top of page
Search


Acadia National Park - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop field report
Pulling alongside the road in the dark, I can hear the waves crashing on the isolated cove below. This is one of those moments where imagination comes full circle. As a kid, I’d learned about Acadia National Park, and it’s a place that I’ve dreamt of visiting.
Russell Graves
Oct 5, 20252 min read


The Wild Horses of Sable Island - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop field report
It's been a while, but planning the Wild Horses of Sable Island nature photography workshop started on a famous ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, in August of 2023. On a road trip with my wife, we stopped in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, to eat breakfast at a restaurant owned by television personality Ree Drummond. After breakfast, we head out to the vast Drummond Ranch, where her show The Pioneer Woman is filmed. On our visit to the Drummond Ranch lodge, I was roaming through the kitc
Russell Graves
Sep 28, 20254 min read


Hummingbirds - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report
I was a little concerned about the hummers because this was the first Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops day camp I’d done in a year. While the camps are fun and productive, my travel schedule prohibits me from adding more. These legendary hummingbirds are too special to ignore, so I make time in my schedule to have people out.
Russell Graves
Sep 7, 20252 min read


Waving at Elephants - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops field report
Admittedly, waving at elephants is a bit nonsensical. I do it anyway.
Inside their immense frames, covered in thick and wrinkled skin, is a sentient being that is thoughtful, caring, and empathetic. Sure, perhaps not in the way you and I are, but I challenge anyone to spend a little time with wild elephants and really study their behaviors and see how they treat one another and see if you disagree. Inside the behemoths beats a heart with emotions.
Russell Graves
Aug 31, 20256 min read


Beautiful Botswana - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report
To say that Botswana is beautiful is an understatement. The country is wild yet elegant; sublime and exalted; rugged and, well, beautiful. For years, I've been traveling here with guests and helping them discover the magic of all that Botswana offers. It's a mesmerizing elixir made up of our guests, the people of Botswana, the impressive wildlife sightings, the austere landscapes, and the well-appointed lodges we visit.
Russell Graves
Aug 24, 20254 min read


Alaska Click and Cruise - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop field report
Within minutes of pushing off from the dock in Petersburg, Alaska, it felt like we were already in the wilderness. On a well-appointed luxury yacht (The Northern Song), six guests, a crew of three, and I launch into the beautiful waters of Southeast Alaska. Along the way out to Frederick Sound, a group of sea lions lay on top of a channel marking bouy as if to wish us safe passage as we pass.
Russell Graves
Jul 13, 20256 min read


Redlands Ranch & Western Wildlife - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop Field Report
While spring is usually the wettest season at Redlands Ranch, the rain usually comes from itinerant thunderstorms that appear in the afternoon and are gone in the evening. Once they are past, the ground dries until the next round of rain falls. This rain is unusually persistent. For the past two or three weeks, it’s been a slow and persistent rain. One that makes everything green and makes everything soggy.
Russell Graves
May 18, 20253 min read


Spring in the Netherlands - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report
It’s misty outside, but here we are in a place I’d never imagined I’d be: a Dutch brown bar in Delft’s city center. Inside here, our guests laugh with one another while we sip cappuccino and tell stories. We’ve been on the move all week during our nature photography workshop, so this pause is a welcome respite.
Russell Graves
May 11, 20254 min read


Looking for a Giant - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop Scouting Report
I'm a fan of trees. I've written before that they are the only organisms firmly rooted in the soil and grow into the heavens, yet they occupy the same space as we do. When you take the time to study trees, you'll notice that each individual is much different than even trees of the same species, and the variety of trees that exist on our planet is even more diverse and, frankly, mind-boggling. From the time a seed spouts, each drop of rain and each puff of wind influences h
Russell Graves
May 4, 20253 min read


Spring in the Smokies - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report
It's quiet here in this mountain valley. Elk are strewn along a wooded creek at the foot of the valley. They are content, the people in this workshop are content, and all seems right.
Russell Graves
Apr 27, 20253 min read


Night Skies of the Texas Outback - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report
This is the second time I've come out to Northwest Texas for the Night Skies of the Texas Outback nature photography workshop, and it's for
Russell Graves
Apr 6, 20253 min read


Telling the Rural Story - a Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops College Course
When I walk into the lobby, I'm a bit surprised that I'm not the first one here. In fact, except for one person, I am the next to the last
Russell Graves
Mar 30, 20253 min read


The 2024 Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Year in Review
In our new publication, you see a celebration of all we did in 2024 in our Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops.
Russell Graves
Mar 23, 20251 min read


Death Valley Days (and Nights) - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops field report
From the floor of Badwater Basin, I look to the east and see the colors over the mountains changing from a grey-blue to a familiar orange.
Russell Graves
Mar 9, 20253 min read


Costa Rica - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop Field Report
Soon, we're hopping off the boat and wading through the warm ocean waters up to the shore of the Corcovado National Park in one of the many
Russell Graves
Feb 16, 20253 min read


The Everglades - A Nature Photography Workshop Field Report
The burrowing owl bobbed and bobbed his head, trying to determine what we were up to.
Russell Graves
Jan 19, 20254 min read


Cowboys and Canyonlands of the Texas Panhandle - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop field report
As the sun came up, it was clear that something special was unfolding.
Russell Graves
Dec 22, 20243 min read


Caddo Lake and East Texas Autumn Nature Photography Workshop #2 - A Field Report
After being here two weeks prior, you'd think there wouldn't be anything new to see.
Russell Graves
Nov 24, 20243 min read


Caddo Lake and East Texas Autumn - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop Field Report
Caddo Lake doesn't look all that big from the banks since there is not a huge body of water before you.
Russell Graves
Nov 10, 20244 min read


Autumn in Arkansas - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop Field Report
Against the craggy walls of the opening, I struggled to figure out what to call this structure. I ask the others in the group: Is it a cave?
Russell Graves
Nov 3, 20243 min read
bottom of page