Tom and Cree just returned from Botswana and are sharing the highlights with you. We were very excited to have had terrific opportunities to photograph hippos on the Chobe and lions at the Okavango Delta. The early rains this year gave us the chance to photograph animals splashing and leaping though water for the first time in Botswana.
To see photos of the Botswana Photo Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and I have been out photographing aurora in Arctic Alaska for the last week. This week we are photographing a few local events in Alaska and then hope to make it to the Kenai Penninsula before Christmas. On Christmas Day we fly to the tip of South America to start our 21 day Antarctica & South Georgia Photo Tour
FREE EVENT: Join us for our free Bol Holiday Gift Guide: October 10 at 6 pm Denver time. For this annual event we share our top gift ideas for photographers. Everyone is invited! Send us a note here for the invite, or leave a comment below requesting the link.
Tom and Cree just returned from the Greece Photo Tour with Strabo Photo Tours and are sharing the highlights with you. We were very excited to have had two portrait shoots while on the tour. We also really enjoyed the authenticity and hospitality of the people in this more remote part of Greece.
To see photos of the Strabo Greece Photo Tour, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and I will be heading to Botswana for our annual Africa Workshop. If we are lucky we will photograph Mr. Special – our favorite resident male cheetah at Splash Camp. For the month of December we will be enjoying a break in Alaska while we photograph aurora and spend some time in our favorite spot for Eagle Photography – Haines, Alaska.
Tom and I celebrate great photos from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For October we chose an image from our Acadia National Park Workshop. The image was taken by Karen Adair on a sunrise shoot at Otter Rocks. Karen is a graphic designer and photographer from Oregon. You can see more of her work here.
Congratulations to October 2025 ‘s featured photographer – Karen Adair
The Story…
We were shooting the stars. It was beautiful. I felt like I got the shot and then I stopped. The light was changing and starting to dilute. It was loosing the more emotional part of the light. I thought I would just enjoy the sunrise
I turned and saw the rocks in front of me. There was a beautiful opening in the rocks. I turned my tripod 90 degrees and there it was. It was beautiful.
Tom started walking over and he was shooting next to me. I photographed him in front of the sun. Then he walked away.
I was so in love with the glow of the sun on the rocks and the little window that caught the sunbeams. The color was just glorious. It was a beautiful palette.
There was not a lot of color editing. That was all natural color that was there. I masked the rocks to bring the exposure up on the rocks but did very little else.
October 2025 Photo of the Month
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon 7ii
Lens: 14-24mm at 17.5mm
Aperture: f16
Shutter: 1/80
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1
Sieur de Mont
About Photographing in Maine
Inspiring. The nature and the beauty are infinite.
There was such a calm watching the waters. Even watching and hearing the crashing waves was calming. The solitude and quiet of the woods was heart-filling.
The color is brilliant. They are mind-blowing. Even though we did not have the peak colors I recalled from being there before, they were still there. The seasons seem to be shifting anyway. It felt like the peak colors may have been earlier.
The coastal villages were familiar to me. It reminded me of spots on the Oregon Coast. It is a respectable culture. I was happy to watch the fisherman go in and out of the harbor. I did not know that the buoys were a signature to each fisherman. That was neat to learn about.
Karen’ s Tips for Photographing Landscapes
1) Rather than trying to get a good photo, I connect with what I am seeing….what is grabbing my attention. Is it the red tree among all the golden and green ones? Is it the power of the wave crashing on the rock?
A lot of time it is emotion. What did I feel when I saw the sun come up in the rocks? Then I try to connect to that with my camera. I am not looking for a shot. I am trying to express what I see and feel in the scene. What moved me. How will the camera see that?
Landscapes are how nature inspires and moves you. Imagine how the camera will see that.
2) Post is such a great way to put the cherry on the top. It allows you to draw out the part of the image that captivated you in the first place. I am grateful for my 35 years of background using PhotoShop.
