Winter Owls Workshop update

Winter Owl Workshop update

I just had a second person cancel for medical reasons. Please click below to learn more or sign-up:

Snowy Owl Fire Flight

Chris Dodds knows how to do a workshop!

I had the pleasure of attending Chris' Snowy Owl Workshop this past January. To be honest, I did not know much about Chris before the trip. All I knew was the quality of his images on his website and that I wanted Snowy owl pictures. Needless to say, Chris met and exceeded my expectations. He goes over and above to get you in the right place at the right time to capture the best images possible. Having been on numerous workshops around the world with various leaders, I can say Chris worked harder than most..... He also made sure that we were in position to get a variety of images and not just 1000 photos of the same animal behavior. Chris knows his birds and what they are going to do next (as much as humanly possible). He teaches in a way that things make sense. I was getting frustrated with my photography before this trip. I was able to get great shots before the workshop but felt that the percentage of great shots to missed shots needed to be better. Chris explained ways to change a few of my bad habits in a way that no one else ever did. I have tried manual exposure in the past but never got comfortable with it but after a day or two with Chris it clicked in my mind and my images improved and percentage of keepers went up.
If you get a chance to go on a workshop with Chris I would highly recommend it. I know I will again.

Rick Susi  Orlando, FL, USA

Amazingly, there is still one spot left due to last minute cancellation:

Snowy Owl Workshop last minute opening

“Thank you again for an amazing week of owls. I came home with some of my favourite images of all time. I was very impressed with many things throughout the week. Most notably, your concern for our groups’ comfort, your knowledge of the owls we were there to photograph, your technical ability, your advice/instruction, and your ability to always make things fun. Spending some time with you and seeing the amount of effort, time and processing that goes in to capturing your images was an eye-opening moment for me. It was an awesome experience and I am already looking forward to next year’s workshop. Thank you again for everything.”

— Andrew Feiler Las Vegas | Nevada | USA

Only one spot left for my Owl Workshops due to cancellation.

Click HERE to learn more or sign-up.

Snowy Owl Happy Holidays

Happy holidays and best wishes for a healthy, happy, and peaceful New Year ahead. Thank you for visiting my blog, buying my prints, joining my workshops, attending my public appearances and interacting with my images on Facebook, Instagram and Vero.

There is only one spot left for my winter owls galore workshops due to cancellation:

Northern Harrier vertical

Northern Harriers made daily appearances during my Best of Bosque workshops again this year. This one seemed to love hunting along the ditch line in front of us.

Northern Harrier

I was in love with the backgrounds over the Maximilian sunflowers during my Best of Bosque workshop: So much more artistic that the contrasty, ugly and distracting bush-honed corn fields of years past.

Short-eared Owl

There are currently only two openings for my winter owl workshops due to last-minute cancellations:

January 9 to 13, 2023 SOLD OUT!

January 16 to 20, 2023 SOLD OUT!

January 23 to 27, 2023 ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT!

January 30 to February 3, 2023 SOLD OUT!

February 6 to 10, 2023 SOLD OUT!

February 13 to 17, 2023 SOLD OUT!

Short-eared Owl Stare

Here is another Short-eared Owl from my scouting trip for my Owls Galore workshops. There was a burst of flight activity when we got there and we had overcast conditions with a window of blue sky. These owls forage mainly on the wing: flying low over the ground, sometimes hovering briefly at heights of 6–100 feet. They are incredibly maneuverable in the air, dropping suddenly to capture prey or climbing to avoid pursuers. They also soar hawklike on their long, broad wings, a flight mode they probably use for migratory travel.

There are currently only two openings due to last-minute cancellations:

January 9 to 13, 2023 SOLD OUT!

January 16 to 20, 2023 SOLD OUT!

January 23 to 27, 2023 ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT!

January 30 to February 3, 2023 SOLD OUT!

February 6 to 10, 2023 SOLD OUT!

February 13 to 17, 2023 ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT!

Short-eared Owl in flight

I had a great afternoon in great company yesterday while scouting for my Winter Owls Galore workshops. While the sky was dramatic and spectacular with storm clouds and golden light at times, my favourite poses and closest encounters happened against a bright white part of the sky with the slightest hint of pink - happens :)

Snow Goose flying in nice light

A Snow Goose takes flight in the morning light from my recently concluded Best of Bosque workshop. Most of the cranes and Snow Geese had left the safety of the pond before the best light. Having a lot fewer birds made it easier to isolate single birds as they took off to head to the corn fields to eat.

