Ohio Shorebirds
Trip Dates: August 23 - 25, 2023Fee: $1250 Three full days shooting in the field. (Balance of $800 will be due 7 days prior to the trip). This will include up to two boat session as well. Does not include meals or lodging.
Deposit: $400
Target Group Size: 3-4 participants
From: Sandusky, Ohio
Join us on the coast of Lake Erie where shorebirds refuel on their way back from the Arctic. We’ll try for those low-angle shots, really taking our time to capture behavior as well as portraits.
We will visit a few inland ponds and a Lake Erie beach for most of our photography. Be prepared to get as low to the ground as you feel comfortable to really make beautiful backgrounds. Each morning we will meet around dawn in order to maximize our productivity during the trip. During harsh mid day light we will go over some slideshows and processing tips, as well as have some free time. We’ll have another long shooting session each evening until the light fails, and then have dinner as a group for whoever wishes to join. My goal is to help each of the four participants walk away with as many high quality images as possible.
Where to Stay
We will e-mail you with lodging updates. We will likely use a hotel near Sandusky, Ohio but this could change depending on marsh conditions in the area.
Best airport: CLE in Cleveland is the closest airport just over an hour away.
Cell service:
Service will be good during the entire trip.
Physical Activity Requirements: Moderate activity. We may have up to a mile total of walking on trails or beach for both the morning and the afternoon photography session, depending on where the water levels are best. The walk will be on mostly compact sand, and the shooting will be positioned either from sand or shallow mud flats. You can stay fairly clean if you want by sitting on a low stool, but I highly recommend getting down and dirty for those intimate angles and clean backgrounds. We will also likely be using a boat to get to a remote sand bar in Lake Erie. Getting out of the boat involves wading in knee-deep water then walking up to dry land. The boat can’t get us any closer than that.
Transportation:
Each participant must have their own transportation. Carpooling will be optional from the hotel a few miles away.
Food:
Please have breakfast on your own before we meet in the morning. Those who wish to join, we will eat at a local restaurants for lunch and dinner.
What to pack:
Tripod (one that can get super muddy and has NO CENTER POST so you can splay the legs out completely for a low angle shot)
DSLR camera
Your longest lens (600mm minimum when you count crop factor and tele-extenders)
No flash needed
Extra memory cards or laptop to download images
Rain gear
Chest waders recommended. Hip waders are a minimum.
Bug spray
Sunscreen
Notepad and pencil if you want to take notes during my photoshop demo
Bring a sample of your own work if you like. It can be fun to share during lunch break to get to know each other’s work.
A positive attitude. One negative person can put a cloud over the whole trip but good attitudes are contagious as well!
Likely Species on the Ohio Shorebirds Photo Tour - species in bold have historically been the most cooperative, and a sampling of the other species usually oblige as well:
Sora Rail
American Avocet
Semi-palmated Plover
Red Knot
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Baird’s Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Semi-palmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson’s Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Forster’s Tern
Caspian Tern
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Cancellation Policy: Participant will receive a full refund of their deposit minus a $250 re-listing fee if we are able to fill the cancelled space. If we are unable to fill the cancelled space, we cannot issue a refund or credit of any kind.