BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo Tours (IPTs)

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Current IPT Schedule

MORRO BAY, CA IPT. APR 2-4, 2012. 3-FULL DAYS: $1499. Introductory Slide program: 7pm on 4/1. Limit: 10/Openings: 3.

Co-leader Aidan Briggs. Shorebirds including Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Black Oystercatcher, Surfbird, gulls, sunrises and sunsets & California Poppies. Likely additional possibilities include White-crowned Sparrow, Western Scrub Jay, Anna’s Hummingbird, Common Loon, Brandt’s Cormorant, and a heron rookery. A minimum focal length of 500mm is recommended for this trip (though Aidan has created 100s of great images there with “just” the Canon 100-400mm IS L zoom lens).

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KATMAI BEAR BOAT IPT: July 24-31, 2012 from Kodiak, AK: $6499. Limit 6/Openings 3. Coastal Brown Bears (Grizzlies) Galore!

Coastal Brown Bears at point blank range foraging & clamming with a good chance of copulations; cubs nursing and playing. Likely additional subjects include Horned and Tufted Puffins, nesting Bald Eagle and Black-legged Kittiwake, Steller’s Sea Lion, rafts of Sea Otters and more. Halibut fishing optional.

BOSQUE del APACHE 2012 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 21-27, 2012. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/20. Limit: 12/Openings: 10/Openings 8.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 18 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the light and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable.

SAN DIEGO IPT: JAN 24-28, 2013. Slide program: 6:30pm on 1/23. 5-FULL DAYS: $2399. Limit: 10. Introductory Slide program: 6:30pm/January 23.

Breeding plumage California Brown Pelicans, Wood Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Harbor Seal, shorebirds, gulls including the spectacular Heerman’s Gull in breeding plumage, & lots more! I have almost two decades of experience photographing San Diego in winter and I am addicted to the beauty of the pelicans. We enjoy tons of great flight photography.

SW FLA IPT. FEB 16-21, 2013. Introductory slide program: 7pm on 2/15. 6-FULL DAYS: $2999. Limit: 10.

Co-leaders: TBA. My bread and butter trip; learn the basics and the advanced fine points from the best; escape winter’s icy grip and enjoy tons of tame birds! Subjects will include nesting Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Mottled Duck, Brown and White Pelican at point-blank range, Snowy & Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, wintering shorbirds and plovers, gulls and terns, & Burrowing Owl. All ridiculously tame.

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GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience: 13 FULL and two 1/2 days of photography: $12,749. Limit 13/Openings: 6.

July 2-16, 2013 on the boat. Fly to Quito on June 30. Travel insurance day: July 1. Fly to the archipelago on July 2. Get off the boat on July 16. Spend that afternoon and evening in Puerto Ayora (lunch & dinner on your own). Fly to Quito on July 17. Fly home on the early morning of July 18. $12,749 includes just about everything including all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, yours flights to the archipelago, and four nights in top notch hotels–three in Quito and one on Puerto Ayora. Non-refundable deposit: $5,000. Limit 14 including the leader/Openings: 8

Briefly, my two-week trips are without equal. The world’s best guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), and the best leader with seven Galapagos cruises under his belt. The great spots include Tower Island (including Prince Phillips Steps and Darwin Bay), Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world’s only nesting site of Waved Albatross, and Gardner Bay)—each of the preceding are world class wildlife photography designations that rank right up there with Antarctica, Africa, and Midway), Fernandina, Puerto Ayora for the tortoises, Puerto Egas—James Bay, North Seymour, South Plaza, Black Turtle Cove, Floreana, Urbina Bay, and China Hat. Plus tons more. And lots of snorkeling for those who wish to partake. All park fees, meals except as noted above, guide fees, ground transportation, and the flights to and from the Galapagos are included.