Workshop & Tour FAQ

The following is a list of the more frequent questions I have received concerning Workshops & Tours. If you don’t find it answered here please feel free to contact me.

Thanks-

Q - What is the difference between a tour and a workshop?

A workshop is for someone who needs help in a specific area(s) of photography such as flash, exposure, etc. or just wants to refine their skills and take their images to the next level. Typically this person will have discussed their goals with me in advance and the workshop will be tailored around meeting those. A tour is designed for the more experienced or pro photographer who wants to simply make the most of their time in the field by using a guide to put them in the most productive location(s) for their targeted species.

Q - Why do you limit your workshops to one person?

Mostly because I want to make sure the participant gets the proper attention and is successful. I have taught many subjects through the years and have always found that more learning takes place in smaller groups.
In many of the out of the way spots I go to the subjects will accept the presence of one or two persons, when approached properly. If there were four or five people there all looking at them through long lenses they would get nervous and leave.
With four, five or more people it is also more likely you will get people with personality types that don’t mix well or that someone will unintentionally do something that causes the subject to become spooked and leave.

Q - What is your photographic experience?

I started in photography back in the late 1970’s and have always photographed nature subjects. Hundreds of my photographs have been licensed through the years for publication. I have experience with many different film types and formats. I first started shooting digital back in 2001 and switched to it entirely by 2002.
I have over 25 plus years experience working with animals of various types.
My computer experience dates back to 1982 with Photoshop experience dating back to version 3, in 1994.

Q - How far of a boat ride is it to the offshore islands you go to?

This varies of course but many are within a mile or two of the docks we will use. The farthest one is about ten miles.

Q - Would you provide me a free (or discounted) tour if I post a favorable write up on xxx forum? I am very respected there and a lot of people follow my recommendations.

Absolutely not. While I know this is common practice I prefer to run my business in a more ethical manor.

Q - Why is there no smoking on your workshops?

Mostly because I do not smoke and have allergies to cigarette smoke. Also because there are no appropriate containers where we will be for smokers. Discarding cigarette butts is littering and during the dry season here in Florida that can be very dangerous. Many of our brush fires are caused by people throwing their cigarette butts out the car window.

Q - What skill level are your workshops designed for?

As I am working one-on-one the participant can be at any skill level. Participants should have a basic working knowledge of their equipment, i.e. don’t show up with new equipment in the box that you don’t have a clue how to operate. For workshops to offshore locations the person should be more towards the advanced level.

Q - A lot of people offer photo workshops these days. What do you think I should look for in a photographer and a workshop? I don’t get that much time off work and don’t have tons of extra money.

Well I would look for someone whose photographic style you like. If you’re wanting to go with a group, something small. The fewer people the more expensive it will probably be but, the more people the less you will probably learn. If I were looking to travel with a group I would try to stay at five or less people including the instructor depending on the target subjects.

I would look at the way the instructor markets his or her own work. In my opinion a person who licenses their work as rights managed is trying to preserve the business of a professional photographer. A person who gives away their work for "credit" or licenses it as royalty free is doesn't care about preserving the business of photography and is only interested in the quick sell and / or seeing themselves in print. This may not be that important to you today but if you ever want to pursue selling your work it will be.

I would look at what that person does to “give back” to the environment and the creatures they make their living from. Giving back can happen in many ways, which you don’t necessarily need to agree with, such as donating money to worthy causes, donating their time to the same, actually doing something as minute as stopping to pick-up some litter that could otherwise end-up hurting a creature. As an example - a plastic bag floating in the water could end up killing a sea turtle. Obviously someone who litters themselves doesn’t really care about the environment. What they do should be on-going, not just something that is done once every few years or when they will get some type of recognition for it.

Q - What about my equipment getting wet on the boat, I am not comfortable just putting garbage bags around my backpack.

Each participant is responsible for their own gear. If requested in advance, I can loan you an empty King Pelican case for the trip. This is the size I use and you can typically fit most non-roller backpacks in it. Regardless of moving or sitting extra gear your not using & holding should be stowed.

