Southern Ohio Songbirds Photo Tour - Shawnee Forest 2012
Available Dates: April 21- 23, 2012 Sold Out
Fee: $1100 Three full days
shooting in the field with mid-afternoon slideshows and
photoshop demonstrations.
Deposit: $400
Target Group Size: 3-4 participants
From: Porstmouth, Ohio
Southern Ohio is known for its expansive forests and bountiful wild areas. It is situated in the Appalachian foothills and in the spring, comes alive with small streams falling down the hills and blossoming red-bud trees, and the forest is filled with songbirds arriving in fresh plumage from Central and South America. It's one of my favorite places to be. Warbler photography is perhaps the most difficult of all bird photography. On this workshop we strive for quality over quantity, and often only walk away with two or three truly stunning shots per day. But the rewards are sweet. The quality of these images surpasses weeks and weeks of work at migrant traps and has the advantage of showing the birds in their preferred environment and breeding ground.
During the Warbler Workshop, Matthew shows you how to get that perfect shot, whether we are photographing a Prairie Warbler picking bugs out if a Redbud Tree, or a Louisiana Waterthrush singing from the top of a mossy rock in the middle of a stream, the Workshop focuses on giving the images that extra touch that separates the good images for the work of a master bird photographer. Matthew also knows exactly which parts of the forest to shoot from and when, how to take advantage of the birds’ daily patterns and work with the light. Matthew also provides natural props to enhance compositions if desired. Matthew has all the Eastern US bird's songs memorized in order to quickly locate birds for the group.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
Equipment: I recommend bringing a digital SLR with matching lens. When you calculate your digital crop factor (usually 1.5x the normal focal length or so for digital cameras today) and slap on your tele extenders (1.4x or 2x) you should have the equivalent of at least 600mm. Please be familiar with using the equipment you bring. While I have experience with basic Nikon, Canon, and Olympus systems and can help guide you along, you could miss a rare photo opp when adjusting settings or even looking through the viewfinder with new equipment.
If we have cloudy weather, the photos often turn out as good or better than in sunny weather, but having a fill flash really helps bring the colors to life in overcast conditions.
Once a participant commits to doing
the tour, a down payment is required right away to reserve the date.
Participants can pay with personal checks or money orders.
Unfortunately, refunds are impossible.
Physical Activity Requirements: Low
activity. We’ll be shooting near the car most of the time.
We may walk across a couple small fields. You certainly don’t
need to be athletic to do this workshop. If you can walk a
normal city block or go grocery shopping you should be just
fine. One of the biggest hassles of the workshop is simply
taking out the equipment from the vehicle and putting it back
in every couple hours. We shoot within a short drive of the lodge most of the time, but participants will need to follow Matthew in their own vehicle to the shooting locations. Carpooling is optional.
Likely Species on the Southern Ohio Workshop
- species in bold have historically been the most cooperative,
and a sampling of the other species usually
oblige as well:
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Scarlet Tanager
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Pheobe
Great-crested Flycatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Louisiana Waterthrush
Ovenbird
Pine Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-white Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Parula
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Contact Matthew Studebaker
for your reservation today!
Make Checks out to:
Studebaker Studios, LLC
c/o Matthew Studebaker
3339 Fox Run Drive,
Richfield, OH 44286
