BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo Tours (IPTs)

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.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

• The Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPTs:
• IPT #1: FEB 25 through the full day on MAR 1, 2020. Six full days: $4799.00 (Price reduced to $3999.00!). Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• IPT #2: MAR 3 through the full day on MAR 7, 2020. Five full days: $3999.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2
• The 2020 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — MAR 19 thru the morning session 22 MAR 2020: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 4.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Archipelago Photographic Experience. August 17-31, 2021 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,999.00. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 7.

What They are Saying …

Unsolicited via e-mail from multiple IPT veteran Donna Bourdon

Thank you, Artie, for another amazing trip! The setting and the access to such spectacular wildlife was more than we could have hoped for. And you, yourself are remarkable. I am always touched by your selflessness in sharing your professional talent and knowledge. Not many working pros would be willing to share their intellectual property as you do. And the group experience was such fun. It was good to make new friends and enjoy food, fun and fellowship together! I hope to meet up with everyone again soon for another “over the top” adventure. with love, Donna

Unsolicited via e-mail from IPT veteran Eugen Dolan

Arthur, Thank you very much for your overwhelming infectious enthusiasm that helped get me up on some mornings. Also, your ability to express yourself- and explain in great detail why you like or may not like an image – was very helpful in allowing me to better analyze my images. Eugen

Via e-mail from Dianne Heggie

I had SUCH a great time today! It’s always inspiring to spend time learning from you. Your generosity in sharing knowledge and insights is really exceptional. I shouldn’t let another 8 years pass before joining you for another workshop!

Via e-mail from Jim Miller

I can’t stop thinking about how much fun the DeSoto Fall IPT was, and how much I learned. There were so many things that suddenly made perfect sense after I had been confused for so long. Thank you very much for the wonderful trip, and for being a great teacher. As I worked through the raw files last week, I realized what a fantastic lens the 600 IS is. Thanks for the rental! Maybe someday I will be able to afford one. Some images for critique are attached.

By the way, the plant we were looking at along the sidewalk in Gulfport is Blue Porterweed. It is worth a few minutes on the internet to read about it: native of Florida and the Caribbean, used for medicine in The Bahamas, etc. We have it in a large pot in the front yard and it takes a lot of water, but it blooms Spring through Fall. Thank you again, Artie. It was really wonderful to be with you and learn from you.

Via e-mail from Lee Sommie

I want to thank you for making the Fall 2017 Ft. DeSoto IPT such a fun and educational experience for me. I truly did not want the adventure to end. I now look through the viewfinder with an artist’s mindset. And the real bonus was making new friends with fellow students. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for wildlife photography. I had a great time with you and look forward to more adventures on future IPTs.

Followed by this one

BTW. I downloaded Photo Mechanic and started using it in my workflow. Since I like using Lightroom for my adjustments, I found a way to incorporate Photo Mechanic and Lightroom together. Lightroom was driving me crazy with how slow it is to import and preview photos. I was impressed with how fast you could preview photos and start editing your photos on the DeSoto Fall IPT. Life is too short to wait for applications to import and preview photos and Photo Mechanic solves that problem. 😉

Thanks again for everything Artie. Your knowledge keeps on giving well after the IPT!

Via e-mail from Muhammad Arif

I had a great time at Fort De Soto. Thank you for all the instruction, for your help and pointers; my photography has already improved tremendously and I’ve never made such good bird photos before. I wish I could’ve joined you on Monday and Tuesday morning as well but work got in the way. It was also nice to meet everyone on the IPT; sorry that I missed you, Ray. Thanks again for everything and I hope to join you at a future IPT sometime again.

The Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPTs

IPT #1: FEB 25 through the full day on MAR 1, 2020. Six full days: $4799.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2.

IPT #2: MAR 3 through the full day on MAR 7, 2020. Five full days: $3999.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2.

