Snowy Owl & Workshop Update

This is the second Snowy Owl in the same area that I found my first of the year (see my Nov. 13 & Nov. 14 posts). I was almost as surprised as the owl as I wandered through the heavy frost in the misty fog as the rain started to fall. It's still too early to decide if this winter will be great for owls, but the early indicators are all good. Fingers crossed that they establish the area as their winter hunting grounds.

Two spots remain available for my recently added Winter Owl Workshop, February 10-14, 2025.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) Quebec, Canada. Sony a9 III mirrorless camera body & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @600mm F/6.3 ISO 6,400 @ 1/5,000s.

Snowy Owl Workshop New Dates Just Announced!

Here is another image of what I believe to be the same Snowy Owl that I posted yesterday. It was so nice to find it in time for the nice light—smile. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it hangs around.

I have announced an additional Owl Workshop from February 10 to 14, 2025. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE OR SIGN UP.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) Quebec, Canada. Sony a1 mirrorless camera body Sony & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @600mm F/6.3 ISO 10,000 @ 1/5,000s.

Snowy Owl Workshop Update - They are back!

I have been predicting a good winter for Snowy Owls, and although it is too early to know for sure, it looks more and more like it will be. I had my first Snowy Owl on the drive back to Montreal from Toronto after my Sony Presentations at ProFusion Expo! It was perched beside the highway at a truck scale, making it an easy choice to stop and grab my 100-400 for a portrait - and it never flew away - smile.

Since the February 3-7 trip sold out in record time, I have added another workshop from Feb. 10-14, 2024. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) Quebec, Canada. Sony a1 mirrorless camera body Sony & Sony FE 100-400mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @400mm F/5.6 ISO 5,000 @ 1/5,000s.

Mule Deer Portrait

Here is a portrait of a mule deer made while driving the north loop during last year’s Best of Bosque Workshop. He ran as soon as a carload of photographers showed up, jumped out of their car and slammed the car doors, proving the best strategy is to stay in your vehicle and use it as a blind.

Although I sold one of the cancelled spots for the Dec. 5-9 Best of Bosque workshop, one spot remains after a couple was forced to cancel due to a medical emergency. My terms are 100% non-refundable, but I return all money paid if I can sell the spot, and I would love to return all of their money. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP.

Mule Deer Portrait (Odocoileus hemionus) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 5,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Manual exposure. Full frame image.

I enjoyed my presentations at the largest camera show in Canada. Here are some images of me presenting in the Sony booth at the Profusion Expo in Toronto last week. I made a presentation in the Sony booth and on the main stage both days, and the shows were packed with eager photographers. Special thanks to Sony Canada and Vistek! This was my 10th year presenting at ProFusion and the 8th year for Sony!

Canadian Photographer Christopher Dodds presenting at ProFusion Expo Nov. 7, 2024. Images courtesy Julio Vazquez (thanks, Julio).

Boreal Owl

I wanted to share this image of a boreal owl made during my Winter Owl Workshops 19 years ago in 2005 that I have just licensed for publication. Notice how I had to work differently with the first generations of professional digital cameras; I used ISO 800, which was exceptionally high and considered noisy back then. This image is reprocessed using the latest Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop techniques, which make a huge difference compared to the cover of the winter 2008 edition of Québec Oiseaux Magazine shown below.

Boreal Owl or Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus, Nyctale de Tengmalm) from for my Winter Owl Workshops in 2005. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. 100-400mm Zoom @220mm ISO 800, f/5.6 @ 1/100s Manual exposure. Full Frame image.

Cover of the Winter 2008 edition of Québec Oiseaux magazine.

Snowy Owl Hoar Frost Heaven

A Snowy Owl on a very cold and windless morning before sunrise during my winter owl workshop. The owl was so well hidden with its camouflage that it took several minutes for my group to see it after I pointed it out. This may be one of my favourites :)

I announced an additional winter owl workshop from February 3 to 7, 2025.

Snowy Owl Hoar Frost Heaven (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) from my Snowy Owl Workshop in Ontario, Canada. Sony a1 mirrorless camera body Sony & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @600mm F/6.3 ISO 10,000 @ 1/5,000s.

