I’m heading to Japan in a little while, but I wanted to send my recent blog from my second trip to the Falklnad’s. I never sent the blast a couple of days ago when I published it, whoops. Paul McKenzie and I will have 2 groups back-to back, making this our 9th workshop in Japan together-wow, time flies! Our 2024 Japan in Winter trip is sold out.

Second Falkland's Trip Report:

I’m just returning home from my second workshop/photo tour to the Falkland Islands since November. Both of my groups enjoyed their time on the islands with the birds and the natural environment. I enjoyed both trips as the photography and the participants were top notch.

When I left the Gentoo and Rockhopper colonies on my previous trip, there were plenty of eggs and lots of very young chicks. The King penguins were also on eggs ( no chicks yet), their eggs take longer to hatch.

When I returned in early January, it was surprising to see how quickly the rockhopper chicks grew. They were in large crèches and there were way more than I had initially thought. Same with the gentoos, their chicks were huge and doing well.

We did see lots of predation on the young penguins even though they were pretty big. The Skuas just picked them off as they pleased. Turkey Vultures were everywhere, and they patrolled the colonies. One of the workshop participants saw a few of them go after a chick. Apparently, they are predators and not just undertakers?.

The King penguin colony at Volunteer Point was filled with young chicks. There were also quite a few abandoned eggs scattered throughout the colony. A few dead chicks laced the outskirts but no more than most years, so all looked good.

Black-browed albatross chick snapping. I added detail extractor to the background to bring out some of the water texture. I think I’ll have to give it a round of noise reduction when I get a chance as now it presents as noisy.

On this last trip, we saw and photographed young, Black-browed albatross chicks. They were covered in fluffy down. These adorable chicks are quite feisty as they protect their nests when the adults are gone. When the sheep at Saunders graze on the green lush grasses at the base of their mud nests the chicks snap their bills over and over again. When the sheep get too close, the albatross chicks spit at them (they produce oil in their stomachs to use as nutrients during long flights. They also use this oil to spit at attackers), making the sheep a mess to shear. Everyone in both groups loved their time with the albatross. Being able to sit among them was a wonderful wildlife experience.

Black-browed albatross chick resting. These chicks get to looking pretty beat up by the time they fledge. I love the down coat they have it looks so soft.

This image was created using a spot light technique using natural light-no flash, no spot metering, no flashlight or artificial light. Just the sun at last light and the camera. Post processing included darkening the shadows a bit more.

We had loads of fun photographing the rockhoppers jumping out of the surf and the gentoos walking into the water at first light. This time my group and I visited a new location with 9 Macaroni penguins, rockhoppers and tiny cormorant chicks. I have so many images to sort through but I haven’t got much time as I need to start packing for my (2) back-to-back Japan photo tours with Paul McKenzie.

My favorite from the trip-if you look close you can see another penguin in the surf. He looks like a white penguin-I call him the ghost!

Magellanic penguins at first light with a long exposure.

Big shout out to all that entered the Bird Photographer of the Year contest. I will be judging the final round any day now- can’t wait to see the images!!

Btw, spots are filling fast for Donna Bourdon’s Falkland Islands Tour in early December of 2023.

A great Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear photo tour opportunity just came up. Guests will visit a remote lodge via a bush plane. From there they will use small boats set up like safari vehicles to photograph bears right at the waters edge. You should also have opportunities to get out and photograph from the shore. The setting is in an iconic section of the Alagnak River known as the upper braids. This river runs through Katmai National Park. Katmai is one of the most prized destinations for wildlife viewing in Alaska, with the highest population of brown bears in the world. Donna Bourdon will be leading this photo adventure for Alaskan Brown Bears. I did the trip and loved it. This is a great opportunity that just came up due to a cancellation. Other group leaders want this slot so I am trying to see if we can fill it quickly to secure the dates. If you are good to go—look over this workshop description. And add it to the cart. Limited spots available. You can also add-on a day trip to Brooks Falls, we did last time and it was fantastic! Donna will help with that if you are interested.

Update on my TULIP BLOSSOMS Postal Stamps:

This last week, the US Postal Service announced that my Tulips stamps will be issued on April 5, 2023 and that the first day of issue ceremony will be in Woodburn, Oregon.

The stamps will be released as a booklet of 20 stamps, and in coils of 3K, and 10K. So honored and excited to see them. Please share this news on your social media-thank you. Be sure to include the hashtag #TulipBlossomsStamps. Much appreciated!