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 images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For July we chose an image taken on our Pantanal Workshop for Strabo Tours. The image was taken by Melissa Stanton while photographing jaguars in the wetlands of Brazil. Melissa is a travel and wildlife photographer and has a strong fondness for felines.
Congratulations to July 2024 ‘s featured photographer – Melissa Stanton
Photographer Melissa Stanton
The Story…
We came around the corner and the jaguar was walking down a log. Tom was yelling and dancing around. He is always so excited about cats. I figured I better get ready to take a photo.
It looked like the cat was thinking about jumping into the water. I turned up the shutter speed a bit so I could get it in focus, Then the cat jumped.
It was fun to watch him swim. Cats do not normally like water. To see cats swimming was really kind of cool. Everyone was so impressed with watching the jaguar jump. The jaguar was pretty close to us when it happened. It was definitely cool to see.
I didn’t know that I had such a good picture until I got home and looked at in on the bigger screen.
Photo of the Month – July 2024
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: Nikon Z series 600 mm PF
Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/5000 second
ISO: 1600
Mode: Manual with Auto ISO
About Photographing in the Pantanal
It was great. It was relaxing to be in the boats, riding around on little rivers. Everywhere you looked there were capybaras or caimans or something else.
The drivers were very good at getting us close to the wildlife. We were close but we did not disrupt them.
We were ridiculously close to some of the birds and they did not seem to care. They knew they could just fly away. They also knew that we were not going to bother them so they just went about their business.
The birds were easy to capture. Many of them were perched right near the river. There was a lot of variety between the huge storks and the tiny kingfishers.
I was going through my photos and landed on the Road-side Hawk. I thought he looked so cute. He’s on one foot and is looking right at the camera. This created a connection which I really liked.
Roadside Hawk
The Capybaras looked so chill. They sit around on the banks. Lucas, our guide, said they are stressed because of the jaguars but to us they seemed like the Chill Dudes of the river. The caiman would lie right next to them without a worry. They just look like fun animals.
It was a great trip, fun leaders and companions. I was glad I was able to do it!
Melissa’s Tips for Wildlife Photography
Tip 1
Try to be aware of everything. There were so many birds and animals that I needed to watch my shutter speed. I didn’t want to miss the shutter speed and end up with soft photos.
Tip 2
Shoot in manual with auto ISO. The light conditions changed all the time and using these settings made it easier for me to get it right.
Tip 3
The Nikon 600mm pf lens was amazing. It was very sharp and very light. For 70% of the shots on this trip it was the perfect focal length. A few times I was a little too tight and ended up focusing on just a part. of the animal
On Melissa’s Horizon:
Route 66
Greenland
Moving to Spain in 2025
Antarctica
Melissa photographing hummingbirds in Ecuador
Join us on a workshop this fall! Spaces Open in 2024:
Route 66: Albuquerque to Winslow, Arizona from Oct 23-27, 2024 Learn more
Route 66: Oklahoma City to Amarillo from Oct 18-22, 2024 Learn more
Bosque and White Sands National Park Workshop from Dec 8-12, 2024 Learn more
Tom and I celebrate great participant images by selecting a Photo of the Month. For August we chose an image taken on a Strabo Photo Tour, the Impressions of France. The image was taken by Cheryl Sackett in the Loire Valley town of Chedigny. Cheryl is an avid travel photographer and did a masterful job capturing the elegance of the French countryside.
Congratulations to September 2023 ‘s featured photographer – Cheryl Sackett
Cheryl in the Priest’s Garden at Chedigny
The Story…
I love table settings and have photographed them before. I liked the lighting in the area and the small set of stairs in the background. It was very elegant the way they had it set up.
This scene is from the restaurant in Chedigny, France where we ate lunch, La Clos des Roses. It felt like a very private restaurant with the number of people in it.
The food was excellent. it was probably the best meal of the trip. I remember the main meal was two types of veal. The meat was very tender and both versions were delicious. We also got to meet the chef and she was very cute.
We were already sitting down at lunch and my cell phone was the only camera I had at the moment. I looked over my shoulder, saw the scene and wanted to capture it.
La Clos des Roses restaurant in Chedigny, France
EXIF Data: Apple 11 Pro – we were already sitting down at lunch and my Canon camera was put away. All of my other photos were taken with my Canon.
Monet’s Garden at Giverny
About Photographing in France
I loved seeing the iconic Paris sites like the Eiffel Tower and the Seine. I also liked getting out of the city. The small village of Chedigny was beautiful and takes you back in time.
