting the photographs taken during field work sessions

Material: Even though it is not compulsory, in order to practice concepts and thus making the most of the course, it is advisable that students bring a camera that allows manual exposure control, that is, any DLR camera (analogical or digital), mirrorless, or a prosumer type digital camera.



3. Wildlife Photography (III): Specialized Techniques

Objectives: deepening in the knowledge of specific techniques required for each field of wildlife photography. It is organised as a monographic course and the main subject varies on each edition (flash use, remote control of the camera, video, long time exposure, timelapses...)

Aimed to: anyone interested in wildlife photography who has a good knowledge of photographic concepts
Note: It is not compulsory having taken the Introduction or Advanced courses to access the Specialized Techniques course, but skills on photography are required.

Schedule: 30 hours (along three weeks). 6 hours of theory (2 sessions of 3 hours from de 6 to 9 in the evening) and 24 hours of practical work (3 single day fieldtrips during the weekends).

Contents:
•  They will vary according to the main subject of the course, you shall find detailed information for each particular edition in this web.

Material: Even though it is not compulsory, in order to practice concepts and thus making the most of the course, it is advisable that students bring a camera that allows manual exposure control, that is, any DLR camera (analogical or digital), mirrorless, or a prosumer type digital camera.



4. Wildlife Photography: Digital Laboratory

Objectives: Presenting concepts of wildlife orientated digital photography and learning, in a practical way, the workflow from the obtention of the digital image to its use (taking, development, adjustments, filing, archiving, etc.) using different software.

Aimed to: People interested in nature photography who want to get the best out from their images.

Schedule: 30 hours (along two weeks). 9 hours of theory (3 sessions of 3 hours from de 6 to 9 in the evening), a morning fieldtrip during the weekend and 12 hours of practical work in the computer room.

Contents:
· Digital World. Codification and storage. Pixel. Sensors. Sensibility. Image Quality.
· Resolution. Interpolation. Colour systems. Colour fields. Profiles. Synamic Gamma.
· Equipment: Camera. Lenses. Computer. Monitor. Scanner. Printer. Palette. Recorder. Card readers.
· Software. File types. Capturers. Photoshop. File storage and management software.
· Techniques. Possibilities. Levels. Hue, saturation, brightness and contrast. Extrapolation and interpolation. Cleaning. Masks. Layers. Channels.
· Fieldwork. Memory cards. Portable harddrives. Temperature. Dust. Using histograms.
· Aplications of Digital Images. Photography: paper copies and slides. Printing. Interactive presentations. Audiovisuals. Web. Infography.
· Geotagging

Material: Even though it is not compulsory, in order to practice concepts and thus making the most of the course, it is advisable that students have a digital camera during the course..