White Tailed Eagle Photography Workshop – 13 to 18th...
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White Tailed Eagle Photography Workshop – 13 th to 18th September 2018 We will journey to Flatanger, Norway, and to the home of Ole Martin Dahle, world- renowned as simply the best eagle guide in Europe. We will be staying in the beautiful village of Lauvsnes (the image below was taken from the quayside after a dusk photography trip on the boat) in a lovely spacious house with all mod-cons. Accommodation will be in a mixture of single and double rooms, and the house (which we will have to ourselves) has a spacious kitchen and lounge, a very large collection of wildlife photography books, two immaculate bathrooms, laundry facilities, and two sun terraces looking down over the sea which is only 50 metres away. We will eat at a charming little local restaurant, the Zanzibar, most evenings, while breakfasts and lunches will be taken at the house as we relax between the morning and evening boat sessions. Ole provides insulated and waterproof all-in-one ‘sailing suits’ for the boat, which are comfortable and warm to spend hours in. Please bring thermal trousers and a thermal top, plus walking trousers and a warm sweater, to wear underneath the sailing suit, plus a warm hat, scarf and gloves. The seas are fairly calm because of the protection of offshore reefs, allowing both comfort on the boat and a stable platform from which to take photographs.
Transcript of White Tailed Eagle Photography Workshop – 13 to 18th...
WhiteTailedEaglePhotographyWorkshop–13thto18thSeptember2018WewilljourneytoFlatanger,Norway,andtothehomeofOleMartinDahle,world-renownedassimplythebesteagleguideinEurope.WewillbestayinginthebeautifulvillageofLauvsnes(theimagebelowwastakenfromthequaysideafteraduskphotographytripontheboat)inalovelyspacioushousewithallmod-cons.Accommodationwillbeinamixtureofsingleanddoublerooms,andthehouse(whichwewillhavetoourselves)hasaspaciouskitchenandlounge,averylargecollectionofwildlifephotographybooks,twoimmaculatebathrooms,laundryfacilities,andtwosunterraceslookingdownovertheseawhichisonly50metresaway.
Wewilleatatacharminglittlelocalrestaurant,theZanzibar,mostevenings,whilebreakfastsandluncheswillbetakenatthehouseaswerelaxbetweenthemorningandeveningboatsessions.Oleprovidesinsulatedandwaterproofall-in-one‘sailingsuits’fortheboat,whicharecomfortableandwarmtospendhoursin.Pleasebringthermaltrousersandathermaltop,pluswalkingtrousersandawarmsweater,towearunderneaththesailingsuit,plusawarmhat,scarfandgloves.Theseasarefairlycalmbecauseoftheprotectionofoffshorereefs,allowingbothcomfortontheboatandastableplatformfromwhichtotakephotographs.
EverymorningandeveningOlewillpickusupandtakeusontheshortdrivetothequaysideandontohiscustom-designedboat(heevenhadthewheelhousespeciallyputinasymmetricallytomakemorespaceforphotographyincomfort).Wewillspendbetween2and3hoursineachsessionscuddingacrossthebeautifuldeepblueseasofFlatanger’sfjordstoenticethedozensoflocalwhite-tailedeaglestofeedneartheboat.Inthepastwehaveusuallyhad15to25fishingattemptsfromtheeaglesperboatsession.Oleknowsthelandscape,seasandtheeagleslikethebackofhishandandwillmanouvretheboatforthebestshootingopportunitiesforeveryone.Hehasknownsomeoftheeaglesforoveradecade.ForexampleOletoldmethatMiguel(aneagle!)turned34recentlyandIlovetothinkthathehasbeenflyingaroundhisbeautifulfjordforthelargemajorityofmylifetime.WemaygetthechancetoapproachquiteclosetoMiguelashesitsinoneoftheconifersneartheshoreandsurveyshisrealm.
Wewillalsosee,withluck,afewbeautifularcticskuas(theyaresuchexquisitepirates,seebelow),elk,red-throateddivers,deer,ottersandfoxes,andtheboatisconstantlypursuedbyaflockofinquisitivegulls.Nevertheless,theeaglesareunquestionablythereasonphotographersflocktoFlatanger,andthemainreasontogoonthistripformanypeople.YoucanfindvideosfrommypreviousNorwaytripsonmyyoutubechannel.Justsearchfor“JamieGundry’onyoutubeandyou’llfindit.
Iwillbeonhandthroughoutthetripofcourse,andreachablebyemailorphonewheneveryouneedmebeforehandtoo,tohelpyouwithequipmentchoiceandcamerasetup,soyoucanmaketheverybestofthiswonderfulopportunity.Therewillalsobeplentyoftimeforfeedbacksessionsintheafternoonswhenwearerestingbeforeanotherintensivesessionofphotographyontheboat.Itisborderingonridiculoushowmanywonderfulimagesyouwillcomebackwithafterthistrip,Iguaranteeit.MyweeksinFlatangerarealwayssomeoftheveryhappiestofmylife.Itshouldalsobemooseruttingseasonsowemaychoosetospendamorningoreveninglookingfortheminsteadofoneoftheeaglesessions,andasmallhideisavailableintheafternoonswhereredsquirrels,afewtitspeciesandEurasianjaysvisit.Therewillonlybe3clientsonthistripsoIwillbeabletospendplentyoftimewitheachofyou,toteachyouhowtosetupyourcamerasforeveryshot.Iamalsohugelyhappytomeetupbeforehandtoansweranyquestionsyouhaveaboutwhattobringandwhattoexpect.Havingonly3clientsalsomeansplentyofroomandcomfortontheboat,whereyouwillbespendingmostofyourphotographytime.Wewillbestayingoutontheboatuntildusk(seebelow).
