Tom and Cree just returned from Arctic Alaska on their Arctic Lights Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. We were delighted to have aurora for three nights of the workshop. In addition to the Northern Lights, our group photographed the Enchanted Forest, landscapes in the Brooks Range, reindeer, dog mushing and ice sculptures.
To see photos of the Arctic Lights Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and Cree will be at home in Alaska looking for aurora and photographing the Last Great Race for our Iditarod Workshop at the beginning of March.
FREE EVENT: Join us for our free online presentation on Aurora Photography: March 18 at 6 pm Denver time. Tom and Cree will share our favorite tips for shooting and editing aurora images with the TBPW community. Everyone is invited! Send us a note here for the invite, or leave a comment below requesting the link.
Openings on a photo expedition on the opposite side of the world. We have a special Antarctica Workshop that will travel below the Antarctica Circle, a place so remote that few boats go there. When: December 2027.
Want to visit Alaska in the summer when all the animals are out and the flowers are blooming? Alaska Kenai Explorer. Whales, Sea Otters, wildflowers, calving glaciers and beautiful mountain scenery. July 7-12, 2026
Tom and Cree just returned from Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands and are sharing the highlights with you. We were delighted to have calm seas and weather for this workshop. Our group photographed penguins, whales, seals and icy landscapes over a period of 17 days at sea. We will be returning to Antarctica again in 2028 (more below)!
To see photos of the Antarctica and South Georgia Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom and I will be at home in Alaska looking for aurora and winter wildlife for the next 5 weeks. We will be heading out for our Arctic Lights Workshop and the Iditarod Workshop at the end of February.
FREE EVENT: Join us for our free Winter Image Celebration: February 18 at 6 pm Denver time. Submit 3 of your best photographs from this winter to share with the TBPW community. 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 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 their Bears of Lake Clark Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Nine photographers joined us in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska to photograph Brown Bears in their natural habitat. Highlights of the workshop were photographing bears courting in the meadows and clamming on the tidal flats
To see photos from our Bears of Lake ClarkWorkshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are traveling with a workshop group to Redwoods National Park in California to photograph their favorite forest in the world. They just returned from the “Top of the World” Utqiavik (or Barrow) where they photographed eiders and other arctic birds in the midnight sun.
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available: July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
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. Read more
Tom and Cree just returned from their Tetons Photo Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Nine photographers joined us in Grand Teton National Park to photograph rugged, snow capped peaks and surrounding fields of flowers. Highlights of the workshop were photographing a mother moose and her calf and going to the Jackson Rodeo.
To see photos from our Tetons PhotoWorkshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are traveling to Lake Clark National Park to photograph lBrown Bears in Alaska. This continues to be one of our most popular workshops. We hope to find spring cubs this year and watch a rematch of ping pong between Tom and David the lodge owner!
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available! July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
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. Read more
Tom and Cree just returned from their Louisiana Bayous Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Eight photographers joined us in heart of Cajun Country to photograph moody Bald Cypress, alligators and a variety of wading birds. Highlights of the workshop were photographing in fog and seeing so much wildlife.
To see photos from our Louisiana BayousWorkshop, check out our trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are Ohio with a small group of photographers photographing the spring Warbler Migration. They will finish the month with a landscape workshop in Monument Valley.
Any upcoming openings?
Just Added: Alaska Kenai Explorer July7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
Also in Alaska: Travel to Alaska next March and photograph the Last Great Race – the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Photographers will learn to mush a sled, photograph dogs in action and wait for aurora to light up the sky at night. A true Alaska Adventure. Read More
Tom and Cree just returned from their Texas Birds in Spring Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Two sessions of photographers joined us in the tip of Texas to photograph vibrant songbirds from photo blinds. Highlights of the workshop were photographing the Painted Bunting and Greater Roadrunner.
To see photos from our Texas Birds in Spring Workshop, check out our trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are in Lafayette, Louisiana this week with a group of photographers. They will finish their streak of bird photography workshops with a stop in Ohio for Spring Warblers.
Any upcoming openings?
We have 2 spaces available on our Texas Birds in Spring Workshop next year May 11-16, 2026. This workshop requires minimal walking and is the perfect way to become a better bird photographer.
Ouray Fall Colors : September 28-August 2, 2025 2 Spaces Available. The best of Colorado’s aspen forests just in time for brilliant yellow foliage.
Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For February we chose an image taken on our Baja Whales Workshop. The image was taken by Marni Nagy off the coast of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Marni is a California photographer who owns a business that makes custom camera straps: Capturing Couture
Congratulations to February 2025 ‘s featured photographer – Marni Nagy
Marni at San Ignacio Lagoon
The Story…
For this image I had my 150-600 lens all the way out. A guy named Bertrand was in the front of the boat and would not move. So I moved to the left side of the boat. The whale jumped another time right before the picture that I got. It was wavy and bumpy. I found it was easier to stabilize the camera shooting from the side of the boat.