Sandhill Crane Banking

Another Sandhill Crane from my recent Best of Bosque workshop. This was made at my favourite spot along the north loop of the reserve; I just love the background!

Kudos:

“Your workshop (Best of Bosque Dec. 2022) was wonderful - you chose a beautiful setting, and I sincerely appreciate your time and effort in putting together a great photographic experience. I learned so much from you over the course of the week, including an understanding of histograms, exposure, shutter speed and how various settings interact to achieve the effects we are trying to create. I appreciated your kindness and patience, and regular checking of my histograms, feedback, and answering any and all of my questions! I have some unexpectedly great photos, including sharp ones of the cranes in silhouette against the setting sun!!!”

— Marsha Lomis Ontario, Canada

Join me at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico for my Dec. 5-9 workshop. LEARN MORE HERE.

Join me at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico for my Dec. 5-9 workshop. LEARN MORE HERE.

American Kestrel dorsal view in flight

This is another frame from my heart-stopping, off-the-charts, epic session with this American Kestrel. Admittedly, the frame before this one was an ounce better, but I clipped the tail off :)

See my favourite image from the session in my blog post from last Friday: American Kestrel in flight.

Sandhill Crane FLYING OUT OF THE STORM

I mentioned the record-breaking rain that we had during my Best of Bosque workshop in an earlier post. This is the kind of dramatic image that can be made if the sky clears in the Southwest as the sun sets. The sky in the Northeast East was still full of clouds over the Sandia Mountains.

Sandhill Crane Golden Silhouette

As the sun set in the background, we focused on the golden reflection and the magical silhouettes that the Cranes projected. Exposure for these is easy: f/8, 1/5,000s (to freeze movement and get a sharp outline) and ISO 500. Adjust black point, colour temperature and contrast to artistic taste.

American Kestrel in flight

On my way out of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge for the last time this year, I had an epic encounter with this American Kestrel. So many images and so many poses! WOW, I think my heart stopped a couple of times!

The smallest member of the falcon family in North America is also called a Sparrow Hawk. Studies have shown that kestrels can see ultraviolet light. Researchers believe that this ability to see UV light enables them to vividly see the urine markings and trails that small mammals, such as voles, leave as they run along the ground. These trails and urine markings would likely look bright yellow to a kestrel, therefore alerting them to the presence of a meal.

Northern Harrier in flight

Here is a female Northern Harrier from yesterday (day 4 of my Best of Bosque workshop). We have had some near-epic Northern Harrier encounters so far. My favourite is still the one I posted on Wednesday morning with the cottonwood trees in the background SEE IT HERE.

Unlike many raptors, hen or northern harriers have historically been favourably regarded by farmers because they eat mice that damage crops. Harriers are sometimes called "good hawks" because they pose no threat to poultry as some hawks do.

Sandhill Crane landing

We were lucky to find some fantastic opportunities yesterday during my Best of Bosque workshop in New Mexico. About 50 Cranes flew into this location close enough to get some great images with great backgrounds. This is one of my favourites from the day.

Northern Harrier in flight in nice light

My group had some pretty awesome views of Northern Harriers yesterday. This is a female against autumn Cottonwood tree foliage. Things are starting to dry out after the near record-breaking rain the other day. Bosque del Apache was photographically slow with many Cranes and Geese, but very far from the road. I took the group to another reserve that had just reopened after the rain made the roads too muddy to drive without getting stuck. I have such a great group that I am really excited things are getting back to normal.

Wood Duck in flight in last light

Bosque del Apache was quiet yesterday morning after the near record-breaking rain with loads of birds, but the majority were far from the wet, muddy and messy roads. We regrouped and moved for the afternoon session of my Best of Bosque Workshop and found some ducks to pose for us :)

This is a drake (male) Wood Duck that did a flyby at last light.

Peek-a-boo Sandhill Crane in flight

It was a very different day in Bosque del Apache yesterday after the rain. I invited the new group out to shoot for the afternoon before the workshop starts, but I changed my plans to bring them to another refuge because they had closed with impassable muddy roads. The light was still really dark and the roads were wet and muddy with much less bird activity today. Things should dry out quickly and I expect everyone will make an amazing portfolio of images over the course of the next five days.