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Dalmatian pelican Workshop copyright Scott Bourne, all rights reserved

February 12-24, 2023 - Greece - Dalmatian Pelicans & More - Small Group

UPDATE - two seats are already gone - only one seat left - first come - first served. Don't miss out.

Email scott@scottbourne.com for registration info. If Covid causes us to cancel this tour, your deposit will be refunded.*

All participants will require a proof of vaccination to attend the tour. All current federal regulations in place at the time of the workshop and regarding COVID will be enforced. No exceptions. Hopefully we will have moved past the pandemic by 2023, but if we haven't, then all reasonable precautions will be taken to keep everyone involved as safe as possible.

I don't have many workshops left in me so the ones I am doing are being conducted just the way I would want to travel - i.e., first class.

I am leading a workshop to photograph Dalmatian pelicans (the largest freshwater bird in the world) and other wildlife in Lake Kerkini National Park, February 12-24, 2023.

Unlike others who lead workshops here, I am working with local fishermen and guides and keeping the group very small. Just me and three students.

ALL INCLUSIIVE...

Also unlike most of my workshops, this one is all inclusive and first class. All you have to do is get yourself to Thessaloniki airport (SKG) and I'll take care of everything else (except alcohol.)

Everything else, including single room, best-in-class, top-rated hotel, local transfers, permits, best food in Greece (three meals a day except arrival and departure day,) local transportation, boat rental, boat captain, guide service, and even tips is taken care of.

The hotel is one of the nicest in the area. You will be comfortable and well taken care-of with a single room.

Why Lake Kerkini?

Simple. It's one of the the top bird sites for birdwatching in all of Europe. Lake Kerkini is an extremely important area for the passage, wintering and breeding of both waterfowl and raptors as well as for the breeding of migratory songbirds.

The National Park of Kerkini Lake, situated just 35 Km from the town of Serres and about 80 Km from Thessaloniki, is an area of enormous ecological value and one out of ten wetlands of International Importance for Greece.

The riparian vegetation consisting of riparian forests of wild willows, the water-lilies covering an area of thousands of hectares, the buffalos swimming in the lake’s calm water and the impressive surrounding mountains covered with mixed forests of beech and fir; give a unique beauty to this magnificent area.

Why February?

This is the best time to photograph the pelicans. It will probably be cold and you will need to dress accordingly, but the images you get will make enduring colder weather much easier to tolerate.

Depending on the season lows can range from just below freezing to highs in the upper 40s and even lower 50s. As with any outdoor workshop, weather can change so be prepared. We will go out in all kinds of weather unless it is unsafe or the light is just so bad we cannot make decent images. Assume there may be half a day that meets this criteria and if it happens, we'll take a well-deserved break and wind down for a nap.

Because of that popularity of past tours, we are opening tour dates early to make sure everyone has plenty of advanced notice.

The Trip assumes your arrival in Thessaloniki no later than Noon on February, 12, 2023. I will arrange for you to be transported from the airport to our hotel. You don't need to rent a car. I will have you back at the airport by Noon on February 24, 2023. (If you want to rent a car you are free to do so on your own. There's free parking at the hotel. Just note that driving in Greece can be an adventure unto itself.)

Northern Greece is nothing like southern Greece. It's peaceful and serene and full of wildlife and birds. It also has the best food I've eaten ANYWHERE.

We will spend Feb 12 acclimating to the time change. Your room is very near the lake so you're free to explore on your own. We'll have a breakfast meeting on Feb 13 and an orientation. Our first trip to photograph the birds will be on the afternoon of Feb 13. We will generally work from boats but occasionally we will work from the shore.

We will plan on two photography sessions each day or one long session if the weather and light permits.

Our last photo session of the tour will be the morning of February 23, and everyone will be expected to be in the hotel lobby no later than 7:00 am the next day (Feb 24) for the return to the airport. If you prefer to go back to the airport on your own at another time you can arrange your own transportation from the hotel. Any fee associated with that decision would be yours to pay.

During the workshop, we'll cover all the basics of photographing birds. No special camera or lens is needed. The pelicans are incredibly tame and very curious and all you really need for this trip is a smartphone camera. You can however get tons of fun with telephoto lenses and super wide angle lenses if you want to do more professional and creative photography.

All skill levels welcome. All we ask is that you are familiar with your camera.

Our local guide will give us information on not only the pelicans but the many other bird species we will encounter along with the buffalo that love to call the area home.

Each day, I will give private critique sessions to anyone who wants one so bring your portfolio on paper or on your computer or tablet.

We will take our meals at various restaurants in and around our hotel in the quaint village of Kerkini which is located on the western side of the lake. It's a small place with about 1500 full-time residents. Sorry - no McDonalds or Burger King!

Other than Bosque or Alaska this is my favorite place to do bird photography.

COST is $8000 per person, photographing or not.

A non-refundable* $4000 deposit is required to hold your seat with the balance of $4000 due 90 days before the workshop starts.

Each participant will be required to sign a liability waiver once landed in Greece. In the event of my death or inability to attend, a teacher with equal qualifications will take my place and there will be no refunds.

We will work from boats like this one - each boat will have no more than six persons onboard, a captain, a field guide, Scott Bourne and three tour participants. This gives you plenty of room to work.

General Information: The small group tour allows for up to 3 participant-photographers. All activities are weather and conditions permitting.

About Your Tour Leader

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was one of the first photographers ever to receive the designation Apple Certified Professional Trainer (T3) for Apple’s Aperture. He also previously held the designation Certified Adobe Photoshop Instructor and Professional Photographers of America’s Certified Professional Photographer designation. He also had the honor of serving as an Olympus Visionary for five years until his retirement in 2021.