Day1–13thSeptemberFlyouttoarriveinTrondheimbylunchtime,ideally.OlewillpickusupatTrondheimairportanddriveustothehouseatLausvnes.Wemaybeabletoarrangeashorteaglesessionatduskonday1,providedwecanarriveatLausvnesintime.Thiswillbeagreatopportunitytogetyourtechniquesattunedtothechallengesofeaglephotography,andIcanthenreviewyourshotsafterwardstogiveyouusefulpointersreadyforthefirstfullday.Day2–14thSeptemberWewillhavetwoextendedtripsontheboateachday,eachofabout3hoursduration,oneearlyinthemorningandoneintheevening.Therewillbeplentyoftimeinthemiddleofthedaytobackupyourimages,chargeyourcamerabatteries,haveamealandgetafewhoursofsleepifyouneedit.Wewilleatinarestaurantonthequaysideeachevening,justbeforeweheadoutontotheboatfortheeveningsession.Aftertheeveningsessionyou’llneedtobackupthatsession’simages,putyourcamerabatteriesonchargeovernight,maybetaketimeforarelaxedbeerontheterraceoverlookingthesea,andthenit’sbedtimereadyforthemorning.Days3to5–15thto17thSeptemberAsday2.Youwillhavehundredsofimagestobeproudofbytheendofthetrip,andmanyhappymemoriesoflonghoursinthebeautifulfjordswithremarkablewildlife.Day6–18thSeptemberOlewilldriveusbacktoTrondheimairportintimeforourflights.
PricingThepriceforthetrip,toincludeeverythingexceptflightsandanyalcoholicdrinks,is£2145perperson.A30%non-refundabledepositispayabletosecureyourplace,andthetripwillrunifIget3clients.Irealizethatthisisofcourseanexpensivetrip,butthisisinevitablegiventhisisthebestplaceintheworldforwhatwewillbephotographing,andbecauseNorwayissuchanexpensiveplacetolive.Iwillbegladtomentoryouthroughthebuild-uptothetrip,andduringthetripitselfofcourse,sothatyoucangettheverybestoutofourtimeinNorway.ManyUKandEuropeanairlines
operatetoTrondheim,eitherdirectorviaOsloorAmsterdam.Youwillinevitablyhavequitealotinyourcarry-onbag.Someairlines(EasyJetandBritishAirwaysforexample)areprettyrelaxedabouttheweightofthis,andsomelessso(suchasKLM).However,Ihavealwaysfoundthatstaffareprettyreasonable,ifyouareakgortwoover,ifyouexplainwhatisinthebag,itsvalueandthatitwouldbeuninsuredifinthehold.Ifyouhaveashorttransferthenit’sreallyusefulchoosingaseatatthefrontoftheplane,orasclosetothefrontasyoucanget,togiveyourselfanextrafewminutestomaketheconnection.Pleaseconsultwithmebeforebookingflights,becausewe’llaimtogettoTrondheimbylunchtimeondayonesothatanextraintroductoryboatsessioncanbefittedinthatevening,shouldyouwish,atacostof£100perperson.
TechnicalEquipmentAdvicefortheEagleBoatTripsMostpeopleonthetripshouldhavewhattheyneedprovidedtheyhireorbuy(hiringmaybethebestchoice)oneextratelephotolensandoneextrahighqualityD-SLRcamerabodyfortheweek.Thismaywellnotbeessentialforeveryone,dependingonwhatyoualreadyhave.YouwillneedatotaloftwoD-SLRcamerabodiestomaximizeyouropportunitiesoftakingdifferentkindsofshotsastheopportunitiespresentthemselvesinquicksuccession,andsoyouhaveaspareifonebreaksdown.Thereis,ofcourse,noneedtobuyanythingifhiringismoreappropriateforyourneeds.Iamhugelyhappytotakeyouthroughtheequipmentneedsoveracoffeeinperson,oronthephoneifyoulivealongwayfromme(I’mbasedinCambridge,England).Toreassureyou,yourequipmentneedsneednotbeoverwhelmingatallandIwillguideyouthroughit,butoneortwoextraitemscouldreallyimproveyourhitrateatgettinggreatimagesthatyouwillloveforyearstocome.ThereisoftenafreeloanofaNikkor200-400mmf4VRlensand/orNikonD3Scamerabodyavailablefromme.Firstcome,firstservedonthis.
Ihaveincludedafewmoreeagleimagessoyoucangetanideaofjustwhataremarkabletripthiswillbe.
Finally,hereisOleinhiselementontheboatintheFlatangerfjords.Hisfriend’sname,Ibelieve,isCharlie.
IreallyhopeyoucanjoinmeinNorwayforthisamazingtripin2018.Donothesitatetogetintouchwithanyquestions.It’[email protected],[email protected]/textmeon0(7967)818651.
