Snow Geese Galore Workshop Safari

Snow Goose Golden Goose (Chen caerulescens, Oie des neiges, SNGO) Réservoir Beaudet, Victoriaville, Quebec. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKIII, 500mm F4 L IS, 1.4X Teleconverter II,  Tripod & Wimberley Head II. ISO 400, F8 @1/800s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION

October 22-23, 2011 TWO DAY WEEKEND Workshop Safari. Limit of 6 photographers

October 24-28, 2011 FIVE DAY Workshop Safari. Limit of 6 photographers.

This is the very best place that I have found to photograph Greater Snow Geese up-close, portraits, in-flight and in golden light.

Located just a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from Montreal Airport (YUL), Réservoir Beaudet is immediately adjacent to the city of Victoriaville, in the Eastern Townships of southern Québec. I have photographed Snow Geese in many locations around North America including Bosque del Apachee National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, but none compare to the 80,000 to 1,000,000 (one million) Ducks and Geese that frequent the Reservoir in Victoriaville during migration. This workshop is timed perfectly to coincide with peak migration.

Join me, Canadian wildlife photographer Christopher Dodds, for a two, or five day Snow Geese photography Workshop / Safari. These trips will be limited to just six participants and the proximity and volume of geese will astound you.

Snow Goose landing (Chen caerulescens, Oie des neiges, SNGO) Réservoir Beaudet, Victoriaville, Quebec. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKIII, 500mm F4 L IS, 1.4X Teleconverter II,  Tripod & Wimberley Head II. ISO 320, F5.6  @1/2000s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION

From equipment choice and overview, to portrait and flight shot techniques, Chris will be there to teach and answer your questions. Chris is comfortable teaching and answering questions from any level photographer; from the seasoned pro, to the beginner who has no real experience in the field; all in his usual, casual and easygoing style. Exposure, composition and flash will all be discussed and demonstrated. Chris is very open and always willing to help and share with his students.

REGISTER HERE

Emperor Goose

Emperor Goose (Chen canagica, Oie empereur) Homer Spit, Homer, Alaska, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds http://www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 500mm F4 IS, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. ISO 400, 1/100s F11 Manual Exposure. Full Frame.
Emperor Goose Close-up detail (Chen canagica, Oie empereur) Homer Spit, Homer, Alaska, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds http://www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 500mm F4 IS, 2X II Tele-converter, Gitzo tripod and Wimberley Head. ISO 400, 1/30s F20 Manual Exposure. Canon 550EX II flash in manual mode. Full Frame.

Perhaps the most striking goose in North America, this small goose is seldom seen because of it's high-arctic haunts, where it is never far from coastal tundra. The Emperor Goose, Chen canagica, breeds on the coast of northwestern Siberia, St. Lawrence Island, and around the Bering sea, mostly in coastal northwestern Alaska. Winters mainly in the Aleutian Islands but wanders also down the North American western coast as far as California. Due to its low population size, and restricted range, the Emperor Goose is especially vulnerable to local catastrophic events, such as oil spills. In winter, the majority of the global population of this species can be found in the Aleutian Islands. Eskimos once rounded up thousands in "goose drives" during post-breeding, the flightless molt period, then drove them into traps to be killed for food. The Emperor Goose population is thought to be on the rise in Alaska after an unexplained decline from an estimated 139,000 in 1964 to only 42,000 in 1986.

Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

(Galen Rowell ISBN13: 978-0-691-14069-8) After posting the book reviews in my last entry, I received numerous requests for more; mostly from people looking for the perfect Holiday or Christmas present for photographers. If I could make a single suggestion for anyone interested in outdoor photography, It would be Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography. Rowell, his wife Barbara Cushman Rowell, pilot Tom Reid, and Reid's friend Carol McAffee, were killed in a plane crash near the Inyo County Airport in Bishop, California on the 11th of August, 2002. They were returning from a photography workshop in Alaska.

“Galen Rowell was a man who went into the mountains, into the desert, to the edge of the sea, to the last great wild places in the world to be absorbed by their grace and grandeur. That is what he did for himself. For the rest of us, he shared his vision with—click—the release of a shutter, creating photographs as timeless, as stunning, and as powerful as nature itself.” –Tom Brokaw, from the foreword of Galen Rowell: A Retrospective

In sixty-six essays based on his popular Outdoor Photographer monthly column and with more than 160 color photographs, Galen illustrates how he transforms what he sees into vivid, memorable works of art. He clearly explains why “pre-visualizing” a photograph before exposing any film is one key to making an arresting image rather than a mere replica of what we see through the viewfinder. Includes advice on practical, technical matters, packing for travel, pushing film to extremes, and when to use fill flash and smart flash. Galen was instrumental in my early development as a nature photographer. I remember reading, and re-reading, every word he wrote for Outdoor Photographer; and that was long before I had access to the internet. This book should be a "must have" for any outdoor photographer.

Comments welcome & appreciated.