Snowy Owl High Key Abstract

Love it, or hate it? This Snowy Owl image breaks all the rules. It is from my annual Winter Snowy Owl Workshops a few years ago. I usually don’t post anything this different, but since I just reprocessed this one before printing it 40” X 60” for a large order heading to The Netherlands, I decided to share.

Please feel free to comment with your thoughts: Do you love or hate it, and why?

Snowy Owl High Key Abstract (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) from my Snowy Owl Workshop in Ontario, Canada. Sony a1 mirrorless camera body Sony & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @401mm F/6.3 ISO 2,000 @ 1/5,000s.

Great Gray Owl

A favourite Great Gray Owl image from one of my Winter Owl Workshops in 2013 that I just reprocessed before making a 40” X 50” print for a client in The Netherlands.

There are still two spots left for my January 27-31 Winter Owl Workshop.

Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW, Dark Wood Owl, Lapland Owl, Striped Owl, Lapp Striped Owl, Great Grey Owl) ©Christopher Dodds from my winter owl workshops in 2023 @344mm ISO 5,000, F5,6 @ 1/5,000s Manual Exposure mode. Join me for my winter owl workshops in January.

Coastal Brown Bear eating fresh salmon

Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Alaska Workshop Update:

Join me for my Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai Adventure from September 17 to 24 for an incredible 8-day/7-night photographic adventure on a private charter along the Katmai Coast of Alaska. We will photograph the numerous Coastal Brown Bears congregating along streams overflowing with salmon as they fatten up for the long and harsh Alaskan winter. Unlike many other tours, our Itinerary starts by flying out to the ship from Kodiak, Alaska, on day 1 (flights from Kodiak to the boat and back are included), and we remain there until we fly back to Kodiak on day 8. We photograph bears from day 1 to day 8, so eight days of epic brown bear photography! There are only two spots left!

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Cub Eating Fresh Salmon (Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai adventure workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony 1.4X Tele extender @840mm. ISO 20,000, f/5.6 @ 1/1,000s Manual exposure. Full-frame image.

Northern Gannets Nest Building

This pair of Northern Gannets attempted to build their nest with fresh vegetation on a rock, but it kept getting blown away. This image was made the only time I saw the birds pointed toward me during the six days I was there for my Gannets Galore and so much more workshops; it lasted only a fraction of a second…

Northern Gannets Nest Building (Morus bassanus, Fou de Bassan, NOGA) from my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens & Sony 1.4X Tele-extender @840mm. ISO 320, f/8 @ 1/80s Manual exposure. Almost full frame image (slightly cropped top to 4 x 5 aspect ratio).

Northern Gannet Landing with Seaweed Vertical Cover

On June 2, the first day of my first Gannets Galore and so much more workshop, I photographed this Northern Gannet landing with seaweed with my Sony a9 III and Sony 600/4 turned vertically. The lifting fog and slight cloud made for some beautiful diffused light and saturated colours - smile.

Northern Gannet Landing with Seaweed Vertical (Morus bassanus, Fou de Bassan, NOGA) from my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens @600mm. ISO 1,000, f/4 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure. Photographed with the camera turned vertically, this is just about a full-frame image: cropped top & bottom to 4 X 5 aspect ratio.

Dutch adventure travel company Askja Reizen features Snowy Owl by Christopher Dodds on their catalog cover

Excited to see my Snowy Owl image featured on the cover of the Dutch adventure travel company Askja Reizen catalogue cover.

There are still a couple of spots open for my January 2025 Winter Owl workshops. Learn more about the winter owl adventure HERE.

Snowy Owl SNOW SQUALL (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des Neiges, SNOW) from my Winter Snowy Owl Photo Tour in Canada. Image Copyright 2022 ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens. ISO 10,000 @ 1/5,000s f/4. Full frame image top to bottom.

iPhone image of Snowy Owl image by Christopher Dodds graces the cover of the 2024/2025 Askja Reizen catalogue.

Atlantic Puffin Headshot

Here's another Atlantic Puffin portrait from my recent PUFFINS GALORE (and so much more) DELUXE WORKSHOP. We woke to fog several mornings, and Puffins were perched everywhere. We used the park information signs as blinds and were able to spend hours making portraits at just about point-blank range. After making the standard tight headshots, I always explore more interesting poses while working at the minimum focusing distance of our lenses with an extremely limited depth of field.

