Photo of the Month August 2022

At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For August we chose an image from our Galapagos Workshop created by Ned Reese. We hope you enjoy Ned’s images as much as we do!

Congratulations to August 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Ned Reese

Ned Reese on Espanola Island in the Galapagos

The Story… 

I had about 70 images of the night heron. Going through them, that one was in the middle of the string of images.

It was stunning when I brought it up in Photo Mechanic. The image is almost untouched. I did very little to improve it. It was almost an accident.

I like tight framed shots of wildlife, shots of the face, with interesting facial expressions. Animals are not too distant from humans. You can read their faces. You could put a lot of captions on that frame.

August 2022 Photo of the Month

When we landed on Genovese Island, there were birds everywhere. It was early on in the trip. It was kind of like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. There was so much going on around us.

This was a different kind of shooting for me. There was so much activity and life everywhere we turned. On Everest I learned to step back and take in the environment before starting to shoot. You cannot do that in the Galapagos. I found myself grabbing the camera and just trying to be cognizant of all of the correct settings while shooting.

I like this image more every time I look at it. It speaks to what I was trying to get, an interesting facial expression and tack sharp details. I have been doing a lot of photography recently, listening, being around Tom and Cree. My photography has improved by magnitudes.


EXIF Data:

Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400 lens shot at 310 mm

F10, 1/2000 sec, ISO 3200

Manual Mode, auto ISO


Ned’s Tips for Photographing Wildlife:

Take a lot of shots

Auto ISO is key to shooting in manual. Tom insisted I try it and it was awkward at first. It made it much easier in the long run. You learn more about your camera too.


Sultry Sealion

About Photographing in the Galapagos

To be honest, at first Galapagos was just another workshop. I have been working more on my technique than on locations. Everybody talks about the Galapagos. I wasn’t prepared for the reality of being on the ground and photographing there.

In retrospect, it was in the top 5 of all my favorite photo locations.

It was special in ways I am still learning about. There is so much life there. It is so prevalent, everywhere. It’s like wall paper. On bear trips you have to go out and find the bears. On this trip, animals are everywhere.

The sailboat made it even more special. I’d go back but only on a sailboat. Darwin and Fitzroy explored the Galapagos in a ship. This was an associative experience for me. I can’t image doing it any other way.

Flamingos on Rabida Island

Flamingo Shoot:

We hiked into the pond and flamingos were all over the place. It was a sunny day with a lot of contrast and there was not much activity. We decided to walk to the end of the pond and it looked like they were going to do something. My arm was getting tired from holding up my 500mm lens for so long….

When they took off, I took 30-40 images of them flying. This image was a statistical success. It had the right light, good composition and everything was sharp.

Sealion in the surf on Rabida Island

On Ned’s Horizon:

New Zealand

Africa: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa

Alaska

Antarctica

“I just like to go….”

Ned photographing a Giant Land Tortoise

Where are Tom and Cree?

With Fall right around the corner, we are headed to Alaska for our Brown Bear Safari in Katmai National Park. We are back home just a few days before heading to Norway and on to New Zealand in September.

With so much travel in September we will do our best to answer your questions while on the road. This will be our busiest month since starting our business five years ago. By October things will slow down and we will be in the office more often. Thanks for your patience. We are almost caught up from all the postponed trips from 2020 and 2021.

To see our 2023 schedule, click here

We hope you are enjoying a great summer. Thanks for reading our posts!

Tom and Cree

www.tombolphotoworkshops.com

Trip Report Galapagos 2022

We had a wonderful time on our recent workshop to the Galapagos in Ecuador. Daily snorkeling, sailing on a three-masted ship and walking right up to incredibly rare birds were just a few of the highlights. Take a look at our trip report to see the photos and find out more.

To see the report, click here

If you are interested in traveling to the Galapagos on the Mary Anne with us for a future workshop, send us a note via our contact page, link here Ask to be on the Interest List.

We will be trading in our bathing suits for parkas as our next workshop starts soon in Iceland and Greenland with Strabo Tours. We want to be able to answer all of your questions as soon as possible and will check messages whenever we have coverage. After the workshop, we will be readily available and in the office from August 25-30 if you need anything.

Thanks for reading our posts. We hope to photograph with you soon!

Tom and Cree

Farewell from the Galapagos
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