Florida is so much more than just the bird photography capital of the United States. Truth be told, this is one of the premier wildlife photography destinations in North America, holding its own with the likes of Yellowstone and Alaska. One moment you may find yourself quietly slipping into the mysterious tropical hardwood hammocks to photograph a newborn whitetail fawn, while the next you are tucked inside of a bullrush marsh photographing scores of sandhill cranes as they come in to roost, landing mere feet from your lens.
This isn’t roadside photography. This is immersive. And you will learn more about wildlife photography, art, composition, animal behavior, and ecology than you ever thought possible from a workshop.
This is Florida reimagined, and our workshop is all about diversity. Reddish egrets, alligators, barred and burrowing owls, whitetail deer and newborn fawns, endangered species of shorebirds, and endangered species of tortoises - to name just a few of the many species that we will target.
This is unquestionably one of our favorite workshops to host every year. Not only is it a nice break from the cold of winter elsewhere, but the sheer quantity of incredible wildlife photography opportunities is unsurpassed.
Dates: March 25th – April 1, 2023
Cost: $6500 – Includes additional pre-workshop classroom session
Optional Single Supplement: $1000 (subject to availability)
Classroom Session: We will spend a full day in a classroom session discussing the important photographic concepts needed to take full advantage of this workshop. From low light photography to mastering birds in flight, this classroom session is designed to insure that each participant is fully prepared for the opportunities to come. This one day will completely change your success rate for the entire workshop.
Location: based out of Sarasota Florida
Airport: Sarasota – Bradenton International Airport
Lodging is included with the price of this workshop.
Skill Level: Beginner to advanced
Physical Difficulty: moderate (must be able to get up and down from kneeling and / or laying position)
Participants: This workshop will be limited to a maximum of 6 participants.
Florida WILD
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I need a tripod on this workshop?
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.
Please do not feel the need to pass this workshop by or rush out to purchase a lens for this trip just because you do not have a 500mm lens. There are a variety of places that specialize in renting gear like this and we can help you out with discounts through those companies in order to help you cut costs a bit.
Let us know if you do not have the necessary telephoto power for this workshop and we will work with you personally to make it happen for you.
What sized telephoto lens will I need?
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.
For wildlife photographers, as a general rule of thumb, you want 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.
Another rule of thumb for wildlife photographers is to work with a tripod that DOES NOT come with a center column. There are thousands of reasons you will want to get lower with your gear. But, there is rarely any reason you want to get taller. Thus, a tripod without a center column will allow you to get your camera all the way down to the ground – which is critically important in many situations.
