The Art of Nature Photography; It Ain’t Just Birds!  Weekend How-To Seminar

Queens, New York (near JFK Airport)

August 18-19, 2007 

Sponsored by Canon USA, Hunt’s Photo, Delkin Devices, & Wimberley, Inc.

The NYC Seminar will be held at the at the Crowne Plaza JFK Hotel

151-20 Baisley Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11434  

This seminar is for all nature photographers who want to learn how to make better photographs. On Saturday I will describe the methods and techniques that I have developed and used since 1983.  My comments on equipment (including and especially digital equipment), autofocus, light, and on composition and image design, and my tips on getting close to free and wild subjects and creating pleasing blurs will benefit everyone with a telephoto lens who wishes to dramatically improve the quality of their images. Since going all-digital in November 2002, I have--in short order--become a digital photography and Photoshop expert.  My approach to optimizing images is to create a master file of excellent quality in the shortest possible time.  I will share our workflow and numerous Digital and Photoshop tips on Sunday.  As more and more folks are using Digital Capture, I am finding on our IPTs that many good to excellent photographers have no clue as to how to use Photoshop to make their images look better.  In fact, many of them make their best images look worse!  My workflow is designed to quickly produce master files of high quality.  I can and will teach you to do just that at this seminar.   

The cost of the weekend seminar will be $169.  The cost of either single day will be $99.  Members of qualifying camera clubs are invited to apply a $10 discount.  (If you are a member of a camera club or other photography organization please e-mail us to learn how your group can become a qualifying club).  Register with a friend or spouse and take $10 off each registration.  Register in groups of four or more and take $20 off of each registration.   It is highly recommend that folks purchase the buffet luncheon option ($15/day includes tip and tax) as there are no fast food restaurants nearby. Those purchasing the lunch option will receive their lunch coupon when they check in each morning.)  The cost of the weekend seminar plus the two lunches is $199.  

To register, send a check for the full amount made out to "Arthur Morris" to PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855, call with a credit card: 863-692-0906, or send a Paypal

 to us at birdsasart@att.net  In all cases, we will need your e-mail address, your mailing address, and your daytime and evening phone numbers.   Here is our Cancellation Policy:  If for any reason you need to withdraw, please notify us ASAP. Once we receive your e-mail, phone call, or written notice of your cancellation the following fees apply: cancel before May 17, 2007 and your fee will be refunded less a $20.00 cancellation fee; cancel by July 17, 2007 and your fee will be refunded less a $50.00 cancellation fee; cancel after July 17, 2007 and there will be no refund.   

The doors will open on both days at 8 am and the programs will begin at 9 am sharp.  There will be tons of great door prizes (including Delkin e-film Pro compact flash cards and Lowepro Roadrunner AWs). I hope that you will be able to join me for what will be an incredibly educational and fun-filled weekend.  (If anyone would like to help us set up or to simply hang out, be there at 7:00am.)

The seminar hotel is the Crowne Plaza JFK Hotel, 151-20 Baisley Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11434.  The first 40 attendees who register to stay at the seminar hotel will receive a free Lens Pen Combo Kit—a $20 value--plus our detailed instructions (those sent via e-mail).   Room rates anywhere in NYC are extremely high; we have negotiated a fantastic low rate of $139 per night for those who register in a timely fashion.  (The lowest internet rate that I could come up with for the Crowne Plaza was $161/night).  To secure your room, please call 718-489-1000 with a credit card in hand, state that you wish to make a BIRDS AS ART reservation, and give them the confirmation code: BAA.

In August, fall shorebird migration is well underway at the nearby Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.  Photography at the East Pond there can be excellent, especially for those who do not mind crawling in the mud and muck.  Folks joining us from out of town should strongly consider bringing their gear and doing some photography at J-BAY, one of my favorite places on the planet, and one of my three soul-places.  I would advise staying on after the seminar (rather than coming in early); the juvenile shorebirds, which can be extraordinarily tame, begin arriving in mid-August.  

Tentative Schedules:

SAT: Nature Photography/Principles and Techniques

9:00 am: Welcome and Introduction

9:30 am: Putting Art in Your Nature Photography: Composition and Image Design

10:30 am: Break/Marketplace

11:00am: Understanding Exposure/The Short Course

11: 30 am: Seeing, Understanding and Using Natural Light

12 noon: Tripods, Heads, Tripod Handling, Stalking Tips, Sharpness Tips, and Ground Pods.

12:15: Lunch/Break/Marketplace

1:30 pm Getting Close; Tricks of the Trade

2:15pm: Choosing and using lenses

3:15 pm: Break/Marketplace

3:45 pm: Flash Set-up and Better Beamer Demonstration

4:00pm: Understanding .Flash as Main Light, Flash as Fill, and Manual Flash

4:30pm: Door prizes/Break

5:00pm: Shutter Speeds, Depth-of Field, and Creating Pleasing Blurs

5:30 pm: The End

SUN: Digital Rocks!  Digital Photography and Photoshop

9:00 am: Welcome and Introduction

9:15 am: Why Digital?

