Microscopic Worlds: 4-Day Photography Course
- with Tasneem Khan

Course Overview

Microscopic Worlds is a four-day creative photography course inviting participants to slow down, look closely, and discover the extraordinary details hidden in the natural world. Through observation, discussion, collection, and image-making, participants will explore how close looking can deepen our relationship with nature, creativity, and attention.

Drawing on ideas of “slow looking” and observation, as both a scientific and artistic practice, the course encourages curiosity and wonder. As writer Mary Oliver reminds us: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Across two weekends, participants will move from conceptual exploration to hands-on experimentation and image development, learning how microscopic and macro photography can transform the way we see familiar environments.

What You'll Learn

• How close observation can inform creative and ecological thinking.
   
• Techniques for photographing microscopic and macro-scale subjects.
   
• How to work with collections of natural materials as creative prompts.
   
• Using digital and analogue tools to document texture, pattern, and form.
   
• Developing a small, cohesive body of images.
   
• Basic post-processing workflows and preparing images for presentation or print.

Course Structure (Overview)

• Session 1: Introduction to slow looking, observation, and collection; hands-on exploration with microscopy and macro tools.
   
• Session 2: Developing visual ideas, image planning, and guided image-making.
   
• Session 3: Focused shooting (indoor and/or outdoor), refining intent and approach.
   
• Session 4: Image selection, editing, sequencing, and preparing work for sharing or print. 

Participants will have time between weekends to review, reflect on, and experiment with their images.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is suitable for beginners and experienced creatives alike. No prior photography or microscopy experience is required, just curiosity, patience, and a willingness to experiment. It will appeal to artists, photographers, designers, educators, scientists, nature lovers, and lifelong learners.

Equipment & Materials

All specialist equipment will be provided on site, including:

• High-end compound microscopes with digital camera setups.
• Handheld digital microscopes.
• Phone-mountable macro lenses.
• Controlled lighting and support tools.

Participants are encouraged to bring a notebook, their own smartphone or camera if they wish, but this is not essential, one nature find (an item from your garden or a wander) that inspires you. Basic natural materials for observation will be provided, with optional guided collecting during sessions.

What You’ll Take Away

• A digital mini-portfolio of original images
• Practical skills in microscopy and close-up photography
• New ways of seeing and engaging with the natural world
• A deeper understanding of observation as a creative and ecological practice

About the Facilitator

Tasneem Khan is a biologist and visual artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores observation, ecology, and the poetics of scale. Her work bridges science and art, using microscopy and photography to reveal hidden patterns in nature and invite deeper attention to our environments. Tasneem has facilitated workshops and public programmes across science, art, and environmental contexts, encouraging participants to slow down, look closely, and reconnect with the living world through creative practice.

Adult Art Class 18+

Class includes a 30 min break