What Size Lenses Will I Need?

This workshop is all about photographing birds. Although we will be up close and personal with many of our subjects, we always recommend that you have the longest possible lens when photographing birds. For this reason, you will want something that can reach at least 500mm. This does not mean that you necessarily need to have a 500 f/4 lens. This length can be reached through a variety of ways such as zoom lenses digital crop factor cameras and teleconverters.

We recognize that long telephoto lenses are expensive, so please do not feel like you need to own these lenses. We personally use Lensrentals for when we need special gear and we recommend them exclusively for our clients, too. 

Please feel free to reach out via email if you have any questions about your gear and whether or not it will be suitable for this workshop. We're always happy to make personalized recommendations to help set you up for success.

Will I Need a Tripod for this Workshop?

Yes you will! Tripods are crucially important in wildlife photography and on this workshop you will need one. Though there may be times that we hand hold our lenses, in most instances we will want to properly stabilize our equipment. 

We highly recommend a tripod without a center column. For wildlife photography, it's often imperative that we get as low as possible to the ground to get the best possible images with our subjects. There are thousands of reasons we want to get lower with our gear and rarely do we have a need to get taller. Tripods with a center column prevent your camera from getting all the way down to the ground. 

In wildlife photography, we recommend a tripod with a load capacity that is twice the amount of weight that you will put on it. So, you were to estimate that the tripod head weights 5lbs, your camera body weighs 5lbs, you biggest lens weighs 12 lbs, this is 22 lbs total. And therefore, we recommend you have a tripod that can hold a minimum of 44lbs. Most likely you will need to round up to 50lbs for this. 

For this workshop, we will also provide a Skimmer Pod for each participant to take home. This makes working on the beach and shorelines a dream.

What is the Itinerary?

Our success in the field is determined by a combination of variables, especially the weather.  As such, we don't publish exact dates and locations because we will adjust the schedule as we review weather, locations, etc. We have three general locations for this workshop all within a short drive from our hotel base. You can expect that we will spend each morning in the field and each afternoon and evening in the field. We usually take a break mid-day so people can grab lunch, download their cards and backup images, and have a few hours off.  The mid-day light is harsh and unflattering for photography and the wildlife all rest in the middle of the day, as well, so there isn't anything worthwhile being missed.

What is Not Included in the Price?

For this workshop, you should plan to provide your own transportation to the locations, as well as pay for your own meals. For liability reasons, we do not provide the transportation for this workshop. However, many workshop participants choose to carpool or share a rental car.

Pre-workshop Zoom

We arrange a pre-workshop Zoom call ahead of every workshop. This is a great way to get to know your fellow workshop participants and get more detailed information at the same time. While you're always welcome to email us with questions, we've found this online "meet and greet" is the best way to answer most of the group's questions. If you have a question about gear, clothing, or what to expect, chances are that someone else in the workshop does, too.  

How Strenuous is This Workshop?

This workshop has a moderate amount of physical activity. Participants will be getting up and down from a kneeling (or laying down) position, as well as walking short distances. There are times that we may also get into the water, up to hip-to-waist deep. Participants should plan to get wet, dirty, and spend some time in the sand on this workshop. We highly recommend quick-dry clothing.