Q - Have you won any contests with your images?

Yes, but not recently. Years ago I entered many images in various contests. Back then you submitted a matted and framed print(s) that was judged by a panel or while exhibited somewhere for a period of time. The sponsor of the contest did not get any rights to your image(s) except in some cases the right to display it for a period of time. Unfortunately today most contests are simply a way for some group, company, etc. to assemble a collection of images that they can then use for free. Look at the terms of most contests for wording such as this:

All submissions become the property of xxx and will not be returned. xxxx may use such photos for advertising and/or promotion without further compensation. Photo credit and Photographer’s website information (if available) will appear with photo in calendar. Credit will not appear in advertising but will be applied elsewhere whenever possible.

OR

The Department xxx has non-exclusive rights to use and publish the photograph on its website or in publications in conjunction with this contest. The Department also may use the photograph in other Department publications to promote xxx, such as on its website, in brochures, in magazines, distribution of Desktop Wallpaper, and for other similar marketing and promotional uses. The Department recognizes that I, or the person I designate, owns the image or any copyright to the photograph.

Both of the above excerpts were taken from current photo contests. One was with a commercial entity and the other was a government entity. Obviously the first plans to produce a calendar with submitted images which I would only guess they will sell. Entering contests such as these, in my opinion, devalues the image and degrades the photographer’s reputation. Should you ever want to sell your work you will find it very hard to get paid for images once you have a reputation as a “go-to-guy” for free images

Q - I took another workshop where we worked from a boat. I was very dissatisfied as there were four people on the boat and someone was always moving, causing the boat to rock. Besides that we were never closer than 300 feet to the birds. When I brought this up to the operator I was told "just crop it, it will look fine on the web". How close will we get to the birds in your workshop as the longest lens I own is 400mm.

I am sorry to hear this. As to the rocking issue this can be a problem when shooting from a boat of any type and one reason why I prefer to work individually with clients. As for how close this really depends on where we go and the mood of the birds that day. As an example one island I visit regularly for wood storks will allow an extremely close approach to the point you could reach out and grab the mangrove branches. Another rookery that also has mostly wood storks is not that comfortable when you get closer than about 30 feet to the island. One reason I know for this difference is the second island sees a lot of jet ski traffic, at higher speeds, around the island.
One of my prime objectives is to get you close enough to get frame-filling shots without causing disturbance (or stress) to the subjects. I would say most subjects would typically be at a distance of less than 120 feet, with 50-70 feet ranges more the normal. I commonly use a 200-400mm lens when shooting by boat. All the images in my gallery have very minor cropping and I would have no problem making 36-inch prints from them or supplying them to the pickiest of editors.

Q - How many days are you typically in the field shooting?

As many as I can! I have no love of a desk or the indoors. Realistically this depends on the time of year and the weather. On average 4 to 6 days a week. In the spring of 2007, here in Florida, we have had some strange weather and a high number of brush fires resulting in heavy smoke or haze. Even with these conditions, over a 3-month period I spent 69 days in the field shooting.

Q - You mention in you FAQ section about giving back. What do you do to give back?

A percentage of every workshop / tour fee and every print sale is donated to local wildlife rehabilitation facilities. These facilities provide the necessary medical and rehabilitation services to injured and orphaned wildlife in my community. Most facilities of this type operate strictly on donations without any government funding.

I take the time to clean up various rookery islands before the birds arrive to nest. This removes a lot of items that could be hazardous to the baby birds and also helps keeps debris out of my photos.

I also help rescue injured wildlife. Much of this is done while I am out photographing during the time of the day when the light is harsh. Many times though I make special trips to local islands looking for injured or sick birds. Here in Florida many birds become injured or entangled due to fishing line that is left littering the island they roost or nest on. I spend a fair amount of time removing abandoned fishing line from rookery islands before a bird becomes entangled in it. I also make special trips back to rookery islands to release wildlife after rehabilitation as the goal of most facilities is to release the animal back to same area they were originally found.