3) A lot of times when I am not feeling or seeing something, I just put my camera down and chill. I just take it in.
When we were at Jordan Pond I got the shot but I couldn’t see where I wanted to go next. I decided I would just find a spot along the lake and enjoy the view of the trees across the lake. The density of the trees was beautiful. The water in front of the trees was beautiful. I just wanted to stand along the shore and take it in.
I looked down and there were all these bubbles and brightly colored leaves. I thought, the bubbles would make a great background. I found a couple of beautiful leaves by the shore. I let them drop into the bubbles to give it an element of randomness.
Jordan Pond
On Karen’s Horizon:
Oregon Coast: King Tides at South Shores
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Smith River
Toketee Falls in
Our group at Otter Rocks
Workshop Openings:
Join us for more Coastal Photography on the Kenai Fjords National Park July 7-12, 2026. Calving glaciers, Sea Otters, Whales, and beautiful scenery near Seward and Homer, Alaska. 4 Spaces Available. Learn more
Tom and Cree just returned from their Acadia National Park Workshop in Maine and are sharing the highlights with you. Highlights of the workshop were photographing crashing waves at Otter Rocks and trying a variety of slow shutter speed techniques. We even had clear skies for a night shoot this year.
To see photos from our Acadia National Park Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and Cree will be heading to Greece to photograph the fall harvest with 10 lucky photographers. We’ll check out the shipwreck at Zakynthos and watch fishermen bring in their daily catch. After that we are off to Botswana for our annual Africa Workshop. If we are lucky we will photograph Mr. Special – our favorite resident male cheetah at Splash Camp.
Tom and Cree just returned from their Ouray Fall Colors Workshop in Colorado and are sharing the highlights with you. Tom says there was more fall color on Red Mountain Pass this year then he has ever seen. Highlights of the workshop were the abundance of color in the groves including so many orange and red aspens this year.
To see photos from our Ouray Fall Colors, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and Cree will be heading Greece to photograph the fall harvest with 10 lucky photographers. We’ll check out the shipwreck at Zakynthos and watch fishermen bring in their daily catch. After that we are off to Botswana for our annual Africa Workshop. If we are lucky we will photograph Mr. Special – our favorite resident male cheetah at Splash Camp.
Tom and I celebrate great photos from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For September we chose an image from our Greenland Photography Workshop. The image was taken by Eric Lacey in the Greenlandic town of Ilulissat. Eric is a landscape and travel photographer from Boston.
Congratulations to September 2025 ‘s featured photographer – Eric Lacey
Eric sharing his portraits with the locals
The Story…
We were out walking the town of Ilulissat with Tom and Odd. We photographed whatever caught our eye. The colorful buildings were interesting and we tried to compress them. We came down to the bottom of the hill and we could see the water. There was a dog kennel nearby. I was looking at the puppies.
I heard the words, “Take Picture.” I turned around and there were two little girls behind me. I said “Oh, do you want me to take your picture?” and she said, “Yeah!”
So I started taking pictures of her and her friend. I went over and sat down to show them the photos. I started taking more photos and more children started coming out of the houses and they all wanted to have their pictures taken.
The girl who I first heard, was the only one who seemed to have any English skills. She understood me pretty well. I tried to get her name, but I couldn’t understand what she said.
I am very intimidated by taking pictures of adults. But it is very easy for me to interact with children. The interaction with the kids was very unexpected. It was spontaneous. I wouldn’t have asked them to pose, but since they raised it first, I was very willing.
The photo may not be my favorite photo of the trip, but it is the one I will remember the most. I really enjoyed the interaction.
I wasn’t exactly sure what reception we would get in Greenland. I learned that the Inuit are a very proud and open people. They were very respectful. We were in a taxi and the driver said, “We respect everyone who respects us.”