Scott was awarded the designation Signed Master with the Studio Of Masters in China and having satisfied the qualifying requirement prescribed by the The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers board of examiners, was awarded Associateship in Photography (ASINWP.)

Scott founded one of the first dedicated, online photography sites - Photofocus.com, co-founded the first photography related podcast, This Week In Photography (TWIP), and co-founded Photography Podcast Network (PPN). He has written for dozens of popular photography blogs and appeared as a guest on dozens of special, photography-related podcasts. He has appeared on web series such as Scott Kelby's "The Grid" and on Leo Laporte's "The New Screen Savers, Macbreak Weekly and TWIT."

Scott knows where to go and what to look for and he will teach participants how to photograph avian subjects for publication.

What you will learn on this tour...

  • Recognizing and evaluating a situation/learning to see like a professional
  • Choosing your perspective
  • Getting the right exposure: basic principles, exposing for highlight control, exposing to the right and evaluating/adjusting the histogram
  • Tripod handling and hand-holding techniques
  • Capturing the sharpest images possible
  • How (and why) to get on sun angle
  • Poses and proper head angle and what the orientation of the subject should be relative to the imaging sensor
  • Understanding what wind direction has to do with (and how it impacts) bird photography
  • Flight photography basics
  • Post-processing

Participants will learn how to properly expose and create artistically designed images. Because of the small group size, you will have plenty of attention and support from your workshop leaders. Most tour companies bring twice as many students making it harder for you to get your questions answered. On this tour, you will have plenty of room to work and all students will have the chance to shoot elbow to elbow in the field with the trip's leaders and instructors. You will learn award winning techniques and the essential aspects of avian photography. Throughout the tour, participants will learn professional insights.

All registered participants will receive an information package with details on what to wear, what to bring, where to stay and meet, suggested gear list, sample itinerary, etc. All registered participants will receive an orientation phone call prior to the tour.

Included With The Basic Tour Fee:

  • Guide service
  • Photography instruction
  • Image critique sessions
  • Transfer from airport to hotel
  • Hotel (single) accommodations
  • Food (not including alcohol - three meals daily except arrival and departure dates - one meal on those days)
  • Boat
  • Boat captain
  • Permits
  • Tips

NOT Included With The Basic Tour Fee:

  • Airfare/Transportation to/from Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Alcohol
  • Rental car (if you choose to rent one)
  • Personal transportation to or from the airport if it is arranged outside what the tour provides

To register, or to have your questions answered, please send an e-mail scott@scottbourne.com. All seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All participants will be required to sign a Waiver of Liability. All fees must be prepaid and all fees are non-refundable (except for Covid exclusions*) - trip insurance is required. We use World Nomads and can confidently recommend them if you need a good company from which to buy trip/travel insurance. Once purchased, seats cannot be sold, bartered or transferred.

This tour is not open to residents of New Hampshire.

COVID-19 Concerns

The two most important questions you have are probably: Will it be safe and if Covid-19 causes a cancellation can I get my deposit back? As for question one we can say that we will not operate the trip if we do not feel like we can give you the safest experience possible. I am in a high-risk category where C-19 is concerned and you can bet I won't be taking any chances with my own life, so I wouldn't take chances with yours. We will only go forward if we believe that the trip can offer a safe experience. That said, we cannot and will not be responsible for C-19 infection spread. All we can do is take as many reasonable precautions as possible. The hotel is going to do a great job of sanitizing their spaces and due to the remote nature of the location, there is less risk for infection spread. It is a small place and doesn't experience high traffic which would increase the likelihood of disease.

ALL participants in this tour will require proof of vaccination against COVID 19 including booster shots. No exceptions. We believe this will make the trip as safe as possible and allow us to work together in a more comfortable fashion. Depending on the circumstances that unfold in this evolving situation, we may still implement mask requirements and social distancing depending on government guidance. Since almost all of the workshop is conducted out of doors, there is very little risk based on our current understanding of how the virus is transmitted.

AIR TRAVEL has been normalized thanks to high-capacity air purification and recirculation systems onboard all modern aircraft. Most airplanes are far safer than the environment at your local grocery store. Airplanes have large, medical-grade filtration systems and the airlines know that if there is wide-spread disease outbreak on their planes they will go out of business. We trust them to look out for their own interests in this regard which means we feel safe. At the time we write this they all require masks for the duration of any flight. That could change.

This is an ever-changing situation but for now, IF COVID 19 IS STILL ACTIVE...the precautions that we have decided to add to the trip are as follows...

If necessary - All participants will receive daily temperature checks and daily blood oxygen level tests. In the event of a possible problem medical personnel will be asked to evaluate the trip participant's fitness for travel.

If necessary - We may require participants to wear masks when in proximity to each other. If the virus is still active, we will only hold activities outdoors during this tour which also greatly reduces the risk of infection spread. We will wait for government guidance on this subject before making any decision.

If necessary - At all times we will do our best to practice social distancing during the tour. There are some times when we will have no choice but to be in closer proximity to each other and during those times we will be masked.

*If the US or Greek government issues travel restrictions or other governmental edicts that prohibit us from conducting the workshop, YOU WILL GET YOUR MONEY BACK! Period. However, if you simply change your mind, or feel uncomfortable then you will not receive a refund. You also will not get a refund if you get COVID 19 or refuse to get vaccinated. You should buy CFAR (Cancel for ANY reason travel insurance if this is a concern.)

Thanks to the vaccine, we are confident that by the time we run this tour, we'll be able to proceed so that is why we rescheduled the workshop. If you have other concerns we have not addressed here, then please email scott@scottbourne.com and we will try to answer them.

Send an email to: scott@scottbourne.com if interested.

Credits:

Copyright Scott Bourne 2022 - All Rights Reserved - scott@scottbourne.com