We Forest Folk: event photography for a Forest school folk and craft festival in Birmingham
We Forest Folk was an Arts Council funded celebration of nature, craft, wellbeing and creativity. It was organised by Ampersand Projects in partnership with Wild Lives Forest School. I absolutely thrilled to be involved, both from an event photography perspective, as well as delivering sound and meditation based wellbeing workshops as part of the programme.
We Forest Folk took place in Cotteridge Park and Warley Woods, with the aim of bringing local families together to create, experiment with natural materials and connect with nature.
Forest school event photography: Wood carving, fire pits, nature songs and hammock naps
Activities were combined with Forest School principles and there were workshops around wood carving, working with wild clay, making willow crowns and cooking on open fires. There were also plenty of opportunities for self led play and the odd restorative hammock nap.
My wellbeing sessions focussed on accessible meditation techniques that parents and children can use together, to connect with nature and the environment. We also explored ritual, gratitude and we learned some of my favourite nature based songs and sang them around the fire.
Unobtrusive event photography where comfort is key
When capturing event photography for something like We Forest Folk it’s always really important to me to be as unobtrusive as possible. The children’s experience of the event was given a lot of care and consideration, which was beautiful to witness. That fits really well with my ethos as a photographer. Whether I’m photographing events, portraits and branding, weddings or families the comfort of the people in front of my camera is always my priority.
Luckily we had the whole of the woods at our disposal so I got to explore with my camera, capture a bunch of wonderful families having the best time, while also being able to share my own passion for wellbeing in nature. It was a joy to spend the whole week in the woods, capturing the event photography for We Forest Folk. I loved connecting with the families who came, and it’s always a joy to be able to spend so much time in nature.
Beautiful event photography that captures the magic you create
It’s safe to say I’d absolutely love to do more event photography in the woods of Birmingham or further afield. If your Forest School or Folk Festival needs some beautiful photography so you can share the magic you create, get in touch. You can also drop me a line if you have a wellbeing project in mind and you’d like to incorporate meditation, nature based practices or sound workshops.
It was a joy being a park of We Forest Folk and I’m grateful to Ampersand Projects and Wild Lives Forest School for having me along for the ride. It was an amazing experience and an absolutely magical week in the woods!
Keep scrolling to see more event photography from We Forest Folk Forest in Birmingham. And shout out to the awesome practitioners who took part: The Clear Space, Manisha Patel, Pathcarvers, Sustainable Life, Sarah Farmer and Bracken Outdoors.