Galveston Birding and Nature Photo Festival
Photography Field Trips
After this field trip, you will wonder why you waited so long to start photographing birds on the wing! The rookery at Smith Oaks offers endless opportunities for bird in flight photography. Kathy Adams Clark will instruct and guide participants in the following topics with the goal of helping to simplifying the process of photographing birds in flight: Review of camera and lens settings. Learning the right settings to take full advantage of the technology at your fingertips Plenty of…
Find out more »Two of the most iconic birds in North America visit Armand Bayou every winter and spring. The American Bald Eagle and Osprey spend November through April hunting and fishing the productive waters of the bayou. Once threatened by the use of pesticides, the recovery of these species is a great testament to the value of clean water and habitat preservation. This is an incredible viewing and photographic opportunity to be located in Houston’s own backyard. We’ll begin our experience with…
Find out more »Resoft is a beautiful Brazoria County Park and we are excited to offer this first-time FeatherFest photography field trip! It is an 80-acre day-use park near Alvin, Texas. The park has large, interconnected, crescent shaped lakes with islands in the middle. During spring nesting/breeding season it becomes a mini-rookery. You will be able to observe and photograph Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Cattle egrets as well as Roseate Spoonbills and Cormorants. The opportunity for chicks on the…
Find out more »In this trip, participants visit an excellent pollinator garden to learn hands on techniques to produce creative photos of the garden and its residents. Ruth demonstrates, instructs and guides participants, covering the following topics to simplify the process of photographing pollinators and flowers: Camera and lens settings; Shutter speed, ISO, Aperture (f/stop), and more; Using current technology to your advantage; and Helpful equipment and accessories for improving your results. Suggested Equipment: Digital SLR or mirrorless camera with lenses from 24…
Find out more »After this field trip, you will wonder why you waited so long to start photographing birds on the wing! The rookery at Smith Oaks offers endless opportunities for birds-in-flight photography from a multi-level platform reserved for us.
Find out more »This historic location gives us a lovely location to learn and practice architectural, low-light, and abstract photography. The class will begin inside the church for a chance to photograph in low-light. Then we’ll move outside as we photograph the church from sunset to twilight. We’ll work with the church’s lighting plus special lights inside. Bring your camera with a wide-angle lens and and perhaps a closer focusing lens for architectural details and minute abstracts. A tripod and cable release are…
Find out more »This is a meet-at-site trip. Driving directions will be emailed prior to the trip. This field trip will start approximately one hour before sunrise at Galveston’s Pier 19 where we will photograph the shrimp boats leaving their docks for a morning of fishing. Since this will be shooting in low light, you will need to have a lens at an aperture of f/4 or larger and you will be shooting at a high ISO. Once the shrimp boats leave their…
Find out more »Join Ruth Hoyt on this unique experience on Galveston Bay to photograph birds in flight from a boat. One of the best ways to learn to photograph birds in flight is to practice and this trip will provide ample opportunities to do just that! The number of birds, Brown Pelicans in particular, is amazing, providing many photo opportunities as the birds come and go from the islands. In Galveston Bay, there are man-made islands where large numbers of breeding birds nest. This special trip, arranged by FeatherFest, allows us to approach these islands while following a special protocol to minimize impact on the colonial birds.
Find out more »Photographing shorebirds is fun and challenging as they are almost always in motion. Your leader Tim Timmis has mastered this! We will seek out the birds on East Beach or wherever they may be hiding, to capture the action. We may also head to the boat dock area behind the Strand to get close-up shots of Pelicans and other birds as they wait for the shrimp boats to come into port. Techniques that will be used include fast and slow…
Find out more »Join Chris Rankin at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge near Anahuac, Texas, to explore Wildlife Photography from A Car. Chris will introduce you to photographing wildlife from a car/truck while exploring the beauty and diversity of the Anahuac National Wildlife Reserve. Established in 1963, Anahuac NWR’s primary focus is to protect and manage the coastal marsh for migrating, wintering and breeding waterfowl.
Find out more »The Texas City Dike is the longest man-made fishing pier in the world. It stretches 5.3 miles into Galveston Bay. This means that birds like sandpipers and turnstones can be found on both sides of the dike feeding in shallow water. In addition, gulls and terns are regularly flying along the dike as the hunt for food. We’ll slowly drive along the dike and stop for interesting photo opportunities. Participants should be prepared to walk along the sandy shoreline, stand…
Find out more »Chris will introduce you to photographing wildlife from a kayak. Enjoy paddling in a provided kayak while slowly exploring the marshes of Galveston Island State Park, one of the area’s premier ecological jewels. This 2,000-acre public park offers a multitude of habitats that support a wide variety of birds like herons, egrets, Roseate Spoonbill, shorebirds and possible overhead raptors like osprey looking for prey.
