2008 Photography trips

            -Price $650 per person (three our of four days)

            -Meeting time : 0530 in Wanchese, NC  (Aug. trips) Directions TBA

            -Limited to 6 to 12 participants

            *We will go out on the best days to be determined by the captain;

             participants should be available for all available dates!

  On a regularly scheduled pelagic trip, there are sometimes too many participants for a photographer to get a clear shot.  For 2008 we have added two sets dedicated to photography.  On calm days, the best photo op's are often on the Continental Shelf or at the Gulf Stream edge where there may be many Bridled Terns, Audubon's Shearwaters, or Greater Shearwaters depending on the season.  We often miss out on the great morning light on our regular Gulf Stream pelagic trips (especially great w/ light northeast winds in August or September) because we are running to the deeper water hoping to catch the morning flight of Black-capped Petrels and other deep-water species.

  I have had an interest in photography for many years and began photographing seabirds offshore in the late 1980's.  At first, the resulting photos were mostly a disappointment and it actually took a few years to amass a collection of reasonable shots of several species.  My production skyrocketed in 2000, when I got a couple of good Canon EOS autofocus lenses.  In 2003, I bought a digital body and began getting some photos in difficult light, which was not possible with film.  I also began to see several participants getting great results with digital and autofocus on a number of my trips.  In 2005, I took a few groups out on a charter boat I was running, and I really saw the potential of coupling new camera technology with a steady supply of chum and a captain who thinks like a photographer.  With this in mind, we plan to run some special photography trips in 2007.  More trips may be scheduled if there is sufficient interest.  The following outlines species that may be photographed at various seasons (no guarantees!).  We do not have trips scheduled during each season, but interested parties may contact us.

mid-June – early July

            ®excellent Greater Shearwater, Band-rumped & Leach's Storm-Petrels, Black-capped Petrel (including some fresh ones), and chance for rarities (especially Pterodromas and tropicbirds)

late August – early September

            ®excellent Audubon's Shearwater, Bridled, Sooty, & Black Terns, Black-capped Petrel, good chance for Long-tailed Jaeger, and chance for rarities (Pterodromas, tropicbirds, Masked Booby, and Sabine's Gull)  Off Oregon Inlet, there is a chance to find White-faced Storm-Petrel, and there are regularly good numbers of cetaceans including Bottlenose and Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Short-finned Pilot Whales, and Cuvier's Beaked Whales.  There is also a chance to find Sperm Whale, Risso's Dolphin, and other marine mammals on occasion, as well as both Loggerhead and Leatherback Sea Turtles.

December – January

            ®great for kittiwakes, gannets, Red Phalarope, possibly Manx Shearwater, Great Skua.  Bottle nose Dolphin, Loggerhead Turtle, possibly Ocean Sunfish, Basking Shark, Spotted Dolphin, Humpback and Right Whales.

February- gannets, Red Phalarope, Razorbill, sometimes Northern Fulmar, Manx, Great Skua, Dovekie, Atlantic Puffin, various gulls.  Non-birds as above.

March