It was dumb luck to get the boat in there. With wildlife photography you are just lucky most of the time.
I was shooting pretty quick. Tom had us up at over 4000th of a second for shutter speed. It was pretty sunny, so ISO was not a problem.
The boat gives the breach context and scale. In my new job I am always asking my media folks to give me more context. They submit close up images of race cars. I always want to see the track or something in the background for context.
February 2025 Photo of the Month by Marni Nagy
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Sigma 180-600
Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/5000
ISO: 4100
About Photographing in Baja
Baja was great. Whales galore. The whales were so close that they filled the frame. It was hard to get context because we were so close.
There were some behaviors that I did not even know I wanted to get. I was very happy to get a shot of the “golden rainbow” feeding behavior that creates a rainbow when the whale spouts.
The Sea of Cortez side was all about the different kinds of animals. I had never seen dolphins like that, They were small and black with stubby little noses.
The sealions had so many expressive faces. I took photos of everything we saw: Great Blue Herons, kingfishers, jellyfish. The sea lions had the most personality of all.
I always have a bit of gear envy on these trips. Most people had the new stuff. I was super impressed with the quality of the images from my Nikon d850. After holding it up for so long shooting whales, I started to think about how to create a small tripod support system to help with the weight. A mono pod might have helped.
I was sceptical that we would really get to pet the whales. On the second day we were headed back. The boat slowed down. Everyone was saying “Come on, come on.” The whale turned around and came to out boat. It was just magical. We all willed the whale to come over.
When I photographed the Blue Footed Boobies, they were getting bounce light off of the bird poop on the rock. It made everything really bright. I waited until the birds were doing something interesting with their heads. That was my first time photographing Blue-footed Boobies. They have weird little eyes. They look a bit creepy and have interesting feathers.
Blue-footed Boobies
Marni’ s Tips for Photographing in Baja
Tip 1
Sunscreen.
Tip 2
The shots I like the most are the images with some background in them. I was on a workshop once with Joe McNally and he said, “Take a picture that can’t be shot in a zoo”. A whale with the Baja coastline in the background is definitely not from the zoo
Tip 3
Don’t throw anything away. I didn’t lock the pelican shot in the camera. It was brighter int he camera and I brought the exposure down in Lightroom. It was the shape of the water that made the shot for me.
Brown Pelican on the Sea of Cortez
On Marni’s Horizon:
Patagonia
Iceland
Finland
Galapagos
Baja Workshop
What’s coming up?
Happy Hour: Winter Image Celebration – Join Tom and Cree on March 19 at 6 pm MDT Denver time to see what everyone has been shooting lately. Submit your 3 favorite images from this winter and settle in for a photo expo. Click here to ask for the link
Where are Tom and Cree? They are in Alaska right now photographing in the arctic. The weather looks good and aurora activity should be high this week. Next up they will be heading to Costa Rica with 12 photographers to explore the rainforest and photograph sloths, monkeys and macaws.
Workshop Openings?
Last minute opening for Louisiana Bayous, just one space May 7-11, 2025 also just one space left for August 22-29, 2025 Greenland.
Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For January we chose an image taken on our Bosque and White Sands Workshop. The image was taken by Ellie Burns-Brookens while photographing the “Blast Off” at Bosque Del Apache NWR. Ellie is a landscape photographer from Oregon who is quickly becoming a wildlife photographer as well.
Congratulations to January 2025 ‘s featured photographer – Ellie Burns-Brookens
Ellie in White Sands National Park
The Story…
I don’t shoot birds very well. We had a practice session where we were just learning about our equipment. I knew I needed help getting the right settings. Steve Glass helped me get the right Canon settings. Tom did a presentation that showed us what we were looking for with birds in flight. Tom’s hints included light coming through feathers, groups of birds and specific behavious. That helped me understand the goals.
I knew that I needed to just see those situations and shoot. With landscape photography I take my time and try different compositions. The pace is much faster with wildlife photography.
We shot for quite a while that morning. I started by taking close up photos of Snow Geese. I tried to capture bird behaviour and then started working on birds that were taking off and landing.
Tom often starts yelling random things. He said “Try to get them flying through the sun”. This made no sense to me in the beginning. I was wondering “What exposure should I use?” “How do i do this?” Then I just started looking for groups of geese flying through the sun. I kept tracking them and pushing the shutter.
January 2025 Photo of the Month by Ellie Burns-Brookens
In this photo, I loved the silhouettes, especially the one with the tattered wing. In order for me to be successful with this king of shooting, I needed a combination of knowing when to start shooting and knowing what to looking for. Normally, I would never have shot into the sun without Tom’s hint. A tiny bit of skill, Some luck. And the right suggestion at the right time.
