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Winter Wildlife Workshop 2013

At a Glance

About the Workshop

This will be my 3rd winter at the ranch with clients and it is a really special time. The animals are at their finest with thick winter coats and with a snowy environment as a setting it is really quite dramatic. The animals love to romp in the snow! You’ll come back from this one with amazing shots from a winter wonderland in Montana.

Without doubt this is the best if not the only time to photograph their Snow Leopard, truly amazing! Then of course there is the tiger which will be about 8 months old and full of himself, that will be awesome! I know most people love the big cats during these workshops, but the little animals like fishers, martens and fox are just great in the snow as well.

I hope I never have to pick just one time of the year to photograph these amazing animals, but if I did, it might have to be winter! Come see for yourself.

Another wrinkle in the schedule is that I’ve scheduled my workshop to sit next to one of Triple D’s most popular events, their winter Western Horse session. This optional extension will be January 8-9th and the cost is $550. If you do sign up for the Horse Roundup and you should, I will also be there to help you with your photography, but we will not have classroom sessions on those days.

And finally…whew…there will be an opportunity to photograph some incredible birds of prey form a local rehab center. The birds are not releasable and have become animal ambassadors and are used to teach kids of all ages about conservation. We will pose these great birds in perfect light on perfect perches for perfect photography. A highly recommended addition to the trip. As above, this is an extra and costs $225

Included in the Workshop

The fee includes 3 days of photography instruction with classroom session critiquing your images and “how to” help on photographing wildlife. We will also allocate a few hours to help you with your digital workflow. OH! There will be a fabulous pizza party during our orientation.

We’ll be photographing 8 species during our 3 days. During this workshop we can expect to photograph multiple species in a variety of different snowy (hopefully) locations. While the specific species cannot be confirmed until our arrival we almost always see mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, fox, and wolf.

Transportation to the workshop and during the workshop are not included. Your local accommodations and meals are also not included.

Itinerary

Day 1 (January 9, 2013)
6:00PM ~ Holiday Inn Express

Arrive in time for an informal get together at the hotel. We’ll have some time to meet each other and we’ll go over what you can expect for the next few days including just how early you’ll be getting up each day!

Days 2-4 (Jan 10-12, 2013)
These will be our primary workshop days. Plan to rise early in the morning so that we can be at our locations with the best light! The light will dictate our days activities and we’ll shoot as long as we can with good light. We’ll return to base in the middle of the day. You’ll have time to forage for lunch, download your images, re-charge your batteries and then meet for that days classroom activities. This is the format we’ll follow all 3 days.

Day 5 (Jan 13, 2013)
This day is a wild card. It will be used to make up any sessions that had to be canceled for some unplanned occurrence as well as for you to add a couple of more sessions. These extra sessions are $150 per person per species and some species will have a minimum number of participants for them to be available.

The workshop is officially over after our 8th species which, if all goes well, will be on the 12th. Assuming the make up sessions are not required. If you do decide to add some extra sessions on the 13th, I will of course be there to assist with your those sessions. I’d be quite surprised if you didn’t book at least one!

Day 6 (January 14, 2013)
Departure day.

We are generally…GENERALLY, done by noon on the wild card day. So it may be possible for you to catch an afternoon flight on the 13th.

Itinerary with Optional Horse Roundup & Birds of Prey

Day 1 (January 7, 2013)

Arrival day in Kalispell.

Day 2 (January 8, 2013)

First thing in the morning we will be photographing the birds of prey. We can expect to photograph 3 birds of mixed species.

In the afternoon we will have our first session with cowboys, cowgirls, cowdogs and their horses in the sweet afternoon light. Bring a lot of memory cards because photographing a running herd of horses is exhilarating and you may forget to stop pushing the shutter release.

Day 3 (January 9, 2013)

Bright and early and likely quite chilly we will again be photographing the horses in a different and loaction , but with the same intent…horses running through the snow!

Transportation and Lodging

Airports
Glacier International Airport (FCA)
This airport is actually in Kalispell and is a short 15 minutes to the recommended hotel.

Missoula International Airport (MSO)
It is sometimes less expensive to fly to Missoula and then drive the 150 miles to Kalispell.

Hotel
The recommended hotel for this trip is the Holiday Inn Express. All classroom activities be at the hotel. We’ll caravan to the workshop from the hotel; if you are staying anyplace other than the Holiday Inn or the cabin at the ranch you’ll need to meet us at the lobby. I’ll announce our hotel departure time each evening. This time of the year it will usually be about 8 as it takes some the sun to get over the mountains.

There is also an opportunity to stay at the ranches gorgeous Howling Wolf Lodge. This is a shared accommodation, you will have a private bedroom and share the common areas. Please contact me for details.

The hotel address is:
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
275 TREELINE ROAD
KALISPELL, MT 59901
Hotel Front Desk: 1-406-7557405

Use my name or Triple D Game Farm to secure our special rate, as of this writing $89.

Giant Disclaimer

As much as I’ve tried, I am not in charge of the weather, yet! This is a winter workshop and we expect snow. Sadly, I cannot promise that we will indeed have snow. I can promise the wildlife and some great photography, but it just may not be snowy. I’m sorry but, no refunds if we don’t get the snow we are all expecting.

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Final Thoughts

If I could only photograph one spot for the rest of my life, I’d be hard pressed not to stay at the Triple D. No matter how many times I’m here (and its been a lot) when the animals are out the adrenaline kicks in and I’m in photography nirvana.

One last tip, before I see you. Take time while you are here just to look at the animals without your camera. It’s quite inspirational to be standing 20 feet from a Snow Leopard and an image you’ll carry with you far longer than your images will last…

Don’t reflect too long this workshop will sell out! Sign up today!

Tundra Wolf, Canis lupus albus