Ding Darling Stokes Birding and Photography Tour 2018

American White Pelicans

Snowy Egret

Mottled Duck (hybrids)

Pied-billed Grebe, ruffling feathers

I had the pleasure today of leading, with Don, a fundraising the annual "Stokes Birding and Photography Stokes Tour" for J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. On Fridays the refuge is always closed, so when we took two tram buses of participants into the refuge we had the place to ourselves! Don taught bird identification and I taught bird photography. The birds were most cooperative and on the second pond we had a number of species come in for close photo ops, including the birds above that I photographed with my Canon SX 50. Lighting conditions are always a challenge in the Florida sun. The bright light can product photos of light birds with blown out highlights so photographers need to learn how to compensate for that. My participants had all levels of skill and cameras ranging from cell phones to expensive DSLR high end cameras and lenses. We covered the elements of exposure, how to know what to photo, how to move fast and anticipate the birds actions, bird photography ethics and much more. It was a fun time! Thanks all!