September 2025 Photo of the Month by Eric Lacey
EXIF Data:
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: 100-500mm at 100mm
Aperture: f10
Shutter: 1/1250
ISO: 400
Arches of Ice near Ilulissat, Greenland
About Photographing in Greenland
Greenland was never on my bucket list…..until I saw the photos that you and Tom got on your last trip.
The icebergs were phenomenal. The shapes of the iceberg were surprising and beautiful. We got one night of sunset, as opposed to dimer light. Most of my favorite photos came in the sunset. It was an unforgettable trip for us.
The landscape is beautiful but kind of sparse. The tundra is different for those of us who do not get up North regularly.
After showing my photos to other people, they all want to go there now. It is only 3.5 hours from Newark to get to Nuuk.
Fall colors in the tundra near Ilulissat
Eric’ s Tips for Photographing Icebergs
My #1 tip is to shoot wide. I did not own a super wide lens. I bought one two days before going on the trip. I did not think I would use it that much.
In the past I have been disappointed because it makes everything look so small. With the icebergs they are so big, and you can get so close that it works great. I am usually a big scene landscape photographer and use the 24mm range all of the time.
2) Shoot in high speed. Because we were on a moving boat we were shooting very fast. The foreground ice chunks in the scene would move by very quickly. I shot regularly at 10 frames per second. This helped me to position the foreground elements in my final selection.
3) Look for foreground icebergs with a submerged portion. The water is so clear that you can see the definition in the underwater icebergs. Tom brought up a photo during the image review with a beautiful submerged iceberg. This became one of my focuses for the rest of the trip.
4) Not about icebergs, but engage every child you see when walking by.
Iceberg Arch with Foreground Ice
On Eric’s Horizon:
South Georgia, Antarctica, Falklands
South Africa
Peru
Utah Landscapes
Japan
Eric and Kim close to a large iceberg
Workshop Openings:
Join us for more Coastal Photography on the Alaska Kenai Explorer July 7-12, 2026. Calving glaciers, Sea Otters, Whales, and beautiful scenery near Seward and Homer, Alaska. 4 Spaces Available. Learn more
Tom and I celebrate great photos from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For August we chose an image from our Redwoods & Rocky Coastlines Workshop. The image was taken by Suzy Onysko at Lagoon Creek Beach. Suzy is a wildlife and fine art photographer from Ohio. You can see her work featured on Susan Onysko Photography.
Congratulations to August 2025 ‘s featured photographer – Suzy Onysko
Suzy photographing at slow shutter speeds on the beach in Crescent City, California
The Story…
We went to Lagoon Creek in the afternoon and wow it was windy! I started out with a tripod, trying to capture the fast-moving waves and sea spray with the sea stacks in the background, but honestly, I wasn’t feeling it. Then I remembered something from a talk earlier that day: Tom Bol said he loves shooting water at 1 second because it keeps just enough texture to stay interesting. Normally, I go with much longer shutter speeds to get that dreamy, soft, gooey look in water, so this felt totally new to me. And that’s exactly why I’ve traveled with the Bols for 15+ years – there’s always something new to learn!
So I switched my camera to manual, cranked up the f-stop, lowered the ISO, and set my shutter speed to 1 second. Loved it instantly! And best of all – no need for that 10-stop ND filter I lugged along. 🙂 I set a 2-second delay so I didn’t need the cable release, parked myself in one spot, and just played with the waves all evening, timing the shutter to see how different wave patterns would transform the image.
At first, for about half an hour, everything came out in these gorgeous midtone grays – perfect for black and white. Then as the sun dropped, the mood shifted. Suddenly, beautiful golden highlights lit up my moody blue water, and the whole scene just glowed. In this photo, what I really loved was the reflection of the sun shimmering in the sand – such a beautiful combo!
I knew I was onto something when I looked up an hour later and realized I was facing the opposite direction of everyone else. Usually I’m the queen of FOMO, but I was so entranced I didn’t even notice!
