Arizona Hummingbirds 2025

Session 1: July 20-23, 2023 Sunday at 4 pm – Wednesday morning at 10:00 am 5 Spaces Available

Session 2: July 23-26, 2023 Wednesday at 4 pm – Saturday morning at 10:00 am – 5 Spaces Available

Cost: $3495 Read more

Location: Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, Arizona

Details:  Join Tom and Cree at one of the best locations in the United States to photograph hummingbirds. You will learn to capture hummingbirds in flight as well as on perches. Each participant will be provided with their own multi flash station to use to capture hummingbirds in flight. We also include editing lessons and an online image review. When not photographing hummingbirds we will look for local wildlife like the coatimundi or nearby song birds like Hepatic Tanagers, Mexican Jays and Black-headed Grosbeak. Each session limited to 5 people.

This workshop involves a minimal amount of walking.

What you will learn:

• Lighting techniques to capture hummingbirds in flight
• How to photograph perched hummingbirds
• Styling backgrounds and adding flowers
• Editing techniques in Lightroom and Photoshop

A typical day: Our days  will be all about photographing hummingbirds. Our goal is to help you learn how to take compelling hummingbird images with plenty of hands on instruction. We will cover camera settings, anticipating behavior, and specialty topics like stylizing backgrounds and foregrounds.

We will start early in the morning when the birds are most active and photograph for several hours. During the midday hours we will have time for editing instruction and image reviews. In the late afternoon and evening hours we will have a second shooting session for several more hours. You are welcome to use some of the midday hours to hike, photograph other birds or just relax and enjoy the surroundings.

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The Lodge:  We have reserved a block of cabins for the workshop at the Santa Rita Lodge. Plan to show up at 3 pm for check in and we will be photographing with individual flash stations that evening.

Closest Airport: We recommend flying into the Tucson International Airport. Rental cars are readily available in Tucson. Drive time to the Santa Rita Lodge is about 30 minutes.

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Recommended camera gear:

• 1 camera body
• Wider telephoto lens for example 70-200mm or 300mm
• Longer telephoto lens –200-500mm, 500mm or 600mm
• Tripod
• Laptop for editing and critique
• Plenty of spare cards – plan to shoot more image than on most workshops

Included in the fee:

• Lodging at the Santa Rita Lodge
• Equipment for flash set ups
• Breakfast and lunch while at the lodge
• All instruction
• Copy of Tom’s ebook Create Better Photographs

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Participants will provide their own:

• Transportation to and from the Santa Rita Lodge
• Dinners in Green Valley

Itinerary:

Day 1: Meet at Cabin #5 at 4 pm for an Overview. First flash session with hummingbirds on simple backgrounds.

Day 2: Morning session on hummingbirds with flower foregrounds. Midday break: editing instruction and image review. Afternoon session on hummingbirds on perches and more flash practice.

Day 3: Morning session on multiple exposure hummingbird images. Midday break: editing workshop. Afternoon photography session and evening image review.

Day 4: Final morning session to perfect your technique. Check out by 11 am

Know Before You Go: Rated Easy: This workshop requires walking less than 1 mile per day all on pavement.