The Ospreys / Spoonbills mix tours were especially memorable this year. See more Osprey images from the March session. 2023 dates for this tour are March 25-26 and April 22-23 and there are openings for April. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com to book your spot.
ISO 500 | f/5.6 | 1/4000 sec. | Manual mode | AF-C Zone Focus Area
Sony 600mm f/4 GM OSS coupled with a 1.4x extender and the Sony Alpha 1
The Vero Beach Cypress Trees Lake is a beautiful habitat for nesting Ospreys! While the birds fly back and forth to the nests there will be many opportunities for flight shots among the Cypress trees. For the discerning eye, there are good chances to create stunning images with greens all round. In the image above, I took care of having a crop of green branches in the foreground to compose for a full immersion in the greeneries.
ISO 800 | f/5.6 | 1/4000 sec. | Manual mode | AF-C Zone Focus Area
Sony 600mm f/4 GM OSS coupled with a 1.4x extender and the Sony Alpha 1
In the vertical cropped image above, I am particularly pleased with the main line drawn by the branch. It nicely leads from the lower left corner to the subject on top. The squawking is a definite plus here! While this is not an flight shot, I took care of having the shutter speed set at 1/4000 sec to assure a good freezing capture of the flight sequences.
ISO 800 | f/5.6 | 1/4000 sec. | Manual mode | AF-C Zone Focus Area
Sony 600mm f/4 GM OSS coupled with a 1.4x extender and the Sony Alpha 1
The birds are very active and move around the branches quite frequently. As a result, many landing captures are possible. I often prefer the moments before the bird touches the branch with wings flared up over creating pictures with the feet already on the branch.
Ospreys / Spoonbills mix Photography Tour – $1,390
March 25th-26th 2023 / limit 5 people – Full
April 23rd-24th 2023 / limit 5 people – 4 open
3 shoots and 1 over-the-shoulder Photoshop tutoring => 2 boat-based Osprey shoots at the Vero Beach Cypress Lake + 1 land-based Spoonbills shoot at a local rookery. $250 deposit. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com .
Black Skimmers Colony Photography Workshop – $1,090
June 25th-26th 2022 / limit 5 people – 1 open
3 shoots and 1 over-the-shoulder Photoshop tutoring => 3 shoots at the Sarasota Bay Black Skimmers colony. We shoot along the beach, where the nesting colony is easily accessible. $250 deposit. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com .
Tampa Bay Spoonbills Rookery Photography Tour – $1,490
January 21st-22nd 2023 / limit 5 people – Full
February 18th-19th 2023 / limit 5 people – 1 open
3 shoots and 1 over-the-shoulder Photoshop tutoring => 3 shoots at the Tampa Bay Spoonbills rookery. We typically shoot while wading in the water in the mornings and from the boat in the afternoon. $250 deposit. Send me an email at steven@stevenbirdphotography.com .