We spent a wonderful week exploring the fjords of Norway in the Lofoten Islands with our latest workshop group. We chased dramatic light and were dazzled by the fall foliage covering the hillsides. Take a look at their trip report to see the photos and find out more.
We are headed back to Lofoten this winter and have space available. Trip dates: February 18-25, 2023. They are sure to fill quickly. Click here for a link with more info.
We are on our way to New Zealand to explore fjords in a different hemisphere. We will share our highlights when we return to Colorado on October 4.
We wish you wonderful fall travels and photography!
Thanks for reading our posts. We hope to photograph with you soon!
Just getting back from our Brown Bear Safari in Katmai National Park and what a workshop! Seeing more than 100 bears in a single day was a definite highlight. We were also lucky with the weather and were able to fly to all the best spots for bear photography. Take a look at our trip report to see the photos and find out more.
If you are interested in the Bear Safari in 2024, we have a few spaces open. They are sure to fill quickly. Click here for a link with more info.
We are traveling to Norway and New Zealand with workshop groups for the next few weeks. We plan to be back in the office on October 4 and will answer al your inquiries as soon as we get back. We will also check messages when we have good wifi.
Thanks for reading our posts. We hope to photograph with you soon!
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.
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.
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!
At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For July we chose an image from our Glacier Workshop created by Eric Lacey. Eric traveled with us to the North American Indian Days in Browning, Montana. We hope you enjoy Eric’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to July 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Eric Lacey
Portrait of Eric by Kim Lafleur with a f1.2 portrait lens
The Story…
I was looking for an opportunity to photograph a Native American person. I wanted to minimize all the distractions in the background. I was paying as much attention to what was in the background then to what the boy was doing.
Everyone at the event was phenomenally cooperative.
I took 4 or 5 photos with the boy standing in this position. I liked this one the most. He looks contemplative.
Photo of the Month July 2022
Aperture of f2.8: The tepees in the background give it a sense of place. I wanted enough bokeh in the background to blur it but also I wanted the viewer to be able to tell what it is.
Shutter Speed 1/8000: It was a bright sunny day so I shot at a really high shutter speed (1/8000 sec) This is the highest my camera would allow.
Exposure compensation of -1: I always shoot with some negative exposure compensation if I am shooting in aperture mode. I prefer lightening up an image rather than darkening it down in post process. I didn’t want to blow out any of the highlights.
This was the first time I used my mirrorless for portrait work. I was pleased with how it performed. I just love the EVF info and being able to see the histogram in real time. It simplifies the actual shooting.
EXIF Data:
Canon R5, Canon 70-200 RF 2.8 shot at 95mm
F2.8, 1/8000 sec, ISO 200
Aperture Mode, Exposure Comp of -1
Tips for Portraits:
Keep shooting – you will end up with a lot that aren’t great. Increase your keeper ratio by shooting plenty of frames.
Control the background – I didn’t move around the subject much. I knew I wanted the tepees in the background as a frame behind him.
Control the light – we had strong overhead sunlight, so I had to work with that. I softened the light in post. Luckily his headdress didn’t cast too much of a shadow on his face.
Sunrise at Swiftcurrent Lake in GNP
About Photographing in and near Glacier
Glacier exceeded my expectations photographically.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect because Glacier is less well known as a national park. The vistas aren’t as iconic. Compare it to Yosemite. Everyone knows about Half Dome and El Cap. I was very pleasantly surprised.
As for Browning and Indian Days, I thought it was one of the best parts of the trip. The photography was very different for me. Aside from the photography, I really enjoyed just watching. The remembrance tributes were really moving.
Taking portraits was a great way to expand my photographic check list. It was something we hadn’t done before. I took hundreds of photos and only had two keepers. It was really a blast!
Eric learned his lesson with this image
My Lesson Learned:
We went out the first morning and we had a beautiful pink sunrise. I thought the shoot was over and packed everything up and headed to the car. As I was walking up the hill, I heard Tom say, “Look at the light”.
I ran back down and unpacked everything. I used my ND grad filter to darken the sky in this image.
I learned that you don’t pack up until you’re sure the show is over!
On Eric’s Horizon:
Pantanal in Brazil
Puffins on Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine
Oregon Coast & Redwoods
Tanzania
Eric and Kim photographing horses on route to Browning, Montana
Where are Tom and Cree?
As you read this we are sailing around the Galapagos Islands with a group on a three masted sailboat. We will be back in the office from August 8-12 and then off to Greenland with Strabo Tours to photograph enormous icebergs in Disko Bay.
Want to join us for an international adventure? We have a few spots open:
We just returned from our Lake Clark Bear Workshop and are already longing to go back next year. The spring cubs were just wonderful. Take a look at our trip report to see the photos and catch up on what Crimp’s Cub looks like this year.
Tom has been busy working on articles for Nikon in his spare time. Check out his new piece on the Pre-release Feature of the Nikon Z9. If you are an Olympus user you probably already know about it. If you are a Nikon user, this allows you to record images before you push the button and capture a burst of activity. Great read! Click here. Most of the images for the article were taken on our Texas Birds Workshops in May
Tom and I will be out of the office for several weeks in August with workshops in both the Galapagos and Greenland. We want to be able to answer all of your questions as soon as possible and will check messages whenever we have coverage.
We will be readily available and in the office from August 8-12. We are also around for the next several days (end of July) if you need anything.
