As a child, you dreamed of getting to the Galapagos. As a nature photographer, you’ve dreamed of getting to the Galapagos. If you’ve been, you’ve dreamed of getting back — with your mirrorless gear. International travel is now a reality. And you’ve come to realize that life is short. And that a dream deferred is a dream denied. <\/p>\n
Hold fast to dreams
\nFor if dreams die
\nLife is a broken-winged bird
\nThat cannot fly. <\/p>\n
Hold fast to dreams
\nFor when dreams go
\nLife is a barren field
\nFrozen with snow<\/p>\n
If you want to make your<\/em><\/strong> dream to come true, read everything below carefully, and then get in touch. <\/p>\n Clockwise from upper left corner and back to center: Nazca Booby staring, Sally Lightfoot Crab legs, Blue-footed Booby braking to land, dried mud patterns\/Floreana, face of Galapagos Sea-Lion, Sally Lightfoot Crab, Great Frigatebird — large chick, Land Iguana, Magnificent Frigatebird, male in flight with pouch distended. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n For this trip to run, I need ten deposit checks in hand by August 30, 2022. If this trip does not run, your deposit will, of course, be refunded in full — no questions asked. Five folks plus the leader are already committed. <\/p>\n If you are considering this trip, be sure to check out the Galapagos Gallery here<\/a>. Please shoot me an e-mail<\/a> if you are interested or if you have any questions. <\/p>\n Clockwise from upper left corner and back to center: Galapagos Sea-Lions squabbling; Blue-footed Booby foot; Blue-footed Booby in flight; seabird chick; Sally Lightfoot Crab; Swallow-tailed Gull in flight; Great Frigatebird head portrait; Gal\u00e1pagos penguin — juvenile; Nazca Booby resting. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n This trip is THE best Galapagos Photo-Cruise in the world. By far. No one offers a trip that visits the top three world-class landings twice each (pending National Park Service approval as below). What does this trip offer? The world\u2019s 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) \u201cfrom $9995\u201d! 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? Additionally, there are two-week trips for less money where the itineraries include several waste-of-time \u201ctourist landings\u201d that offer little in the way of wildlife and nature photography. <\/p>\n Important notes: approval of the itinerary that allows for our extra visits is customarily approved right by the Gal\u00e1pagos National Park Service just before departure. We have never been turned down before. If by some chance the itinerary change is not approved, each participant will receive a $200 rebate. <\/p>\n The great spots that we will visit include Tower Island \u2014 including Darwin Bay (almost surely twice!) and Prince Phillips Steps, Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world\u2019s only nesting site of Waved Albatross (almost surely twice!), and Gardner Bay -\u2014 each of the preceding locations 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\u2019s Finches, Puerto Egas\u2014James Bay, and North Seymour (twice!) for nesting Blue-footed Boobies and both frigatebird species in most years, South Plaza for Land Iguanas and seabirds (including Red-billed Tropicbird), Floreana for Greater Flamingoes, and Urbina Bay (for Land Iguanas. Each is spectacular in its own right. We visit every great spot on a single trip. Plus lots more. <\/p>\n There will be opportunities to snorkel on sunny middays for those who (like me) who wish to partake. 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 we snorkeled with thousands of dolphins. <\/p>\n Note that some of the walks are on the difficult side. Great images are possible on all landings with a hand-held 70-200mm lens and a 1.4X teleconverter or an 80-or 100-400mm lens, a 100-500, or a 200-600 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. In 2023, it is likely that I will do the whole trip with The Sony 70-200mm f\/2.8 II (with both TCs) and the 200-600. I just might bring the 400mmm f\/2.8 along …<\/p>\n Clockwise from upper left corner and back to center: Green Iguana – Guayaquil; Waved Albatross clicking display; Galapagos Tortoise eating passionfruit: Red-billed Tropicbird: male frigatebird with pouch distended; cave wall blur; face of Galapagos Sea-Lion with red sand background — Rabida: White-cheeked Pintail; Nazca Boobies calling. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n Please note: All itineraries, routings, and visitor sites on the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands are subject to change by the Gal\u00e1pagos National Park Service to minimize traffic and impact.<\/p>\n SUN August 27, 2023: Arrive in Guayaquil a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat.<\/p>\n MON August 28, 2023: Introductory sessions. <\/p>\n TUES August 29, 2023: We fly to the archipelago (Baltra) and board the Samba. Heck, on some trips, folks make great images from the dock in Baltra while our luggage is being loaded!<\/p>\n TUES September 12, 2023: We disembark the Samba in mid-morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there. <\/p>\n Most will fly home on the early morning of Wednesday, September 13, 2023, unless they are staying on or going elsewhere (or catching a red-eye flight on the evening of the TUES September 12.).