Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Photography Workshop with Lee Hoy

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge provides one of the greatest bird and wildlife experiences for nature photographers in the United States. With flocks numbering into the 1,000’s and sometimes the 10,000’s Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese lifting off each morning and returning in the evening will overwhelm the senses and provide incredible photographic opportunities.  

Combined with beautiful sunrises and sunsets the color palette can lend a dramatic flair to wildlife images. Lucky days we may also see and photograph Coyotes stalking at the edge of flocks or a Bobcat walking along a trail or dike. A local pond provides excellent opportunities to get low and shoot waterfowl at eye level.

This workshop is limited to 10 photographers.

Hotel and Food

To make your stay more comfortable, Lee Hoy recommends that you find a Hotel on your own that will best accommodate your needs. Food will mostly be on your own, there will be times where your will eat with the group and edit your photos together! 

Topics Covered

• Each day we will work on photographing scenic birdscapes, take offs/landings, intentional blurs, silhouettes, portraits, and birds in flight.
• How to use manual exposure for birds in flight and the take offs/landing.
• How to meter off the sky or other areas to set your base exposure.
• What modes and autofocus settings are best for photographing birds in flight versus bird portraits.
• Back-button focusing to improve our photographic skills.
• How to read bird behavior to increase our action shots.

Post Processing for Bird Images (Lightroom & Photoshop)

• How to adjust basic exposure settings to maximize the quality of our image.
• Different types of sharpening and how/when to apply.
• Adjustment brushes and masking on our bird images.
• How and when to do color adjustments.
• Categorize and label our images for excellent image organization.
• And so much more!

About the instructor

Lee Hoy is owner/operator of Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours, Lee focuses his time on helping others enjoy the beauty of the Big Bend National Park Region and serving as a freelance photographer when time permits. Publishing is fun, but his main interest is in helping others find that special bird or teaching them to capture  spectacular images while they are visiting Big Bend National Park or surrounding areas. He is an award winning photographer and his images have been in Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Texas Highways, Bird Watcher’s Digest, & NANPA’s Expressions.

He also serves as a photography workshop instructor for Wildside Nature Tours and Kevin Loughlin with destinations such as the Galapagos Islands National Park, Ecuador, Amazon Riverboat Cruise, Costa Rica, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park in winter, and more.

His passion for teaching comes from a long line of educators in his past and having taught beginning birding classes, photography classes, and Lightroom classes. He has served as an instructor for Travis Audubon Society (Austin, TX), Williamson Audubon Group (Williamson County, TX), many Master Naturalist classes, and for the Texas Ornithological Society for which he is currently serving as a board member for the Trans Pecos Region.

Over 30 years of birding and photography experience in Big Bend National Park and the surrounding regions means Lee knows where and when to take you to the best location to find the right bird or get the right shot.

https://leehoyphotography.com/

Workshop Fee

The fee includes the workshop only. Transportation, lodging, park entry fees, food, and other miscellaneous expenses are not included. About a month before the workshop, all registrants will receive an email with a rough itinerary and planning details.

There will be a $100 fee for any spouse who wishes to join the group at our shooting locations, but does NOT photograph. Of course, our workshops include photography instruction, but they also include our guiding services and sharing our knowledge of the area.

Transportation/Entry Fees

Transportation is the responsibility of each participant.

• Participants should plan on staying in Socorro, New Mexico.
• Albuquerque, New Mexico is the closest major airport.
• We will carpool early each morning from Socorro to the refuge and back.
• People are invited to have lunch and dinner as a group, but not mandatory.

*Participants should plan to arrive in Socorro, NM on or before December 6th at 4:00 pm and the workshop will conclude around 11:00 a.m. on the 10^th. We will depart from Socorro, NM each day for the workshop. You will have 3 ½ days and 4 nights shooting in the field at the world famous Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.*

Required Equipment

• Camera
• Lenses
• Memory Cards & Readers
• Batteries & Chargers
• Tripod
• Laptop (or note taking supplies)
• Sturdy Shoes
• Comfortable clothing (hiking boots, layers & rain gear)
• Sunblock
• Bug spray

Please review our class & event cancellation policy below. 

Class & Event Cancellations

Minimum Enrollment
Each class needs a minimum number of students to enroll before the class can “make.” If the minimum enrollment has not been met two business days before the class begins, the class will be cancelled. All students who enrolled in the class will be notified by telephone or email, and may transfer to a different class or be issued a refund (see refund procedure). We encourage all students to enroll as soon as registration begins. Please check your phone and email messages, including your SPAM.

How to Reschedule or Cancel a Class
Please contact the store at 512-467-7676 or email classes@precision-camera.com to cancel a class. Class cancellations or requests to be rescheduled that are sent through other channels, such as Facebook or Meetup.com messages, will not be honored.