Wildlife Photography Workshop at Center for Birds of Prey

This past weekend, I had the honor of leading the second annual Wildlife Photography Workshop at the Center for Birds of Prey: http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/visit/special_events/instructor-led-photography-workshop/.

We had an AMAZING time photographing these amazing creatures, learning new techniques, acquiring new skills to use in the field, and simply having a BLAST!!!

Many thanks to Kara, Natalie, and the rest of the team for all their hard work and preparation in pulling this event off! And a huge shout out to all the wonderful attendees!!!

If you missed it this year, I hope you’ll join me next fall for #3. 🙂

Center for Birds of Prey

Last weekend I had the privilege of photographing a group of children involved in an immersive learning experience at the Center for Birds of Prey.

Thank you Kara for the wonderful opportunity to see the wonder and awe in these young people’s faces as they learned about these beautiful creatures!

And a special thank you to Audrey, Meghan, and Natalie for leading the wonderful program!

Charleston Center for Birds of Prey

Beautiful weather…beautiful birds…I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day at the Center for Birds of Prey!

I’ve been attending their Photography Day events for several years now. These events sell out fast, and never disappoint!

Most of these were shot with the new Nikkor 300mm f4 PF on either a Nikon D500 or a Nikon D4.

Kudos to the staff and volunteers at the Center for Birds of Prey for putting on such an AMAZING opportunity for us photographers to get up close and personal with these incredible creature.

Center for Birds of Prey

This spring I had the pleasure of attending one of the Photography Days at the Charleston Center for Birds of Prey.

I absolutely LOVE visiting and supporting this amazing facility. The work they do to save and rehab injured birds, and the education programs they have for schools and communities, are so valuable for our society if we’re to live in harmony with the other creatures on our planet.

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend taking a trip to the Center for Birds of Prey!!!

The Kites of Allendale

Last week I managed to find a little time to go photograph a fun personal project!

I’ve heard of the amazing Kites of Allendale for several years, but never had a chance to get up there to photograph them. So I packed up the Nikon D500 and Nikkor 200-400 f4 VR…my favorite wildlife combo…and headed out on a road trip.

Allendale county is known to have huge fields of crops where tons of dragonflies and beetles congregate during the summer months. Swallow-tailed kites don’t normally come this far over. But during this time of year, they’ve discovered this bountiful feast-for-the-taking!  Here’s some info if you’re interested in seeing this majestic scene:  http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/sites/SC/allendale.html.

It’s a little late in the season. Normally July is the best time to catch them. But I managed to find a few swooping and soaring not far outside Allendale.  At first I just watched in awe as these expert flyers effortlessly circled and swirled overhead, periodically diving to grab a tasty handful, then climbing back into the wind to chow down. Eventually I grabbed the camera and enjoyed playing “target practice” with these fast-moving subjects.

It was a great challenge! I’m happy with what I got for as few kites as there were, and as short a window of time I had to work with. But my resolve to return next year during peak season has been doubled!!! 🙂