Processing was easy in Lightroom. I hit that magical AUTO button, used the Adobe Landscape profile, set a Cloudy WB, and then spent some quality time zapping about a zillion dust spots. Lightroom has really come a long way! My little secret trick was using the Adaptive Sky – Blue Hour Preset. Lightroom thought my waves were clouds (ha!), so by lowering the opacity I ended up with these gorgeous, rich blue tones in the water.
August 2025 Photo of the Month by Susan Onysko
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens:100-400mm at 100mm
Aperture: f32
Shutter: 1 second
ISO: 64
About Photographing in the Redwoods
This was my second time on the Redwoods Photo Workshop with TBPW and I can honestly say that it’s one of the most challenging places I’ve ever photographed. The first time you go, you’re just overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the trees. Figuring out how to photograph them so that the images actually capture their scale and power. That’s the tricky part. I don’t think you really understand how hard it is until you’re standing right there in front of them.
Most of the spots we photograph in the Redwoods are low light, which means a tripod is a must if you want clean, sharp files. If you’re not used to shooting with a tripod – practice! 🙂 For me, it’s especially frustrating because most of my photography is handheld or with a beanbag from a safari vehicle in Africa. Switching gears to “tripod mode” definitely takes patience.
The coast in California and Oregon is absolutely lovely. Of course, I always dream of those gorgeous, cloudy, colorful sunsets (and even stayed extra days in Oregon hoping for one!), but alas… Mother Nature had other plans. Oregon was socked in, and other days I had completely clear skies. So, I went the black-and-white route instead. I ended up thrilled with my slow-water images from this trip. The best part is that the photos from my second trip look completely different from my first. That’s the beauty of returning to a place – you never know what magic you’ll find.
Surfline at Lagoon Creek
Suzy’ s Tips for Photographing at the Coast
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of tripods. But… in my opinion, they often make the difference between a snapshot and a wall-hanger. 🙂 At the coast, a tripod really helps when you want to play with different shutter speeds to capture the mood of the waves – whether that’s silky and soft or crashing and powerful.
One of the highlights of this trip was when Cree found some AMAZING starfish for us to photograph. It was so much fun to see during the image showcase at the end how many variations people captured: starfish with soft waves, starfish with crashing waves, starfish close-up, starfish with big sweeping scenes. The creativity was endless!
As for me, the moment I had pulled out my trusty infrared camera and a polarizer I was completely absorbed in photographing tidal pools. I loved the way the kelp and sea plants transformed in infrared – they had this wonderful, otherworldly texture. I guess that means I’ll just have to go back another time for those starfish… not the worst problem to have! 😉
Tidepool in Infrared
On Suzy’s Horizon:
Grand Teton National Park
Ouray with TBPW
Australia
Botswana
Falklands, Antarctica and South Georgia with TBPW
Workshop Openings:
Join us for more Coastal Photography on the Alaska Kenai Explorer July 7-12, 2026. Calving glaciers, Sea Otters, Whales, and beautiful scenery near Seward and Homer, Alaska. 4 Spaces Available. Learn more
Tom just returned from Disko Bay in Greenland after leading two photography workshops and we are sharing the highlights with you. Tom says there was more ice in the water surrounding the town of Ilulissat then he has ever seen. Highlights of the workshop were the abundance of massive icebergs and the variety of moody skies for backgrounds.
To see photos from our Greenland Photography Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and Cree will be heading to the Rocky Mountain High Country to photograph yellow aspen trees with a workshop group at the end of September. For the next few weeks Tom and Cree will be exploring the Alaskan wilderness by canoe. Chances are they will be off grid for awhile.
Our Iditarod Workshop for 2026 is starting to fill up. Photograph Northern Lights and the Last Great Race during the best month for winter photography in Alaska. Rental packets available for warm clothing and boots Read more
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available: July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. This is a workshop with easy walking. Read details
Tom and I celebrate great photos from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For July we chose an image from our Iceland: Puffins and Waterfalls Workshop. The image was taken by Stuart Litoff on Grimsey Island. Stuart is a landscape and fine art photographer who also photographs wildlife. You can see his work featured here.
