“When we stop again, y’all get out,” I tell the group, preparing them to exit the van we travel in for this nature photography workshop. I spend the next couple of minutes reminding them about bear etiquette and safety and coach them on how far to stay away from the bear. I have to park first, but I want to give the group a head start to photograph the black bear that’s feeding out in the field.

Join us in the Alaskan wilderness for an in-depth field report from the Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshop as we track and photograph the breathtaking Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). In this workshop report, we cover real-world night photography fieldcraft, composition strategies under freezing conditions, and the essential camera gear needed to capture vivid auroral displays across the Arctic night sky.

There’s an excited energy that’s palpable amongst the group as we stand in the cold outside the van and stare to the north. Outside, autumn’s grip on the landscape is firm. The colors are past their peak, and the bustle of the native Alaskans hints at them preparing for an extended cold spell. Before we found this spot, we roamed the area looking for an open patch of sky. While technology provides some insight into local weather conditions, it’s not infallible. In fact

“This is the best trip I’ve ever done,” she says, a little misty-eyed. She’s one of the seven guests on this trip with whom we’ve divided into two Land Cruisers to explore the Tuli Block region on this nature photography workshop. “I never believed I’d see what we’ve seen on this trip.” I can see why she’s emotional. To come to Africa, to come to Botswana; well, it does something to you. For both men and women, the response to seeing big cats and other wildlife in the wild

After an orientation and high tea, we take to the water to begin photographing wildlife along the Chobe River for the nature photography workshop. This area is famous for elephants, and it doesn’t take long until we see a quartet of pachyderms swimming the river to an island that straddles the Botswana/Namibia border. While the big elephants deftly swim the river channel, the smaller one snorkels across.

As the sun came up, soft light dappled the woodlands along the Zambezi River. In the understory, impala move about, keeping one eye on each other and another eye on the constant danger that lurks nearby. This vast river bottom in Northern Zimbabwe is home to wild dogs, lions, and leopards, all lurking in the shadows searching for their next meal.

And so it goes for each outing we take on this Costa Rican nature photography workshop. Throughout the week, we photograph the four monkey species found on the Osa Peninsula. It’s like an encyclopedia of New World monkeys: the capuchin, spider, howler, and the diminutive squirrel monkey. Each morning we awake to the sounds of howlers greeting the day - their deep bellowing calls belie their stature.

“If you wait here, he’s been showing up to feed from this avocado tree around 6:30 for the past few days,” says Mario, describing what we should all expect for the next couple of hours. Mario speaks with a thick Costa Rican accent, but his English is more than adequate. For a couple of generations, he’s been kind enough to guide people into the high mountains south of San Jose. Here, the birds of all kinds are numerous, but we’re willing to wait on just this one. We met

It’s a scene that’s played out for time immemorial. The sublimity of the moment is palpable, and each one of us on this nature photography workshop soaks it all in. It’s such a blessing to take a camera in hand and head afield to witness and document Mother Nature’s story. The undulating prairie unfolds away from us for quite a piece until it gives way to ever-growing hills of granite. These Black Hills are legendary in our country’s historical canon. They’ve been a si

Five minutes after we settled into the blind at Redlands Ranch, the birds were already flitting in. “This is the way nature photography workshops ought to work,” I think to myself. I am referring to the no-waiting, constant-action aspect of the blind I built on this property just over two years ago. It’s a phenomenon I suspected would happen when we turned the first shovel of dirt on this hardscrabble piece of Rolling Plains rangelands.

You see it with your eyes, but in your mind, it’s hard to comprehend that such a variety of colors exists in nature. All across the lowlands, technicolor fields of pinks, reds, yellows, oranges, and every color in between beg for at least a little attention from the camera. Despite the relative sameness of the tulips, it’s remarkably easy to pick individual flowers out in which to photograph in this nature photography workshop. Each row is arrow-straight and is meticulou

“There it goes…” His voice punctuates the near blackness of night. While one of my guests on the Moonlight on the Prairie nature photography workshop is merely feet away from me, he and the rest of the participants are nearly invisible. It’s so dark out here.

Across the vast tan-hued dunes, wind-carved lines undulate. The side lighting accentuates the patterns of light and dark across the sides of each hill. Looking out across the dunes towards the Grapevine Mountains, the same light patterns play over the countless dunes that stretch to the basin’s edges.

As soon as the Everglades nature photography workshop concluded, some of the guests opted to continue the adventure with the manatee extension. A four-hour drive up Florida’s West Coast took us to the central coast town of Crystal River.

On one of the early mornings of the nature photography workshop, dozens of birds flocked and jockeyed for position around a small pond that was full of endemic fish species. Since there was plenty to eat in this one spot, that’s where all the birds congregated. The action was non-stop.

Hitting a creative wall in your photography journey? Every great photographer started by making these same errors! In this Hackberry Farm video nature photography workshop, I break down the 5 most common mistakes intermediate nature photographers make—and show you how to immediately fix them. Stop fumbling with complicated settings and frustrating, random results. Instead, learn the "wash, rinse, and repeat" method to simplify your process and consistently capture stunning ph

Out in the water, while it’s still too dark to pick out individual shapes, you can hear the murmur of thousands of snow geese that are beginning to stir. Last evening and through the night, the geese landed in the shallow water and stood there en masse to rest through the night. Roosting in the water is an adaptation that allows the birds to hear any predators sneaking up on them. It’s a big aquatic alarm system of sorts.

On this quiet December morning in the Desert Parks of the Southwest nature photography workshop, it's just a nondescript river that provides a beautiful point to the canyon counterpoint anchored in the composition. The river offers a softness to the hardscrabble rock that dominates Big Bend National Park. This stop is a good beginning for our nature photography workshop.

On a ranch southwest of town, a family is out in the barn before sunrise, saddling up horses in the twilight in anticipation of some cow work that’s to come. The participants of the Cowboys and Canyonlands photography workshop show up at sunrise, we exchange pleasantries with the family, and get to work.

Just as soon as one Caddo Lake and East Texas Autumn nature photography workshop ends, the next one begins. Mid-November is the ideal time to see fall colors at Caddo Lake. Upon the arrival of a new group, it’s not long before we are back at the lake, embracing an unusual autumn in an out-of-the-way place in East Texas.