Now I am in Hawaii shooting albatross in flight….very hard! I feel like I know what I am looking for. The camera is behaving. I feel like I have learned a lot. It will be a long time before I feel like I am really good at it.
I am using Photo Mechanic now to go through all my new bird images. This is the least edited photo I have ever done. It was all in the camera. I added a slight vignette and brought down the highlights.
Okay…..I guess you can shoot into the sun.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Canon R6
Lens: Canon RF 100-500 at 500mm
Aperture: f7.1
Shutter: 1/1250
ISO: 100
Mode: Manual, Auto ISO
Sunset with Sandhill Cranes at Bernardo Refuge
About Photographing in Bosque
I learned a lot more about wildlife photography. The last time I shot birds was in Patagonia and they were condors with 9 ft wing spans.
The colors in Bosque are stunning in the sky. You have beautiful light for the background to the wildlife.
We knew the geese and cranes would be coming to certain areas for roosting at night and take off in the morning. The ponds are managed for that. The wildlife is so abundant that you get a chance to practice a lot. There are so many behaviors to see. Combine that with incredible skies and it is just magical.
I didn’t realize the Sandhill Cranes were so colorful. They are quirky birds that make weird gestures. They move their necks in funny ways. They are very different from other birds that I have photographed.
I love the feeling and the noise when all the cranes come in at once. You can hear them coming from a long way off. It is very exciting. I didn’t think bird photography would be so exciting.
About Photographing in New Mexico
I loved photographing in White Sands. It felt a lot like photographing in the Palouse. I practiced looking for shape and light. This was different for me as a landscape photographer. I was looking forward to that.
I did a workshop in the Palouse and for the first few days I could not see it. I could not see the shapes and lines. This came back to me when we were in White Sands. I was always looking for beautiful opportunities with layers and V shapes. Intersecting lines and curves. The intersecting layers reached all the way to the mountains and it was so pretty.
The other thing that was available was finding a single standout subject, like the yucca, to contrast to the sea of shapes and color. I tried to keep it very simplistic. I used my telephoto and made sure I had just a few layers in the foreground. I put the yucca on the right on purpose to balance out the hills on the left.
Landscape in White Sands National Park
Ellie’s Tips for Photographing in New Mexico
Tip 1
Go with Tom and Cree. They know the locations and the bird behavior. It is the perfect workshop to learn to shoot birds in flight. I could never have done it on my own. I knew what to look for and had plenty of time to practice in the field.
Tip 2
I was amazed at the colors. I love lenticular clouds. I have never seen a bright orange lenticular cloud like that before. In White Sands, the sand reflects the beautiful color of the clouds. I don’t know of any other place where the light is like the light in New Mexico.
Tip 3
These are great locations for trying new creative techniques. Sometimes you get stuck in a photography rut and want to be more creative. These are great places to try thinking differently. Shoot flying things flying through the sun. Shooting shapes and simplicity in the dunes. This workshop got me jazzed up again. I am inspired to try more new things.
Sandhill Crane Behaviour in Bosque NWR
On Ellie’s Horizon:
Iceland
Botswana – first time to Africa
Ireland and Scotland
Orkney and Shetland Islands
Ellie photographing the Blast Off in Bosque NWR
What’s coming up?
Happy Hour: All About Aurora – Join Tom and Cree for a free online presentation on photographing the Aurora. February 11 at 6 pm MST Denver time. Click here to ask for the link
Where are Tom and Cree? We are headed to Finland for a Northern Lights Workshop and then on to Baja to photograph whales with a group. Both temperature extremes on these two workshops
Workshop Openings? Interested in photographing whales and iceburgs in Greenland? One space just opened in August. We also have openings for Costa Rica and Spring Warblers in 2025.
Tom and Cree had a terrific time on their Kenya Photo Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. They joined 10 photographers on a 8 day exploration of the Masai Mara in Kenya. The variety of big cats in action was a highlight for everyone.
To see photos from our Kenya Photo Workshop, check out our trip report by clicking here
What’s new:
We had a spectacular night of aurora in Alaska on October 10, as did many of you in the Lower 48! Tom just finished a blog post with tips for capturing the aurora: Click here to learn more. If you want to join us on an Aurora Workshop, we have space on our Northern Lights and Iditarod Workshop in 2026
We will be traveling to New Mexico for our next two workshops on Route 66. We will be based in Oklahoma and Texas for the first workshop and in New Mexico and Arizona for the second one. After that we are headed to Arches and Canyonlands to capture beautiful red rock formations and look for the Milky Way at night.
Any upcoming openings?
Our 2025 schedule is close to full. You can always join a waiting list for a trip that is full by sending us a note from our Contact Page
