Nature In Focus Photography Workshops

Bird Photography made easy.

I'm up in Fairfield, NJ for the Unique Photo Expo 2026. I have a presentation today at 1:45pm and followed with an image review. In my presentation today we will talk about settings, and practice, as well as setting up or finding areas to get more comfortable photographing birds. I have a "bird studio" in the yard, but I also rely heavily on supporting rehab and educational centers to help get over the initial excitement of seeing a beautiful bird, like this Barred Owl, in the wild and capturing some nice images, all while not pressuring the bird. I will also discuss how we had our yard certified as an Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and the positive impact it has the wildlife in our area. Come on by, register online, and I'll be hanging out to answer questions as well. For this image I used my Tamron 150-500mm lens on a Nikon Z8, at 500mm(750mm equivalent using the DX, cropped sensor mode), Manual Mode, f6.7, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, ISO 25,600, handheld.

Spencer's Mountain.

If you ever watched the 1963 movie, Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, this scene should look familiar. The movie was made on a location near the Snake River Overlook and involved a lot of driving down a dirt road, and hiking in near dark, but it is worth it. All the work to get there is rewarded by peace and quiet and no people beyond our group. It isn't a place you want to even attempt to get to a trailhead unless you have 4WD and you are a couple miles away from anything. It remains one of my favorite places overlooking the Teton range though. It is a place I don't recommend hiking out alone to, especially in the dark. During the summer months the Triangle X Ranch does organized horseback rides for their guest to the location and has a big breakfast. Another reason to love the ranch. For this image I used the Tamron 35-100mm f2.8 Di III VXD lens on a Sony a7RIVa, at 62mm, f11, and a 1/15th of a second exposure, Leofoto tripod, fStop Gear Guru AIR backpack.