Photography Workshops
Show-Me Nature Photography is pleased to announce that photo workshops are now being offered. These workshops vary in length, from a half-day to several days, depending on the location, itinerary, and subject matter. Photo Workshops are a great way to learn how to make better nature images. There is one-on-one interaction in the field and, on longer workshops, we have classroom sessions on such topics as getting the correct exposure, composition guidelines, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop techniques and tips, and much more. Listed below are some of my upcoming workshops.
Upcoming Photographic Workshops:
- Bald Eagles of Haines, Alaska Photo Workshop (November 14-23, 2010)
- Alaska Inside Passage Photo Workshop (Summer 2011, dates TBD)
- 4-hour in-the-field Workshops with Cass Career Center (Spring-Summer 2010). Click here for more info on these workshops.
“Bald Eagles of the Chilkat River Valley (Haines, AK)” (November 14-23, 2010)
I am pleased to announce that I am planning on co-leading this wonderful trip with my close friend and professional nature photographer Weldon Lee. Both Weldon and I invite you to join us in the “Valley of Eagles”, near Haines, Alaska. Thousands of bald eagles gather along the Chilkat River to feed on a late run of chum salmon. Since time immemorial, bald eagles have been drawn to this area. Each winter they gather along the open waters of the Chilkat River to feed on spawned-out salmon. Up to 3,500 or more bald eagles have routinely been counted during peak congregation times in mid-November, resulting in outstanding photo opportunities.
Weldon will be the primary leader, sharing his vast knowledge of wildlife photography, the Chilkat/Chilkoot areas, and Photoshop tips/techniques. I will be there, working with photographers that are joining me, but will be available to help anyone with one-on-one photographic questions, as well as Photoshop or LightRoom questions you may have. With shorter daylight hours in Alaska at this time of year, we will plan on shooting during the daylight hours and have classroom sessions in the early evenings.
The itinerary for this trip:
- Saturday, November 13: Although the workshop does not begin until Sunday, November 14, it is highly recommended that you travel to Juneau on Saturday. This allows for potential travel delays. If you get to Juneau late, you will miss the ferry connection to Haines (which travels there only a couple times each week during this time of year) and you will need to either wait for the next ferry or arrange for your own air transportation to Haines to meet us.
- Sunday, November 14: Meet for dinner at our Juneau hotel
- Monday, November 15: Depart Juneau for Haines, via one of the Alaska Marine Highway System’s ferries for a 4 1/2 hour adventure in the great Alaskan Inside Passage. During this incredible journey, you will experience a very beautiful, scenic ride through snow-covered mountains and several scenic lighthouses. Upon arrival in Haines, we will be shuttled to our hotel. The rest of the day you are free to wander about this quaint little town, or walk the short distance to the bay for some scenic photography. We will also have an initial classroom meeting on Monday, discussing the workshop, the Chilkat Preserve, and some tips/pointers on making bald eagle images.
- Tuesday, November 16 thru Sunday, November 21: Each day we will have our viewfinders filled with bald eagles. We will have opportunities for fantastic close-ups, breathtaking environmental portraits, numerous flight shots, and the bold interactions between the eagles as they fight over the fish! And these images will be made with the majestic Chilkat Mountains as your backdrop! We may also encounter trumpeter swans, moose, brown bears, and weasels. I have photographed this area with Weldon two years and you just never know what you’re going to see! I had a lot of fun photographing a little weasel during my last trip to Haines, as he skampered about in the snow, wearing his white, winter coat.
- Monday, November 22: We will catch the ferry for another 4 1/2 hour adventure, back to Juneau, but not before spending another entire day photographing America’s Spirit of Freedom – the Bald Eagle. We will arrive back in Juneau late, so you will transfer to the hotel for the evening.
- Tuesday, November 23: Time to catch your flight home, back to reality, where I’m sure you will be spending many hours reviewing and editing your images, and reliving this lifetime experience in your mind!