Thanks for reading our posts. We hope to photograph with you soon!
After postponing for two years, our entire workshop group was delighted to be going to Glacier National Park. We showed up in the early morning for our first shoot and an amazing rainbow appeared over Wild Goose Island. It was a spectacular year to be in Glacier!
Click on this link to learn more and to see images from our photo workshop in Glacier National Park.
We have a busy international schedule coming up from now until December. We are traveling to the Galapagos and then on to Greenland next.
Most of our trips are full but there are a few spaces available on our Lofoten Norway Workshop on September 11-18 Learn more This is the perfect place to cool down after a warmer than usual summer!
We also have a few spaces on our Botswana and Zimbabwe Workshop November 10-22 Learn more We visit Victoria Falls, ground level elephant blinds and boat on the Chobe River.
Thanks for reading our posts. Hope you are having a great summer!
We will be returning to Alaska next week for an assignment with the Mat-Su Visitor’s Bureau (Palmer, Wasilla and Talkeetna). One of our shoots will be photographing stand up paddle boarding on a glacier pool. It sounds exciting. We are also looking forward to the annual Alaskan brewery photo shoot!
Arches and Canyonlands
New Workshops for 2024
Over the last few weeks we have been rounding out our 2024 Schedule with a few new workshop destinations. We keep adding new destinations in order to give you plenty of options, both international and domestic. We have space available on both of these:
Arches and Canyonlands Nov 3-7, 2024
Details: This is one of our favorite national parks. Tom has been leading photo workshops and doing assignments in Moab for the last 20 years. Photograph striking red rock formations on blue skies. Explore myriad arches against an iconic western landscape. Learn More
Orangutans and Volcanos in Indonesia February 13-23, 2024
Details: Join Tom, Cree and Phillip Bartlett on a 10 day adventure to the exotic islands of Java and Borneo. These islands are part of the country of Indonesia – we will be photographing wildlife from a riverboat, landscapes and taking travel portraits. Learn More
Orangutans in Indonesia Photo by Phillip Bartlett
Openings for 2022
Our domestic trips are all full for 2022. We have a few new openings for international trips. We have been traveling abroad since last November and are finding it easier to travel now that the testing requirement for covid has been lifted for re-entry into the US. We are happy to talk more about international travel with you if you have questions. Click on the underlined links to learn more.
Five days of sunshine and endless hours of golden light. We could not believe the weather we had in Nome, Alaska for our Arctic Birds and Musk Oxen Workshop. This was the first time we offered this workshop and we are already planning to head back in 2024 for Summer Solstice.
Click on this link to see the trip report images and read about our adventures in Nome.
Interested in joining us in 2024, June 17-22 for our next Nome Workshop? Only one space left. Read more
Thanks for reading our posts. Hope you are having a good summer!
At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For May we chose an image from our Texas Birds Workshop created by Carolyn Johnson. We hope you enjoy Carolyn’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to May 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Carolyn Johnson
Carolyn and her daughter Marni in Bryce National Park
The Story …
The bronzed cowbird was on the perch near the cactus and I was focused on him. The green jay came in and I saw him mid air. I kept the focal point on the cowbird and just kept pushing the shutter button.
At 30 frames per second, you can hardly miss!
This photo happened because of the Sony A1. I was on a photo outing with Artie Morris. He explained all the manual settings to me on an outing to photograph pelicans. The camera has an amazing dot that tracks the birds’ eyes. This feature took all of my frustration out of wildlife photography. In the past, images were never as sharp as I wanted them to be.
Now I can’t decide which mages to delete because they are all good.
Having a gimbal on the tripod also helped. It makes all the difference. I can no longer hold the weight of a longer lens like I used to.
May 2022 Photo of the Month
I decided to send the image of the green jay and cowbird to Bay Photo to get a metal print. Tom mentioned that he liked Bay Photo and especially the metal prints. When it arrived, I liked the result so much that I had 9 more metal bird prints made.
They arrived yesterday and I have them all over my kitchen table to figure out a good layout.
EXIF Data:
Sony A1 with a 200-600 mm lens , shot at 571mm
F6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 2000
Manual Mode, Spot Focus
Male Cardinal and Male Pyrrhuloxia sharing a perch
About Photographing Birds in South Texas
I liked both ranches. The owners were so careful with details and knew exactly what to do to get the birds there.
My favorite bird was Darth Vader – the bronzed cowbird. I loved when he was doing his mating dance. He has the most fabulous color of blue on his wings.
I had never shot from a blind before. I live on 4 acres in the shrub oak in California. My son in law has a back hoe. I think a blind is in my future.
Black Crested Titmouse
Tips for Bird Photography:
Don’t be afraid of using high ISO settings. In the past higher ISOs would create grainy and pixelated photos. The new technology has made it possible to shoot at high ISO settings and still get great photos. I use Topaz Denoise on all the photos I take with high ISO settings.
On Carolyn’s Horizon
Eagles in Chilkat, Alaska
Roseate Spoonbills in Florida
Galapagos Islands
Carolyn in the orchards at Capitol Reef
We are headed to Nome Alaska next with a small group to photograph musk oxen and arctic birds. After that we are headed to the South Dakota Badlands and Glacier National Park.
We have 2 spaces available on our Bears and Glaciers Workshop. It will be prime time for Spring cubs July 11-16 click here to learn more.
Welcome to summer and thanks for reading our posts!
