Atlantic puffin with Caplin and Stormy Skies

The very first image of my first day of the first Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop last year. I almost didn’t press the trigger as I was waiting for the Puffin to launch into the air. Properly exposing the subject lead to pure white over-exposed sky, so I just took the liberty of replacing the sky in Photoshop instead of throwing away the otherwise unimpressive image. I love the result!

Northern Gannet Landing with seaweed

This is the very first image from the last day of my recently concluded back-to-back Gannets Galore workshops on Bonaventure Island in Quebec, Canada. The sky was a gift with its pastel pallet shifting with the changing, but diffused light. The Sony Alpha 1 performed flawlessly even when no one else could rely on auto-focus in the heavy fog we had on two mornings; The newest Nikon and Canon cameras were struggling. More in a future post….

Join me next June for my June 5-7, 2023 Gannets Galore and so much more workshops. Learn more HERE.

Atlantic Puffin Post Sunset Stretch

An Atlantic Puffin stretches against a magical magenta sky after sunset during my Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop.

Do you like Puffins? Gourmet food? uber cool accommodations? Join me from August 10 to 13, 2022 for an exceptional adventure in a lighthouse on a little island in the Gulf of the Saint Lawrence. This is a truly deluxe adventure with some of the very best Puffin photography in the world. Learn more about my Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop HERE.

“The Puffins Galore Workshop on I’ile aux Perroquets exceeded my expectations. Chris is an exceptional photographer, teacher, and all around good guy. He was quick to point out the best photographic opportunities for the group, taking into account the constantly changing weather, light and tides. He was always available to answer questions and give tips, catering to all levels of experience in the group. The accommodations were excellent and the food was first rate. Our chefs/housekeepers/hostesses, Louise and Johanne, were amazing. The photographic opportunities were endless with an unbelievable number of puffins as well as razorbills, guillemots, gulls, whales and seals. This was my first photography workshop and I am looking forward to my next adventure with Chris.”

— Mark Adkins Rochester| MN

Coastal Brown Bear Mother with cub

At the end of a very long day hiking around Katmai National Park (Alaska) in the rain knee-deep in mud this mother and cub seemed to look as wet and muddy as I felt - smile. As always in Katmai, we respect the bears from a distance, but they usually tend to gravitate to my group as a trusted shield from the roaming adult males (called boars) and move closer to us. I can see from the timestamps on the images that we spent 44 minutes waiting for both of them to look our way at the same time; we were lucky to have the added bonus of the cub touching mom :)

Since the sky is much brighter than the bears, it was extremely bright and washed-out in the image, so I replaced the background sky to make the scene resemble more closely what my eyes saw.

Snowy Owl FIRE FLIGHT

Snowy Owl FIRE FLIGHT  (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) Ontario, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DX, 600mm f/4 L IS II USM. ISO 3,200, f/5.6 @ 1/1,250s Manual. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

More Kudos: Chris Dodds knows how to do a workshop!

I had the pleasure of attending Chris' Snowy Owl Workshop this past January. To be honest, I did not know much about Chris before the trip. All I knew was the quality of his images on his website and that I wanted Snowy owl pictures. Needless to say, Chris met and exceeded my expectations. He goes over and above to get you in the right place at the right time to capture the best images possible. Having been on numerous workshops around the world with various leaders, I can say Chris worked harder than most..... He also made sure that we were in position to get a variety of images and not just 1000 photos of the same animal behavior. Chris knows his birds and what they are going to do next (as much as humanly possible). He teaches in a way that things make sense. I was getting frustrated with my photography before this trip. I was able to get great shots before the workshop but felt that the percentage of great shots to missed shots needed to be better. Chris explained ways to change a few of my bad habits in a way that no one else ever did. I have tried manual exposure in the past but never got comfortable with it but after a day or two with Chris it clicked in my mind and my images improved and percentage of keepers went up.
If you get a chance to go on a workshop with Chris I would highly recommend it. I know I will again.

Rick Susi  Orlando, FL, USA

Learn more about my Snowy Winter Owl Workshops HERE.

READ MORE TESTIMONIALS HERE