Trip Cost: $2,350 (Single Supplement $335 for hotel). Deposit of $300 required upon registration and balance due 120 days prior to trip.* Workshop cost includes Sunday night hotel in Juneau, Monday thru Sunday night hotel in Haines, and the final Monday night hotel in Juneau. Ferry to/from Haines is also included, as are meals during the actual workshop.
*Note: All prices are US Dollars, based on double occupancy, and subject to increase if situations necessitate
For more information on this wonderful trip, please contact me, or click on this link to Weldon’s website:
Weldon Lee’s Rocky Mountain Photo Adventures
“Whales, Bears, & Eagles (and thats only the beginning!) of the Alaska Inside Passage” (Summer 2011, TBD)
I am pleased to announce this wonderful trip and invite you to join me as I lead a photography workshop into the heart of the great Alaska Inside Passage. This trip is truly a “wildlife special”, as we cruise the Inside Passage, centering on Frederick Sound, the best known feeding area for humpback whales in Southeast Alaska. One of the consistent pleasures of this itinerary is the distinct possibility of observing many different humpback behaviors, including cooperative bubblenet/lunge feeding, and even witnessing humpbacks breaching out of the water! We will also visit Admiralty Island – the Kootznoowoo Wilderness and the Fortress of the Bears, including the Pack Creek brown bear reserve, where we will, with camera shutters ablazin’, capture hungry brown bears chasing and catching salmon. Another stop takes us to visit Anan Creek and the black bear reserve, where we will watch black bears (from a close-up and protected blind) catching salmon as the fish surge up Anan Creek towards their spawning grounds. We will make several stops on this trip, going ashore among the great, cathedral-like formations of the old growth forests; what a majestic place the Inside Passage is! We’ll also take a jet boat ride up the Stikine River, to Shakes Lake and Glacier, a very picturesque place. Other wildlife in these areas include an abundance of Bald Eagles, Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and possibly Orca “killer” Whales. And we’ll see unending and outrageous scenery, including glaciers and icebergs. This trip is a wonderful experience and offers many outstanding photo opportunities.
I will be shooting alongside the 7 other guests on this trip, and will be available for any one-on-one photographic question you may have. In the evenings and in slow, travel times, I will be available for classroom training on various photographic topics, including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop questions, and any camera setting issues you may have. I’ll do whatever I can to help you with your photography during this trip.
This trip is being conducted with Dolphin Charters. I am intimately familiar with their operation and boat owner/Captain Ronn Patterson. Ronn is a naturalist by profession, a marine biologist by training, a student of whales by practice, a professional photographer by habit, a teacher by inclination, and a writer by requirement. For over twenty-five years he has led natural history trips to such places as Africa, the Amazon, the Andes, Baja California and Mexico, the Galapagos, and Alaska. I have been with Ronn on several trips and I can personally attest that he is a wonderful person, and a tremendous naturalist who knows this area well. Between Ronn, his crew, and myself, we will do everything we can to assure you have a wonderful trip and go home with many memories and quality images of this marvelous and mystical place! For more information on Dolphin Charters, please click on this link:
And to see some of my favorite images that I captured from this trip on my last cruise, click on this link:
Click Here to See Images From My Last Trip!
The exact timing for this workshop has not yet been set, but will likely be 8-9 days in length. I have requested late July/early August (when I was in these areas previously with Dolphin Charters). I know the itinerary and what to expect, and I will be there to help you get the most, photographically, out of your trip. As soon as the schedule is set and the cost is determined, I will update the information on this website. I sincerely hope you will be available to come with me! Meanwhile, if you have any questions for me about this trip, please e-mail me:
And if you are seriously interested in joing me on this trip, please let me know so that I can add you to the “interested parties list” and you will be sure to receive, on a priority basis, any up-to-date information that I receive about this trip, our schedule, and registration.
Workshop Attendees’ Photo Gallery
To see some of the images that were captured during my workshops by the attendees, please click on this link: