Tag: Wildlife Photography

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Photo of the Month November 2022

At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For November we chose an image from our Botswana and Zimbabwe Photo Workshop created by Alex Sneiders. Alex has photographed wildlife in Africa several times and was happy to finally see a Serval Cat on this trip. We hope you enjoy Alex’s images as much as we do!

Congratulations to November 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Alex Sneiders

Alex in action on the Chobe River in Botswana

The Story… 

I was enjoying the scene. I was fascinated by the vultures waiting in the wings on the tree. I visualized the clouds as they were coming in and the impending rain. I tried to capture all of that in the photo.

The dead elephant had a whole pride of lions enthralled with eating. They totally ignored us.

November 2022 Photo of the Month

I was captivated by the elephant being in one corner of the frame and the vultures in another corner.

I shot in Infrared with the intent of shooting a couple of unique images. This was my favorite so far.

I converted the camera with Lifepixel. It is much easier to shoot IR with a mirrorless camera. The focus is automatic with mirrorless but not with a SLR or DSLR.

I was trying to do a color conversion at first. I found that with the color conversion, there was too great of a departure from what it actually looked like. I find that the black and white versions frequently come out elegantly.

EXIF Data:

Nikon Z7 with IR Conversion, Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 lens shot at 51 mm

ISO 800 1/2500 sec f4

Aperture Priority Mode

About Photographing in Botswana and Zimbabwe

The difference between these countries and my previous safaris was mainly the Chobe River in Botswana. There were lower views of the wildlife and faster action.

There was a different variety of animals, particularly in the bird life. That was the highlight of the trip for me.

When using the pre-release feature while photographing Malachite Kingfishers, I learned that the jpeg images are quite good. You have to be patient and keep your finger on the shutter button.

When using Pre-release, you have to cull through all of your images to find a few pieces of gold.

Malachite Kingfisher captured with Nikon’s Pre-release

Alex’s Tips for Photographing on Safari:

Tip 1: Bring lots of cards. I took 45 thousand photos on this trip. That is a record for me. Using Pre-release with the Nikon Z9 added a ton of jpegs

Tip 2: Be patient

Tip 3: Practice focusing. Play around with different focus patterns modes like 3D, wide area large and single point. Practice switching between them as well.

Low key giraffe from Splash Camp in Botswana

On Alex’s Horizon:

Antarctica

Greenland

Namibia

Mongolia

Indonesia

Faroe Islands

Pantanal

Svalbard

Galapagos

Alex getting to know the wildlife in Zimbabwe

Workshop News

Just Added: Masking Made Easy: Online Editing Class. Join us in mid January to brush up on your editing skills and learn how to use all the new masking features in either PhotoShop or Lightroom. Click here to learn more.

Space is still available on our Old Car City Workshop from March 30-April 2, 2023. Photograph classic cars in the Georgia hardwoods. Learn about speed lights for creative effect. Click here to read more.

Where are Tom and Cree?

We are traveling in Argentina and Chile right now with our Patagonia Workshop. Look for updates on social media.

Enjoy the holidays. Thanks for reading our posts!

Tom and Cree

www.tombolphotoworkshops.com

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Botswana & Zimbabwe Trip Report

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready for the holiday season. We will be hosting our Annual Bol Holiday Gift Guide tomorrow at 5 pm on Zoom – that’s Saturday, November 26 MDT Denver time. Send us a quick note here to get the link for this free event

To learn about our recent trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe , click here

We are headed to Patagonia next week and look forward to starting off in Buenos Aires by photographing the world champion tango dancers. Always a terrific trip and Marcelo Martinez will be right by our side as we travel through Argentina and Chile.

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

Tom and Cree

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New Zealand Trip Report

Just back from our 11 day photo adventure on the South Island of New Zealand. We explored the mountains and lakes of New Zealand and ended with a spectacular wildlife shoot on the ocean. Take a look at our trip report to see the photos and find out more.

To see the report, click here

Looking for an international photography workshop? Is photographing Northern Lights on your bucket list? We are heading to Lofoten, Norway on February 18-25 to photograph aurora and landscapes in winter. Lofoten is warmer than Alaska and should have plenty of open water to reflect the northern lights. Click here for a link with more info. Four spaces available.

For our next stop, we are headed to Acadia National Park for fall foliage. We will be posting on Facebook and Instagram while on the workshop.

We wish you wonderful fall travels and photography!

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

Tom and Cree

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Trip Report – Brown Bear Safari 2022

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.

To see the report, click here

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!

Tom and Cree

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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

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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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Trip Report – Brown Bears and Glaciers

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.

To see the report, click here

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!

Tom and Cree

Can you tell we love Alaska?
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Trip Report: Nome Arctic Birds & Musk Oxen

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!

Tom and Cree

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Photo of the Month – May 2022

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!

Tom and Cree

www.tombolphotoworkshops.com

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Texas Birds Trip Report

We just returned from South Texas after two successful bird photography workshops. We photographed songbirds and raptors from two of the best bird blind ranches in the country.

Click on this link to see the trip report images and read about our adventures in Texas.

Interested in joining this summer for one of our favorite bear photography workshops? Two spaces are available on Brown Bears and Glaciers on July 11-16, 2022. Read more

We also have space on our photo tour to the Lofoten islands in Norway, September 11-18, 2022. Read more

Thanks for reading our posts!

Tom and Cree

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