<\/p>\n $15,999 includes just about everything: all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, transfers and ground transportation, your flights to and from the archipelago, and three nights (double occupancy) in a top-notch hotel in Guayaquil. If you are good to go, your non-refundable (except as previously noted) deposit of $7,000 per person is due immediately. The second payment of $5,000 is not due until 1\/15\/2023. The final payment of $3,999 per person will be due on 5\/15\/2023. 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. Deposits are double for single supplements. <\/p>\n Again, this trip needs ten participants registered by August 30, 2022, to run, so please do not book your flights<\/em><\/strong> until you learn that we are good to go.<\/p>\n Travel insurance for both big international trips and US-based IPTs is highly recommended as we never know what life has in store for us. I strongly recommend that you purchase quality travel insurance. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check or running your credit card. Whenever purchasing travel insurance, be sure to read the fine print carefully.<\/p>\n 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 $800\/person cash tip to be shared by the crew and the guide. These folks will be waiting on us hand and foot every day for two weeks. The service on the boat is so wonderful that many folks opt to tip extra. <\/p>\n Please note: the current fuel surcharge of $300\/person is included in the cost of the trip. If there is a significant increase in the price of diesel fuel in the next 14 months, the cost will be shared on a per\/person basis (payable by check after you get home). <\/p>\n Clockwise from upper left corner and back to center: barrel cactus — infrared; Galapagos Storm Petrel — dorsal view; juvenile frigatebird banking; Short-eared Owl withe Wedge-rumped (Galapagos) Petrel; Nazca Booby displaying; immature frigate bird landing; booby sunset silhouette; Marine Iguana; White-cheeked Pintail displaying drake. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n SUN August 27, 2023: Arrive in Guayaquil a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat.<\/p>\n MON August 28, 2023: Introductory sessions. <\/p>\n TUES August 29, 2023: We fly to the archipelago (Baltra) and board the Samba. <\/p>\n Day 1: Tuesday, August 29 \u2014 PM North Seymour <\/p>\n Day 2: Wednesday, August 30 \u2014 Genovesa: AM Darwin Bay, PM Prince Phillips\u00b4 Steps <\/p>\n Day 3: Thursday, August 31 \u2014 Marchena: AM Playa Negra, PM Navigation to Isabela <\/p>\n Day 4: Friday, September 1 \u2014 Isabela: AM Punta Albemarle, PM Punta Vicente Roca <\/p>\n Day 5: Saturday, September 2 \u2014 AM Fernandina: Punta Espinoza, PM Isabela: Bah\u00eda Urbina <\/p>\n Day 6: Sunday, September 3 \u2014 Isabela: AM Elizabeth Bay, PM Punta Moreno<\/p>\n Day 7: Monday, September 4 \u2014 Floreana: AM Post Office Bay, PM Punta Cormorant <\/p>\n Day 8: Tuesday, September 5 \u2014 Santa Cruz: AM Highlands and Lunch, PM free time in the city with some usually poor internet access. <\/p>\n Day 9: Wednesday, September 6 \u2014 Espa\u00f1ola: AM Gardner Bay, PM Punta Su\u00e1rez <\/p>\n Day 10: Thursday, September 7 \u2014 Espa\u00f1ola: AM Punta Suarez, PM Navigation to San Crist\u00f3bal <\/p>\n Day 11: Friday, September 8 \u2014 San Crist\u00f3bal. AM Isa Lobos (until 9 am), PM Punta Pitt <\/p>\n Day 12: Saturday, September 9 \u2014 AM Santa Fe, PM South Plaza <\/p>\n Day 13: Sunday, September 10 \u2014 Genovesa: AM Darwin Bay, Navigation to Santiago <\/p>\n Day 14: Monday, September 11 \u2014 AM: James Bay, PM R\u00e1bida <\/p>\n Day 15: Tuesday, September 12 \u2014 North Seymour from 6 to 9am. We disembark late morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there.<\/p>\n Wednesday, September 13, 2023: Fly home. <\/p>\n I do hope that you can join us on what will surely be a rich and rewarding photographic workshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Galapagos 2023 Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime IPT <\/p>\n As a child, you dreamed of getting to the Galapagos. As a nature photographer, you’ve dreamed of getting to the Galapagos. If you’ve been, you’ve dreamed of getting back — with your mirrorless gear. International travel is now a reality. And you’ve come to realize that life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-646","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80708"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80723,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80708\/revisions\/80723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n \n \n \n The Galapagos 2023 Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT\/The Complete Galapagos Archipelago Photographic Experience<\/h3>\n
August 29 \u2013 September 12, 2023, on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $15,999.00 double occupancy. Single cabin: $28,999.00. Strict Limit: 13 photographers (plus the leader)<\/h2>\n
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\n \n \n \n The Best<\/h3>\n
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\n \n \n \n The Logistics & Tentative Itinerary<\/h3>\n
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\n \n \n \n The Itinerary<\/h3>\n
The Logistics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
On the Boat<\/strong><\/h2>\n