Congratulations to our featured photographer for July 2025 – Stuart Litoff
The Story…
This was the second day of shooting puffins. I knew I had gotten some okay shots the day before. But I hadn’t gotten any good shots with the fish in their beaks. That was my goal for the second day.
Before the shoot Tom had talked about soft backgrounds and soft foregrounds. I had that on my mind. When I saw this cliff area with the cloud behind it, I kept my eye on the bird that was there. At first it was standing with it’s head in profile, then he slowly turned his head towards me. I was shooting at 30 frames per second so I had a lot to choose from. I liked the way this one looked the best.
I also really wanted a flying puffin with fish. I haven’t found one yet that I like in the images I have reviewed so far.
I enjoy wildlife photography. I don’t like doing it for an entire trip. I can be overwhelmed by too many photos to sort through. I took 3000-4000 pictures of puffins. That was a lot for me. But this was one of the latter shots of the day, so maybe I would have missed this if I had quit earlier.
I use Photo Mechanic to sort images. But I want to see them all. I want to see what I shot. I find that there are surprises in all directions. A photo that I did not think would be good, could turn out to be really good. For this photo I was able to go through a range of images with slightly different head positions.
July 2025 Photo of the Month by Stuart Litoff
EXIF Data:
Camera: Fuji X-H2S
Lens: Fuji 100-400mm lens at 400mm
Aperture: f6.4
Shutter: 1/2000
ISO: 3200 (auto)
Shutter Priority
About Photographing in Iceland
I love Iceland. This is my third trip there. I went there for the first time 10 years ago with Tom on a Strabo trip.
I love the landscape. I love that there aren’t a lot of people there. It is different than a lot of other places. The people are also really nice.
It was great to explore the north, the Highlands and the West Fjords on this trip. That was all new to me.
Sun Voyager Statue on the Coastal Walkway
I had a late flight out on the last day and decided to grab my camera and go out for a walk on the Coastal Walkway. I had seen images of the Sun Voyager sculpture before but did not know where to find it. Just as I arrived at the sculpture I was getting some breaks in the cloud layer. I had my super-wide lens on 6-12mm.
I found the composition to be challenging. I couldn’t get the entire sculpture in, so I focused on including more of the sky instead.
I exposed for the sky instead of the sculpture. I was pleased how the sculpture turned out in post processing.
Icelandic Foals
Stuart’ s Tips for Photographing Wildlife
Tip 1
For me, I have to work at being patient and forgiving. If birds are moving a lot or flying it is hard to get a good photo. I have to try not to get frustrated with the results and just keep working at it.
Tip 2
When there are multiple animals close to each other, I really look for interaction between animals. Those are the best shots. This is when you can capture emotion.
When we arrived at the field with the foals in it, there was a group of seven horses, including a stallion. The Icelandic horses are very friendly and came right over to us. I focused on the connection between the two foals.
Tom just returned from the Iceland: Puffins and Waterfalls and we are sharing the highlights with you. Tom led a group of photographers to the coast and the Highlands of Iceland to capture both wildlife and landscape images. Highlights of the workshop were the abundance of puffin on Grimsey Island and the variety of waterfalls all over Iceland.
To see photos from our Iceland: Puffins and Waterfalls Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom will be heading to Greenland with two groups of photographers to photograph dramatic icebergs and Humpback Whales in the middle of August. Cree will be back home working on the schedule for 2028. Where would you like to go in 2028? Let us know
Our Iditarod Workshop for 2026 is starting to fill up. Photograph Northern Lights and the Last Great Race during the best month for winter photography in Alaska. Rental packets available for warm clothing and boots Read more
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available: July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. This is a workshop with easy walking. Read details