From Homer, Alaska:

We will do two two-hour or one four hour boat trip to Katchemak Bay each day. Our schedule will be flexible and weather dependent. We will have numerous and varied mind-boggling opportunities to photograph this hugely popular species. We will be feeding the eagles to attract them into photographic range. The trip is costly because chartering the boat is expensive, the fish are very expensive at $1.25/pound (all on me), the costs of in-room breakfasts and one sit-down meal/day are included, hotel to dock transfers are included, as is lodging (double or triple-occupancy). Single supplements may be available. Please inquire.

We will do most of our flight from the boat until you can no longer lift your lens. We will get off the boat on various islands to photograph the birds both perched and in flight. We will hope for snow.

It is best to register right now so that you can secure your flights and I can arrange the lodging. Register for both trips and apply a $500 discount.

A $2000 credit card deposit is required to hold your spot. Call Jim today, Thursday 9 JAN or tomorrow, Friday 10 JAN to leave your deosit. He will be back in the office on Monday 13 JAN. Your balance will be payable immediately thereafter by check or by credit card plus 4%. Please e-mail me immediately or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372 with any questions or to let me know of your plans. First come, first served.

Not included: your round-trip airfare from home to Homer, AK through Anchorage and back. Your second sit-down meal each day. One hotel night if you are doing both trips back-to-back. Alcoholic beverages at our sit down meal.

There is lots more info on the trip in the captions below each image — all were made in Homer, or in Kachemak Bay, AK.

From left to right clockwise back to the center: Brown Pelican, Roseate Spoonbill downstroke, Brown Pelican sunrise silhouette, Double-crested Cormorant pre-dawn blur, Roseate Spoonbill flapping after bath, Brown Pelican taking flight, Roseate Spoonbill taking flight, Reddish Egret white morph breeding plumage in flight, and Reddish Egret dark morph breeding plumage in flight. All images on this card were created by me on the Hooptie Deux at Alafia Banks on the 2018 trip. You can click on each card to enjoy a larger version.

2020 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — MAR 19 thru the morning session 22 MAR 2020: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 4.

3 1/2 days on the boat including four morning photo sessions and three afternoon sessions via customized pontoon boat.

Price per day Reduced from the 2018 rates! Please e-mail for details on IPT veteran and couples’ discounts. Pro-rated options may be available …

We will be leaving the dock very early for the morning sessions (weather permitting) in hopes of photographing pre-dawn fly-outs and blast-offs. All sessions are planned for the Alafia Banks Roseate Spoonbill Rookery. We might consider other options in the unlikely event of horrific weather. There will be lots of opportunities for flight photography of several species including and especially Roseate Spoonbill. Also likely for flight photography are nesting Brown Pelican, both morphs of Reddish Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, White and Glossy Ibises, and Double-crested Cormorant. We should have some good chances with birds carrying nesting material. This IPT includes all boat and guide fees, in the field instruction, chest waders (feel free to bring your own of course to assure a perfect fit), and three working lunches on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. For the most part, we will be standing in mid-calf to knee-high water behind our tripods. We help you get in and out of the boat with your gear. This is likely not the best trip for folks with mobility or balance problems. Note however that some folks opt to stay on the boat to photograph. They usually have lots of chances for flight photography of spoonbills and other species but are almost always pretty far away from the spoonbills that land.

All images on this card were created by me on the Hooptie Deux at Alafia Banks

The Timing and Tides are Perfect!

I recently saw a similar trip advertised two months too late for breeding plumaged spoonbills … The 2020 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT represents an incredible opportunity to photograph Florida’s most wanted species. I do hope that you can join us. There will be a meet and greet at 7:00pm sharp on the evening of WED 18 MAR, 2020. All of the images on the cards were made on the Hooptie Deux from late-February through March, prime time for the spoonies in mega-breeding plumage. Many folks have written expressing interest so please do not tarry.

Please e-mail to hold your spot. Then you may either secure your spot by calling Jim or Jennifer at the office at 863-692-0906 and leaving the $500 deposit on a credit card or sending your check for payment in full to us as follows with the check made out to:

BIRDS AS ART and sent here via US mail:

BIRDS AS ART
PO BOX 7245
Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855

If you call to leave your deposit, you will be asked to mail your check for the balance.

Images courtesy of our guide; copyright 2017 Captain James Shadle (aka Froggie). All of the images here were created at Alafia Banks. Card creation and design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.

Everybody Loves Spoonbills!

Roseate Spoonbill is one of if not the most sought after avian photographic subjects in Florida. They are generally hard to find and somewhat difficult to approach. They are relatively easy to find at Alafia Banks—heck, you can’t miss seeing them, but even there they can on some days be somewhat difficult to approach. On some days we may be able to get ridiculously close to them. The huge incentive to get out to Alafia Banks in mid-February is the chance to photograph this species at the height of its spectacular breeding plumage…. with long telephoto lenses. A 500 or 600 with a 1.4X TC is perfect for this trip.

Mornings to Alafia Banks for spoonbills and Brown Pelicans (with lots of flight photography often with the birds likely carrying nesting material), Double-crested Cormorants, ibises (both Glossy and White) in breeding plumage. Some of the White Ibises may be sporting their spectacular, distended, red, naked (un-feathered) throat pouches—typically larger in the females. In addition, we may get to photograph egrets including Great and Reddish, both in full breeding plumage, shorebirds, and more. There will be lots of flight photography opportunities. Afternoon trips will most likely be back to Alafia Banks for the spoonbills with an option to visit a more sheltered inland rookery location for a variety of nesting birds. In the event of horrific weather, artie will either take the group to Fort DeSoto or will conduct an extensive image review/Photoshop session. This IPT includes lunches on the full days with small group image sharing and review and some over-the-shoulder Photoshop instruction.

The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Archipelago Photographic Experience

August 17-31, 2021 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,999.00.

For this trip to run, I need ten deposit checks in hand by June 15, 2020. In the event that it does not run, your deposit will be refunded in full no questions asked.

Strict Limit 12 photographers (plus the leader)

If you are considering this trip, be sure to check out the new Galapagos Gallery here.

This trip is THE best Galapagos Photo-Cruise in the world. By far. No one else offers a trip that visits the top three world-class landings twice each. What does this trip offer? The world’s best Galapagos guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), a great crew, and me, with thirteen Galapagos Photo-cruises under my belt. Pre-trip gear suggestions and advice and twice-daily, pre-landing, location-specific briefings. In-the-field photo instruction and guidance. Jeez, I almost forgot: fine dining at sea! Do know that there are one-week Galapagos trips (six full and two half- days on the boat “from $9995”! Thus, this trip represents a tremendous value; why go all that way and miss half of the great photographic locations? And why not visit the three very best spots twice each?

The great spots that we will visit include Tower Island — including Darwin Bay (almost surely twice!) and Prince Phillips Steps, Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world’s only nesting site of Waved Albatross (almost surely twice!), and Gardner Bay — each of the preceding are world-class wildlife photography destinations that rank right up there with the best of Antarctica, South Georgia, the Falklands, Africa, and Midway. We will also visit Fernandina, Puerto Ayora for the tortoises and Darwin’s Finches, Puerto Egas—James Bay, and North Seymour (twice!) for nesting Blue-footed Boobies and both frigatebird species in most years, South Plaza for Land Iguanas and seabirds, Floreana for Greater Flamingoes, and Urbina Bay, all spectacular in their own right. We visit every great spot on a single trip. Plus lots more.

There will be lots of opportunities to snorkel on sunny middays for those like me who wish to partake. (The park service does not approve our second visits to the same great locations until right before the trip; we have never been turned down. We will be the first boat on each island in the morning and the last boat to leave each island every afternoon. If we are blessed with overcast skies, we will often spend 5+ hours at the best sites. And as noted above, mid-day snorkeling is an option on most sunny days depending on location and conditions. On the 2015 trip most snorkeled with many thousands of dolphins. I eased off the zodiac to find hundreds of dolphins swimming just below me.

Note that some of the walks are on the difficult side. Great images are possible on all landings with either a hand-held 70-200mm lens and a 1.4X teleconverter or an 80- or 100-400mm lens. In the past, I have taken a longer lens ashore on most landings as they better fit my style. In 2019 I did the whole trip with my Nikon 500PF and my SONY 100-400.

The Logistics

SUN August 15, 2021: Arrive in Guayaquil a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat.

MON August 16, 2021: Introductory sessions.

TUES August 17, 2021: We fly to the archipelago (Baltra) and board the Samba. Heck, on some trips, folks made great images at the dock in Baltra while our luggage was being loaded!

TUES August 31, 2021: We disembark the Samba in mid-morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there.

Most will fly home on the early morning of Wednesday, September 1, 2021 unless they are staying on or going elsewhere (or catching a red-eye flight on the evening of the TUES August 31).

$14,999 includes just about everything: all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, transfers and ground transportation, your flights to the archipelago, and three nights (double occupancy) in a top-notch hotel in Guayaquil. If you are good to go, a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 per person is due immediately. The second payment of $5,000 is not due until 12/1/20. The final payment of $4,999 per person will be due on 3/1/21. All payments must be made by checks made out to BIRDS AS ART and mailed to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.

Again, this trip needs ten participants registered by June 15, 2020 to run, so please do not book your flights until you learn that we are good to go. Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On two fairly recent cruises, a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than two weeks prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same. On the 2019 trip one couple went with a bargain rate-company and got stiffed for $30K.

Not included: your round-trip airfare from your home to and from Guayaquil, beverages on the boat, phone calls, your meals in Guayaquil, personal items, and an $700/person cash tip for the crew and the guide to be shared by our guide and the 7 folks who will be waiting on us hand and foot every day for two weeks. The service is so wonderful that many folks choose to tip extra.

The Itinerary

The Logistics

SUN August 15, 2021: Arrive in Guayaquil a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat.

MON August 16, 2021: Introductory sessions.

TUES August 17, 2021: We fly to the archipelago (Baltra) and board the Samba.

On the Boat

Day 1: Tuesday, August 17, PM North Seymour

Day 2: Wednesday, August 18, Genovesa: AM Darwin Bay, PM Prince Phillips´ Steps

Day 3: Thursday, August 19, Marchena: AM Playa Negra, PM Navigation to Isabela

Day 4: Friday, August 20, Isabela: AM Punta Albemarle, PM Punta Vicente Roca

Day 5: Saturday, August 21, AM Fernandina: Punta Espinoza, PM Isabela: Bahía Urbina

Day 6: Sunday, August 22, Isabela: AM Elizabeth Bay, PM Punta Moreno

Day 7: Monday, August 23, Floreana: AM Post Office Bay, PM Punta Cormorant

Day 8: Tuesday, August 24, Santa Cruz: AM Highlands and Lunch, PM free time in the city with some usually poor internet access.

Day 9: Wednesday, August 25, Española: AM Gardner Bay, PM Punta Suárez

Day 10: Thursday, August 26, Española: AM Punta Suarez, PM Navigation to San Cristóbal

Day 11: Friday, August 27, San Cristóbal. AM Isa Lobos (only until 9 am), PM Punta Pitt

Day 12: Saturday, August 28, AM Santa Fe, PM South Plaza

Day 13: Sunday, August 29, Genovesa: AM Darwin Bay, Navigation to Santiago

Day 14: Monday, August 30, AM James Bay, PM Rábida

Day 15: Tuesday, August 31, North Seymour from 06 to 09 am. We disembark late morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there.

Wednesday, August 7, 2019: Fly home.

I do hope that you can join us on what will surely be a rich and rewarding photographic workshop.