Atlantic Puffin Headshot in the fog (Fratercula arctica, Macareux moine, ATPU) Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 1,600, f/8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure. Full Frame image.

KUDOS:

Chris: Just a quick note to express my appreciation for the fine workshop (PUFFINS GALORE DELUXE WORKSHOP) hosting provided by you and Julie, along with Louise and Marie-Josée and the charming Auberge facilities.  We were fortunate to have such good weather and abundant puffin activity, and your guidance and tips were very helpful, even for a long-time Sony mirrorless shooter.  I found the other clients quite interesting and enjoyed sharing the experience with all of them.  Despite some travel challenges to and from the Mingan Archipelago, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and look forward to the prospect of joining you in another workshop in the future.
 
Again, thank you for your excellent leadership and engaging fellowship on Iles aux Parroquets – now to plough through the 30,000+ images I brought back to find the “exceptional” few!
 
Best regards,

Gordon Norman California USA

Bald Eagle Look Back Portrait

This is a fun portrait of a Bald Eagle from the second day (March 6, 2024) of my first Bald Eagles Galore and so much more Workshop in Alaska. Once the fishing action stops, the Eagles sit pretty and allow close approaches—smile.

Bald Eagles Look Back Portrait (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Pygargue à tête blanche, BAEA) March 6, 2024 near Homer, Alaska. Image copyright ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony 2X Tele-extender @1,200mm ISO 800, f/16 @ 1/200s. Manual Exposure mode. Join me for my Eagles Galore workshop next March. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

American Redstart Displaying

An American Redstart displaying during my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop at Point Pelee National Park of Canada. We had so much fun trying to get a clean background as this stunning warbler bounced around, trying to get noticed by a female.

Male American Redstarts display to females during courtship by fluffing plumage, raising crown feathers, spreading wings and tail, and bowing.

Still space for you to join the fun and photograph spring migration in all of its glory at one of the top 10 migration hotspots in the world! Learn more about my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop HERE.

American Redstart Displaying (Setophaga ruticilla, Paruline flamboyante, AMRE). Point Pelee National Park of Canada during my Songbirds of Pelee Workshop. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds all Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 10,000, f/8 @ 1/2,500s Manual exposure.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Yearling with Pink Salmon

Here is another favourite from my Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska Workshop Adventure: Our favourite yearling showing off his prize. We were in the right place for the light and fantastic autumn colours in the background, but there were no bears when we first set up. All of my experience told me to hold tight and wait - smile!

Join me in June or September for the trip of a lifetime! Learn more about my Ultimate Brown Bears of Katmai workshop HERE.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Cub with Pink Salmon (Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my recent Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai adventure workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens and Sony 2X Tele extender @1,200mm. ISO 2,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Clamming

Bears spend countless hours in the mudflats digging, chomping, slurping, and digging again along the shores of Katmai National Park and Preserve. We sat on the beach with this Brown Bear, watching it dig for clams for hours in the fog during my Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure in June. The biggest challenge for images was getting their eyes visible in the image; they spend most of the time looking down at the sand they are smelling, then dig holes down three feet to the razor clams (so their faces and heads are hidden).

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear Clamming (Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai adventure workshop in Alaska last June. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@600mm) ISO 3,200, f/6.3 @ 1/2,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

American Coot

Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order, the family Rallidae.

Noisier and more quarrelsome than their relatives, the rails, American coots are known for their unmelodic medleys of cackles, grunts, and croaks. The young have a remarkable means of escaping danger: at the first warning from an adult, chicks dive underwater and grasp a plant stem in their bill, anchoring themselves to the bottom until the threat has passed.

American Coot (Fulica americana, Foulque d'Amérique AMCO) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 3,200, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Manual exposure. The full-frame image was cropped to a 5 x 4 aspect ratio.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear with Pink Salmon at last light

A Coastal Brown Bear (Grizzly Bear) with its trophy: a pink Salmon. The fish-eye auto-focus works remarkably well on the Sony Alpha1 - Imagine if the bear had looked up at me - smile.

Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear with Pink Salmon at last light (Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my recent Ultimate Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai adventure workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony 2X teleconverter @1,200mm. ISO 4,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure.