Event Phone: 479-414-6889
-
Florida Bird Photography Workshop
April 14, 2025 - April 18, 2025
12:15 pm - 10:00 am -
Balance after deposit
January 25, 2025 - April 18, 2025
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Use this ticket to pay the balance after paying the deposit.
St Augustine Florida Bird Photography Workshop
April 14 – 18, 2025 (limited to 4 participants)
Join me for a 5 day photography dream trip to photograph some of Americas most beautiful birds during the peek of the nesting season in some of the best locations in Florida. We will have the opportunity to photograph nesting birds with chicks from close distance without disturbing them. In addition we will be able to photograph alligators in the wild and the Manatee or Sea Cow as they are sometimes called.
Although this is considered a bird photography workshop (because we will spend a lot of time photographing birds) there will be many more photographic opportunities photographing in and around St. Augustine Florida. St Augustine has many historic structures (it is America’s oldest city) including Castillo de San Marcos, the city’s 17th-century Spanish fort
Also included in the workshop will be a 2 boat photography tours.
We will have a two hour adventure photographing on the St. Johns River! The St. Johns River is rich in history and wildlife. Keeping in mind that we will be traveling in the wild and sightings change greatly from day to day, common things to see on the river include wading birds, manatees, aquatic plant life, cypress forests, and alligators.
Our second boat tour will a private pontoon boat tour to photograph Osprey on Blue Cypress Lake. This magnificent lake is approximately seven miles long and three miles wide with 21miles of shoreline surrounded by 29,000 acres of marshes, swamps and cypress forests. It’s a place of complete surrender to Mother Nature as blue skies give way to blue-hued water which some say occur because of the reflection of the Blue Cypress trees on the lake as the morning sun rises into the sky. The lake is also a top Osprey nesting site reporting over 200 nests along the shoreline.
St. Augustine
Since the late 19th century, St. Augustine’s distinctive historical character has made the city a tourist attraction. Its unique scenery and history set this city apart from any other in the country. This old town has a quaint feel, and boasts a big appeal. Visitors see why when they stroll along the brick-lined streets and delight in the city’s European flavor, with centuries-old buildings, horse-drawn carriages, and hidden courtyards. Saint Augustine has plenty of history to explore — more than 450 years of it!
Castillo de San Marcos, the city’s 17th-century Spanish fort, continues to attract tourists. St. George Street is a major pedestrian street that runs through the downtown area and includes over 30 historic houses and tourist attractions.
The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. construction began in 1672, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire.
In 1819, Spain signed the Adams–Onís Treaty which ceded Florida to the United States in 1821; consequently the fort was designated a United States Army base and renamed Fort Marion, in honor of American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. The fort was declared a National Monument in 1924, and after 251 years of continuous military possession, was deactivated in 1933. The 20.48-acre site was subsequently turned over to the United States National Park Service.
The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida.[2] The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
We will be spending a day photographing at the rookery during the peak of nesting season allowing us to get great photos of baby birds in the nest without disturbing them.
This famous wading bird rookery provides a great day out for birders, photographers, tourists and families. Thanks to the resident alligators, wading birds like Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Wood Storks and Tricolored Herons have long nested above the gator ponds. Why? Because the giant reptiles provide the birds with protection from raiders like raccoons, who would eat the eggs and chicks in their nests. Boardwalks wind through the rookery, giving great up-close looks at the adult birds, their nests and their prehistoric looking chicks! The birds are very habituated to people on the boardwalks and as a result disturbance is not an issue.
Roseate Spoonbills are pale pink birds with brighter pink shoulders and rump. They have a white neck and a partially feathered, yellowish green head from which their red eyes shine. Juveniles are paler pink and have a completely feathered head for 3 years until they attain adult breeding plumage.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1963 for the protection of migratory birds. Consisting of 140,000 acres, the refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater marshes, managed impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks. These habitats provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals and 15 federally listed species.
Merritt Island NWR is one of Florida’s premier birding sites with more than 330 recorded species. We will travel the the world-renowned 7-mile Black Point Wildlife Drive (an auto tour loop). We will be able to stop and get out of the vehicle to photograph anywhere along the route.
A scarce Glossy Ibis at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
A Reddish Egret at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
About the Workshop
Our workshops are based on digital photography, the assistance that I can provide and the immediate feedback of digital make “in the field” workshops one of the most effective teaching formats available. Whether finding the correct exposure, looking through the viewfinder for the perfect composition, or learning how to use the equipment, you can’t beat real world experience. Classes are kept small, it’s all about personal, individual attention. Digital offers several benefits for learning photography including:
- Immediate feedback on exposure and composition
- Immediate critique from the instructor and other participants
- Ability to do reviews and projection
- Automatically capturing all shooting information (Meta Data)
- Ability to manage workflow while still on location
Workshop Itinerary
Changes to the Itinerary
Our meeting times and locations will be given to attendees before the start of the workshop.
To offer the best experience possible for the workshop participants we reserve the right to alter the itinerary when our judgment warrants it. This could be due to unforeseen circumstances, closures, weather, or other conditions beyond our control. We may also alter due to new or unexpected photographic opportunities that may arise.
Proposed Itinerary
During this workshop we will have a great deal of flexibility and optimize our time spent photographing with time processing and evaluating our images. We may change the itinerary due to weather or wishes of the group.
Workshop Policies and Information
Cost
The workshop fee will be $1595.00 per participant.
What is Included
This is a teaching workshop not just a photo tour. We will have classroom time for instruction, processing images, and critique your work. Workshop fees include full instruction and two photography boat tours and entrance to St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
What is Not Included
Transportation to and from the workshop, lodging, meals, incidental expenses, gratuities, and items of a personal nature are not included. Admission fees to any of the other attractions or sites in St. Augustine are not included and are optional. My philosophy on lodging and meals is that by not including them in the workshop each participant is free to choose their own level of accommodation and choice of meals. I have some participants stay in high end motels or Air BnB’s, while others prefer camping or RV’s.