Bald Eagle in flight with prey

A Bald Eagle with its prize. The light and action was extraordinary during my Eagles Galore Workshops in Alaska this March.

Eagles Galore Workshop update:

Coastal Brown Bears: Wanna Play?

The Katmai Coast Ultimate Brown Bear workshop is a magical experience if you dream of getting up close and personal with Coastal Brown Bears; Mothers often bring their cubs to my groups for free babysitting services :)

These two siblings are about to erupt into a frenzied playful tussle, a necessary lesson to help them survive alone in the wild.

This image was created hand-held using my Sony a9 camera with the Sony 100-400mm zoom lens with a doubler attached.

Snail Kite

Another treat from my recently completed second Ospreys Galore workshop in Florida was this spectacular Snail kite. Notice the highly specialized hooked bill: Perfectly shaped to penetrate the freshwater snails they eat.

Dave Christopher Testimonial

Check out these incredible images from repeat workshop participant Dave Christopher:

“Chris, I want you to know what an amazing time I had at your recently completed April 5-7, 2023 Osprey Workshop in Florida. The photo opportunities were endless and I came home with over 15,000 images. Yes, it took some time going through those, but my gosh, it was so much fun because the images were simply awesome!!

It helped that the lighting each day was amazing. The wind direction was fantastic as the Osprey took off from & landed into their nests facing us with the sunrise (at our backs) directly lighting up those incredible yellow eyes! I was also amazed at how close we were able to get to the osprey. I found myself often filling the frame with my 400mm lens.

I really appreciate attending a workshop led by a photography professional like you who puts me and the other attendees in the best position to capture incredible photos. The same was true when I attended your Snowy Owl workshop (my first with you) in January of this year. And now I just registered for your Eagles Workshop in Alaska next March. I can’t wait!

Thanks, Chris! Your workshops are exactly what I’ve looked for as an aspiring amateur wildlife photographer!

(Attached are my three favorite osprey photos, but definitely a challenge to choose just three. So many good ones to pick from!)”

— Dave Christopher

Roseate Spoonbill landing in Spectacular light

As mentioned in my last post, the weather forecast for the entirety of the second Ospreys Galore workshop looked like rain, but as is often the case, we didn’t get much. This is an image of a Roseate Spoonbill (Spoonie) from the last morning of the second workshop during a brief break in the clouds, just before we got a 5-minute rain shower. The “Spoonies” were all landing to my left when this one appeared out of nowhere; I got three frames with this spectacular light that lasted only a fraction of a second, but the background was a crooked horizon line with part bright water and part dark & messy, distracting branches, so I replaced the sky to resemble better what I remember from the moment. CLICK HERE to learn more about my workshops.

Roseate Spoonbill in flight

We had a fabulous time with the beautiful Roseate Spoonbills on the last day of the last Ospreys Galore workshop in Florida. Despite a disappointingly wet forecast before the trip started, the only daytime rain we had was a short-lived 5-minute shower shortly after this image was made; a small price to pay for the lovely dark grey sky - smile!

Osprey in flight with a Black Crappie

An Osprey is bringing home a fish called a Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) from my recently concluded Ospreys Galore workshops on Lake Blue Cypress in Florida. I love the perspective of the Osprey being below my line of sight, and the background gives the image a sense of place and seems a lot more interesting than a plain blue sky - wink.

Osprey in flight in golden light

We had an epic time with fantastic light, weather, ospreys and ospreys with fish during both of my Ospreys Galore workshops on Lake Blue Cypress in Florida. It was fantastic to be out on the lake with some new and some old friends.

“Hi Chris, Thank you for the magical photography experience on Lake Blue Cypress. The opportunity to witness and capture images of this annual ritual of the osprey life cycle was truly a privilege. The setting and expertise of you and the captain were perfection, with the weather and wind in remarkable compliance for the ideal opportunities for memories of a lifetime. Thank you again for putting together this wonderful experience. Honestly, I am in awe of the photos that came out of my camera— you set me up for success! Thank you so much for this!”

— Marsha Lomis (Ontario, Canada)

Coastal Brown Bears Wrestling

It was an amazing experience watching a couple of young coastal Brown Bears play fighting on a foggy morning. Play fighting is very important for young bears because it teaches them to protect themselves and helps them get stronger. But if things get too rough, mama bear will discipline them by swatting them with her paw!

There is still room for you to join my Brown Bear Boat trip in June and September. Specifically looking for a female solo traveller to share a room with same. Learn more about my Ultimate Bears of Alaska trip HERE.

Coastal Brown Bear Cub Beauty Shot

That moment when a bear cub walks right up to you, lies down, and starts munching on the Coastal grass is priceless! It often happens during my Ultimate Alaskan Bear trip! The grass is sweet and loaded with protein.

I still have a couple of spots for my June Mothers & Cubs trip, and we are looking for a solo female traveller to share a room with another female for my September fishing bear trip.

Brown bear mothers with twins and triplets

We watched as the otherwise calm mother with triplets high-tailed it off the meadow and up to the protection of the high rocky vantage point. Amazingly, another mother with twins (a year older) was already there. Was the boar (male bear) chasing them a cub killer? We don’t know, but these mothers sure thought there was a threat.

Cub killer?

There are three leading theories: The first is that a male bear's killing of a female's cub or cubs will force her back into heat, whereby she might be receptive to mating again. A nursing female with newly born and helpless spring cubs won't go into heat. Forcing a female back into heat may give that male bear more mating opportunities and increased opportunities to spread his genes.