Find out more »Join Scott Buckel on this unique experience on Galveston Bay to photograph birds in flight from a boat. One of the best ways to learn to photograph birds in flight is to practice and this trip will provide ample opportunities to do just that! The number of birds, Brown Pelicans in particular, is amazing, providing many photo opportunities as the birds come and go from the islands. In Galveston Bay, there are man-made islands where large numbers of breeding birds nest. This special trip, arranged by FeatherFest, allows us to approach these islands while following a special protocol to minimize impact on the colonial birds.
Find out more »Here’s an ever-popular photography field trip that’s become part of our FeatherFest tradition! Join Sky King Falconry and Ruth Hoyt to photograph various captive raptors and other trained birds in natural settings and perches out on a private West End property. This is a great opportunity to see and photograph these birds. Kevin from Sky Kings Falconry will pose raptors in natural settings and possibly fly the birds while discussing the behavior of the birds.
Find out more »Explore this small 6-acre sanctuary on Galveston’s west end. Coastal prairie and bayside shores offer a wide variety of opportunities to photograph birds. A small water drip with seating area is sure to attract some nice neotropic migrants. Come prepared to photograph birds at the drip, along the boardwalk, overhead, or along the shore. A tripod might be helpful for photographing at the water drip. Dress for the weather including rubber boots if venturing to the shoreline and long pants…
Find out more »Join Sean Fitzgerald on this unique experience on Galveston Bay to photograph birds in flight from a boat. One of the best ways to learn to photograph birds in flight is to practice and this trip will provide ample opportunities to do just that! The number of birds, Brown Pelicans in particular, is amazing, providing many photo opportunities as the birds come and go from the islands. In Galveston Bay, there are man-made islands where large numbers of breeding birds nest. This special trip, arranged by FeatherFest, allows us to approach these islands while following a special protocol to minimize impact on the colonial birds.
Find out more »Resoft is a beautiful Brazoria County Park and we are excited to offer this first-time FeatherFest photography field trip! It is an 80-acre day-use park near Alvin, Texas. The park has large, interconnected, crescent shaped lakes with islands in the middle. During spring nesting/breeding season it becomes a mini-rookery. You will be able to observe and photograph Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Cattle egrets as well as Roseate Spoonbills and Cormorants. The opportunity for chicks on the…
Find out more »In this trip, participants visit an excellent pollinator garden to learn hands on techniques to produce creative photos of the garden and its residents. Ruth demonstrates, instructs and guides participants, covering the following topics to simplify the process of photographing pollinators and flowers: Camera and lens settings; Shutter speed, ISO, Aperture (f/stop), and more; Using current technology to your advantage; and Helpful equipment and accessories for improving your results. Suggested Equipment: Digital SLR or mirrorless camera with lenses from 24…
Find out more »Driving directions to the meeting site will be emailed prior to the festival. Learn how to capture the decisive moment at a local spot that has many birds, with an emphasis on birds in flight, sparring and other behavior. Sean will discuss how knowledge, observation, equipment and technique combine to help nature photographers capture decisive moments. He will discuss how photographers can get the most out of their gear and their technique in a wide variety of common shooting situations.…
Find out more »San Luis Pass encompasses a series of beaches located on the west end of Galveston Island. The mud flats and dunes hold a wide variety of photo opportunities for area birds. During this field trip, you will visit specific locations based on light, wind, tides and availability of birds.
Find out more »Join Ruth Hoyt on this unique experience on Galveston Bay to photograph birds in flight from a boat. One of the best ways to learn to photograph birds in flight is to practice and this trip will provide ample opportunities to do just that! The number of birds, Brown Pelicans in particular, is amazing, providing many photo opportunities as the birds come and go from the islands. In Galveston Bay, there are man-made islands where large numbers of breeding birds nest. This special trip, arranged by FeatherFest, allows us to approach these islands while following a special protocol to minimize impact on the colonial birds.
Find out more »If you’d love to have a personal Raptor Experience with a touch of history, this one-of-a-kind wildlife celebration is for you! Raptors Uncorked is returning to the historic 1859 Ashton Villa on Broadway. In addition, we are bringing back our VIP Experience, so don't miss out on this unique and fun event.
Find out more »The tip of the Bolivar Peninsula offers a wide variety of photographic opportunities and you are in for a treat on this morning photography adventure. Begin your trip with a ferry ride across the Houston Ship Channel. The group will be meeting Sean on the Bolivar side where there will be opportunities to photograph birds at the ferry landing. From there you will caravan to the North Jetty for an opportunity to photograph American Avocets and other wading birds. Finally, the group will photograph wading birds in several marshes nearby. Locations are subject to change based on tide, wind, and location of the birds.
Find out more »