THE JAPAN ONLY ONE TRIP NEEDED PER LIFETIME IPT, FEB 20-MAR 9, 2012

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JAPAN 2012

THE JAPAN ONLY ONE TRIP NEEDED PER LIFETIME IPT, FEB 20-MAR, 09, 2012. $15,999 (double occupancy) from Tokyo, Japan. Limit ten photographers; openings: 7. Co-leaders: Arthur Morris & Robert O’Toole.

Robert has photographed in Hokkaido several times. I’ve never been to Japan. And I will likely never be going back. I wanted to make sure that a day or two of bad weather would not wipe out one of the four great wildlife opportunities: the snow monkeys, Stellar’s Sea Eagles, Whooper Swans, and Japanese Red-crowned Cranes. Robert and I designed a trip that offers more photography time than any other Japan in winter trip. On all other trips you will spend half of the trip days traveling only to spend a day or two at most at each location. If you are gonna go all that way, why risk having bad weather completely wipe out one of more of the great opportunities?

Here’s what I mean:

Japan Workshop Location Summary:

3 1/2 days of Snow Monkey photography at Nagano, Honshu (largest island of Japan, the Mainland).

4 1/2 days of Steller’s Sea Eagle photography in Rausu, Hokkaido (Japan’s northernmost and second largest island).

3 days (2 full and 2 half days) of Whooper Swan photography at Lake Kussharo, Kushiro Region, Hokkaido)

4 1/2 days of Japanese Red-Crowned Crane photography at two different parks in Akan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan.

None of these areas were damaged by the earthquake and all logistics are in place.

Do consider joining us on this amazing trip. A non-refundable deposit of $5,000 is required to hold your spot see below for complete details.

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Monday, February 20, 2012. Tokyo, Japan. Meeting and dinner.

Arrive at Narita Airport for transfer to our Tokyo hotel and meet for dinner that evening. We recommend taking a limousine bus to the hotel; save your receipt–we will reimburse you. (Details will be provided). Note that since most flights from the USA arrive in Tokyo in the evening, we strongly recommend arriving the day before the workshop starts to rest and adjust to the time change.

Day 2: February 21. Tokyo to Nagano (five hour bus ride). Afternoon Snow Monkey photography.

After an early breakfast we will meet and begin our journey at 5am via chartered bus to Nagano for a 10 am arrival and enjoy an afternoon photo session with the Snow Monkeys. These fascinating primates, also known as Japanese Macaques, range throughout the national park and are especially fond of soaking themselves in the natural hot springs where they are easy to photograph.

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Day 3-5: February 22-24: Nagano. Morning and afternoon photo sessions with the Snow Monkeys

Day 6: February 25. Nagano, Honshu to Rausu, Hokkaido.

After breakfast we will depart at 7 am to travel to Haneda airport for our flight to Kushiro and then travel by bus arriving in in Rasu that evening. Here, with any weather luck at all, we will photograph one of the world’s most impressive and rarest eagles, the Steller’s Sea eagle. Our boat trips are dependent on the sea ice that is blown south across the Sea of Okhotsk from Russia’s east coast. We will have some flexibility with the itinerary in case conditions might be less than ideal. We are of course scheduled to be there during average prime time for eagle photography. This will be our only full travel day.

Day 7-10: February 26-29. Rausu.

Daily morning photography sessions on a chartered boat with one of the world’s largest and most amazing raptors, the Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus). With the planned for conditions in place, the birds will be flying amongst and landing on the shimmering pack ice.

Day 11: March 1. Rausu to Kushiro.

We will enjoy one last morning boat trip for the eagles and then depart to Kushiro for an afternoon of Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) photography at Lake Kussharo, Kushiro Region, Hokkaido.

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Day 12-13: March 2-3. Morning and afternoon photography sessions on Lake Kussharo with Whooper Swans.

Day 14 March 4. Lake Kussharo to Crane Parks.

There will be a short morning swan photography session at Lake Kussharo. We will leave at 10am in order to arrive in time for an afternoon crane feeding session.

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Day 15 -18: March 5-8. Morning and afternoon photo sessions with the Japanese Cranes.

At Kushiro we will photograph the rare and beautiful Japanese Crane (Grus japonensis, also known as the Red-crowned Crane). Other subjects will include White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and Black (or Black-eared) Kite (Milvus migrans) at two different crane reserves. The photography sessions at the parks can be amazing; we will get to photograph the cranes dancing and displaying from morning until dark. The peak of the action will occur during feeding time (2pm daily).

Day 19: March 9. Kushiro Airport, Hokkaido to Haneda Airport Tokyo

After breakfast at the Kushiro hotel the group will be transported to Kushiro Airport to meet their English-speaking guide for the flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. (Robert and Artie will be staying in Hokkaido for a few additional days of bird photography at Lake Furen.) Upon arrival in Haneda the group will be met by an English-speaking guide and board a transfer bus to transport to Narita airport for international flights home that afternoon.

THE JAPAN ONLY ONE TRIP NEEDED PER LIFETIME IPT, FEB 20-MAR, 09, 2012. Limit ten photographers; openings: 7. Co-leaders: Arthur Morris & Robert O’Toole.

$15,999 (double occupancy; single supplement price available upon request) from Tokyo, Japan. A non-refundable deposit of $5,000 is required to hold your spot. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and mail it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL. 33855. Please e-mail if you have any questions.

Trip insurance is highly recommended and trip evacuation (cheap for an annual policy) is mandatory. I and my family use Travel Insurance Services. Your trip fee will include just about everything but your air fare to and from Tokyo, Japan and your alcoholic beverages and phone calls. All lodging, all meals, all ground transportation (most by van),the in-country flights, lots of image sharing and review and small group Photoshop sessions, and of course, the two great leaders who will alert you to the best situations, make sure that you understand exposure, and teach you to think like a pro. Robert has photographed in Hokkaido several times. Right now this is shaping up to be a practically private affair with three participants and two leaders. The current roster of happy campers includes IPT veterans Mike Gotthelf & Kevin Watson and newcomer Tommy R. Rodgers.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) General Information.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Deposit and Cancellation Policies.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Registration and Release Forms.

Click here for the current BAA IPT Schedule.

ELLEN ANON

Thanks to Ellen for the loan of her three images above. Ellen Anon, a former BIRDS AS ART IPT co-leader, is an award winning photographer, writer, and Photoshop and digital imaging expert. She has co-authored a series of best selling books including Photoshop CS5 for Nature Photographers; A Workshop in a Book and Aperture3; Portable Genius along with several video series. She and her son Josh are very excited about being in the process of creating a new book (and workshops) that will help people develop their photographic eye via visual intensity.

You can learn more about Ellen and see lots of her great images here. She asked me to let you know that she needs to update her workshop and public appearances pages; life sometimes gets in the way of photography and career.