The grandeur of the chateaus in the Loire Valley was amazing. The architecture was wonderful. We stayed in a castle called Domaine de la Tortiniere. It was an old chateau with modern settings like a pool and conference center. I stayed in a very quaint annex overlooking the chateau.
Hot air balloon photography over the Loire Valley
Cheryl’s Tips for Travel Photography
Tip 1
I travel very simply with my Canon camera and one or two lenses. For this trip I mostly used my Canon 18-400 mm. It covers just about everything.
Tip 2
I try to get the big picture first and then go for smaller details.
Tip 3
In Chedigny I was looking for interesting scenery and the smaller pictures. I loved the shutters and flowers near the windows. I like to capture people in the background. It was great that there was nobody there but us.
Vin rouge
On Cheryl’s Horizon:
Ouray, Colorado
Greece
Egypt
Oaxaca, Mexico
Costa Rica
Antarctica and South Georgia
Cheryl – the French Chef
Tom and Cree will be closer to home for their next tour, Ouray Fall Colors. In October they are headed to Slovenia with Strabo Tours again. Slovenia is known for its striking variety of landscapes: coastal Mediterranean towns, rolling foothills like in Tuscany and charming mountain towns like in Switzerland. Take a look at other Strabo Tours here.
At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images by selecting a Photo of the Month. For June we chose an image taken on the Tanzania Photo Workshop with Strabo Photo Tours created by Joan Carroll. Joan is a well-rounded travel and outdoor photographer. She regularly sells her work through Fine Art America. Check out her numerous online galleries for FAA. We hope you enjoy Joan’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to June 2023 ‘s featured photographer – Joan Carroll
The Story…
We pulled up to the spot and I do not remember which vehicle got there first. It was a pretty amazing scene.
I went back and forth between shooting the 800 mm lens to get a close up view of the animal leaping into the water, and using the 100-400 mm lens to get a wider view of the scene. I really liked the environmental view with animals in both the foreground and the background.
I am a fan of the environmental view. A close portrait of an animal is fantastic. But putting it in the environment gives it a sense of place and is really important.
I was looking at the photos of this scene. I must have 1000 images of it. At the end of the series a crocodile took down one of the wildebeest and stopped the action. Before that, the wildebeest were slipping in from the side of the pool and leaping over the top of each other.
When I looked back on the series of images, I could see the crocodile lurking in the scene, just waiting for the right moment. This made me wonder if the wildebeest knew it was there. Were they swimming for their lives. Animals are smarter than we think. Did they have the awareness of the wildebeest all along?
June 2023 Photo of the Month
All the dust and the whole environment….it’s not something there are really words for.
Of the 1000 images of this sequence, I chose the one where the wildebeest was leaping the highest. He leaped the highest but landed right by the shore where the crocodile was waiting.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: 100-400mm at 240
ISO: 5600
Shutter Speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/11
Shooting Mode: Manual with auto ISO
Exposure Comp +.67
Elephants wrestling at sunset in Serengeti National Park
About Photographing in Africa
Oh my gosh! The two trips to Africa have probably been the most exciting things I have done….ever.
It is so dynamic. It is always changing. It is not like a landscape where you have time to figure everything out and adjust your settings.
I’d still be stuck there if someone hadn’t said “Let’s move on.” I’d just keep shooting.
I’m paying for that now with 44,000 images from the trip. I was going to be more mindful of how many photos I took this time. But when I got to the Serengeti, all bets were off!
Zebra herd at the waterhole
Joan’s Tips for Wildlife Photography
I don’t consider myself any kind of expert.
Stand next to Tom and Cree and do what they do. Keep your ears open for tips and re-evaluate what you are doing.
Be aware of the whole scene and what the possibilities are. Pay attention to the flow of what’s going on. Have global awareness.
Have all the right equipment, batteries and cards.
Get a lot of rest. Be ready to go for every shooting session. I was there to photograph animals and do as much as I could. Know what you want out of a photo trip.
On Joan’s Horizon:
Bears in Lake Clark National Park
Eagles in Chilkat, Alaska
Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands
My all time favorite trip was to the Canadian Arctic. We landed at Grise Fjord on Ellesmere Island and took a sledge out onto the ice to go ice diving. The silence was incredible.
Joan and er husband Benny enjoying an African sunset
Why Strabo?
Tom has been doing workshops for Strabo Photo Tours for decades. He likes how trips are well organized and cater to photographer’s needs. Tom and Cree currently do at least one trip per year with Strabo.