9:45 am: Understanding, Evaluating, and Adjusting Histograms

10:15 am: Break/Marketplace

10:45 am: Downloader Pro, Breezebrowser, Editing, & Photoshop CS: the BIRDS AS ART Workflow.

12:15pm: Lunch/Break/Marketplace

1:30 pm: Advanced Photoshop CS Techniques

2:30 pm: Break/Marketplace

3:00 pm: More Advanced Photoshop CS Techniques

3:30: Pictures to Exe (slide program software!)

3:45 pm: Creating Actions and Batching

4:15 pm: Door prizes/Break

5:00 pm: Recent Images

5:30 pm: The End

Seminar Kudos

“The whole Albuquerque weekend was enlightening and taught me a few new helpful Photoshop tricks.  I truly enjoyed seeing your images.   Your demonstration of Breezebrowser motivated me to purchase it off your site.   You moved things along well.  I did not want to miss anything! The insights into  your personal life and the eloquent and loving descriptions of your wanderings and romance with your late  wife and the tragedy of losing her as you achieved the pinnacle of your craft had a very deep emotional affect on me. I found it fascinating and sad in ways that are difficult to describe. I was left with the feeling through your narrative that I knew her - for this you should be very pleased for there is no greater tribute to a lost partner. It seems to me that you still have her guiding hand deeply assisting your life.   I found your  enthusiasm for teaching quite appealing and I appreciated that do not keep any secrets; you are willing to share all of your  knowledge. You have a keen, highly honed ability to keep the group under tight control and as an attendee I really appreciated that.   The explosion of digital photography and the affordability of good equipment is  going to make this the  number one hobby in the world, and programs such as yours make it better for all of us.  When I was in Homer last year I didn't know you from a CF card, but  now I take great delight in viewing your images and listening to your photographic  wisdom.  Keep raising the bar as it challenges us all.   Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and talent with us.”  Doug  Walsh

“I thoroughly enjoyed Albuquerque: great people, great images and information, and a great teacher.  Digital Sunday was excellent; there was great stuff  for folks at all levels of expertise. It was most helpful to watch you work on several images rather than having you just tell us what to do.  Equally beneficial was watching you go through 350+brand new  images and seeing which images were eliminated and why.  Also helpful was the sensor cleaning demonstration.  Thank you for a very worthwhile two days!  Janet DiMattia

 “I would like to thank you for an absolutely wonderful weekend;  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and listening to you speak with great  enthusiasm about your craft. I was very impressed with your willingness to share with us what you worked so long and hard to discover. Your teaching skills are superb, and your book doesn’t do justice to the breadth and depth of your work compared to 16 solid hours over two days of seeing one jaw-droppingly gorgeous shot after another. I guess I’m a little disappointed to find out the real secret to great bird photography is a lot of hard work but I think I suspected that from the start”  Jeff Huehn 

 "Thanks for a really great and informative weekend.  I really appreciate your willingness to share your hard learned lessons with those of us less experienced as this really lessens our learning curve.  A lesser man might well feel threatened by doing that. Thanks also for the help, good tips, and the products.  It is certainly better to learn from someone who has already been there!"  Sir John Sherman

“Getting to watch you edit 370 new images in 35 minutes (with Breezebrowser) while explaining your keep or delete decisions on the fly was alone well worth the price of admission.  How often does one get to watch a top pro edit their work live?”    Phone conversation with Albuquerque attendee.

 I live in Chicago and for months anticipated attending the weekend seminar.  I was so committed that when I found out that I needed to have back surgery, I postponed it  so I could attend.   I have been your fan for years and you have been kind enough to take time to respond to a few of my e-mails with guidance. In turn, I have been able to purchase a few items from Birds As Art. I just wanted to say “Thanks” for a seminar that met or exceeded my expectations. Thanks to your comments at the seminar  I purchased the BreezeBrowser and Downloader Pro software which is a phenomenal improvement over the Adobe Bridge that came with CS2 (it is much, much faster and far more intuitive!!!) I read the Bulletins avidly but the exchange of information in person was the clincher.  Anyway, thanks for a wonderful experience and, hopefully, someday I’ll have the opportunity to join you on one of your photo outings. Rick deGolian 

"Everything was absolutely fabulous, every question was answered.  I appreciated your open, sharing nature."  Donna Manley 

"Although the pace was very fast, I would rather have too much information during a workshop than come away not having learned anything."  Georgann Schmalz 

“I've been home a couple of hours since attending the seminar. After seeing hundreds of wonderful photos on Saturday, I woke up dreaming of photographing a little warbler.  Your images are just amazing.  I purchased one of your eagle prints and will hang it on my wall for inspiration.  The instruction on using the Wimberly head was most helpful and the Downloader Pro and Breezebrowser demonstrations were great.  As a photographer and business owner, I found the Photoshop sessions on Sunday extremely valuable. I plan on sending my brother to your next seminar!”  Karen Bultman 

And remember, it ain’t just birds!