The second possibility is that bears aren't omnivores, but they can be cannibals, too. Bears will do what it takes to fatten up for the long, cold winter hibernation. And sometimes, bears will kill and eat other bears. In some instances, cubs might be easy calories.

Last, killing a cub reduces a bear's future competition — for females, fish, and territory.

Coastal Brown Bears Playing

A couple of Coastal Brown Bear cubs put on quite a show for my group during my Mother and Cubs bear boat trip. Amazingly, I still have space for my Mothers & Cubs trip in June and my Fishing bears trip in September. Learn more about my Bears Galore workshop HERE.

Blad Eagle with fresh catch in the mountains

It seemed like the beautiful light would never end during my recently concluded Eagles Galore Workshops. We had endless light, flat water and perfect winds for most of both trips, so we got to use up all of our boat time and we even squeezed in some extra! Oh, and did I mention the Eagles were off the charts?

Bald Eagle and sun Silhouette

Here’s another silhouette from my recent Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska. After one of the most memorable afternoons with the Eagles (high winds from directly behind us during a four-hour outing), we were all desperately trying to keep our fingers warm as the temperature dropped; there were Eagles all over the beach begging for silhouettes - smile.

Bald Eagle with fish birdscape

We had spectacular light for both of my Eagles Galore workshops in Alaska. This was from a very windy day which meant that the eagles would grab a fish and fly directly into the heavy gusts, which propelled them skyward while quickly gaining altitude - often banking to reveal their fresh catch against the mountains while illuminated by the golden light.

Bald Eagle Fishing Silhouette

Creating pleasing silhouettes is much easier than you might think. Look back through this blog, and you will find that my exposure settings for silhouettes are almost always the same. I always point my camera to the brightest part of the sky and set the ISO to 400, aperture to f/5.6 and shutter speed to 1/5,000 of a second; this will always produce a sharp and noise-free image.

In post-capture processing, I slide the black point and shadow slider to ensure my subject is black. I usually slide the colour temperature to the right - remember this is a creative process and adjust to taste!

Bald Eagle pre sunrise pastels

We were out before the sun every day of both Eagles Galore workshops and saw some incredible pastel hues in the sky - smile.

Bald Eagle out of the shadows

A Bald Eagle banks out of the shadows, illuminated by the very last drops of golden light during my recently concluded Eagles Galore workshop in Alaska. We had some epic weather, flat water and amazing light with both groups using all of our allotment of boat time (with a little extra bonus). Join me in Alaska next March for an Epic Alaskan Eagle adventure workshop!

Eagles Galore Workshop every March

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Learn more and sign-up HERE

🦅

Eagles Galore Workshop every March 🦅 Learn more and sign-up HERE 🦅

More Snowy Owl workshop kudos

Images copyright and courtesy Dave Christopher.

“I wanted to take a moment and let you know how much I appreciated your Snowy Owl workshop last week (Jan 23-27, 2023). You impressed me with your intimate knowledge of the owls. You knew where they would be, and what they were going to do before they did it. And you were right! I also appreciated your vast knowledge of photography and your willingness to share as needed. I enjoyed the conversation in the van, the humor and your attempt at singing (not the best but great effort!).

But first and foremost, I judge a photography workshop on the number of “wall hanger” photos I get. I can honestly say that I’ve never come home from a workshop with more keeper photos than this one. I’m attaching 3 photos from the week that I like a lot, but could easily attach another 15+ that I like equally as well. My home photo gallery will be greatly enhanced!

Thanks Chris, for a great week! I’ll definitely be doing more of your workshops in the future!”

— Dave Christopher USA (January 23-27, 2023 Owl Workshop)

Snowy Owl Workshop Testimonials

Snowy Owl images copyright and courtesy of Joe Norton

“I just returned home from a trip to Ontario, Canada with Christopher Dodds to look for and photograph Snowy Owls. The weather was cold and snowy, but not necessarily Snowy Owl cold, so I was worried that the Snowy Owls might be thin on the ground. Christopher Dodds deserves kudos and my thanks! He led our photo trek and put me (and the others in the party I joined) in position to see, watch, track and photograph Snowy Owls. I was able to capture wonderful images of Snowy Owls at rest, in flight, on the hunt, on the ground in the fields, in blowing snow! Outstanding photographic results for me, better than I anticipated. From the get go it was obvious that Christopher Dodds knows his Snowy Owls and wildlife photography. He is an excellent photography trek leader, knowledgeable, personable, professional and helpful to me and the others in our group at every turn. I am impressed with Christopher as a photography trek leader, particularly as his focus was on his clients at all times, and the well being of the Owls. He ensured that we did everything possible to not stress or disturb the Owls in their habitat. Of particular note Christopher is not a photography trek leader who spends his time with his own camera, taking his own photographs. He spent all his time with us locating Owls, coaching us, helping us with our equipment and camera settings, and letting us know what to expect and when to expect an Owl to fly, in what direction, and when. What an outstanding experience! Thank you, Christopher. I hope to enjoy another trek with you soon.”

— Joe Norton - USA (Jan. 23-27, 2023 workshop)

“I enjoyed the experience and appreciate your vast knowledge of birds and the respect you have for birds & nature!
I was pleased to see you not bait birds and at no time did we flush birds or approach them in an unethical way just for good photos.”

— Deb Bryk - USA (Feb. 13-17, 2023 workshop)