I plan on leading photo tours to some of the beautiful places of the world.  The main focus of these tours will be to put my clients in great situations to create beautiful photography of the natural world. I plan on keeping group sizes small and filling the tours with like minded people (photographers and perhaps photographer’s spouses). The tours will only be to destinations that I am familiar with and have pre-scouted, to help ensure a successful shoot.

Trips currently in the planning stages:

The North Channel of Lake Huron from a sailboat

September 16th through the 21st

This very unique trip is being planned for September 16th thru the 21st of 2010. This tour will be unique in a few ways. First of all, we will be travelling by sailboat, a 37 foot cutter rigged sailboat named “Little Wing”. “Little Wing” is piloted by Captain Bill Penistan, who has been sailing for over 50 years, more than a decade of that in the beautiful Georgian Bay and North Channel area at the very northern end of Lake Huron, bordering Canada.  The North Channel, with over thirty thousand islands and countless secluded coves, bays, and inlets, promises to be a photographers paradise. Travelling by sailboat with a dinghy to get us on and off the many islands we will visit will give us unprecedented access to this beautiful area. This trip will be limited to only four people.  I will post more information as it becomes available.

Captain Bill is offering a special one time introductory rate of $1,375.00 Canadian dollars (as of the writing of this that is under $1,300.00 US dollars). There is a double berth in the bow of the boat if you have a spouse or significant other that would like to join us the cost for the second person would be $1,050.00, assuming you will be bunking together.

Scouting Report

In late June Captain Bill took my family and I on a four day sailing trip to scout the location for this workshop. To say I was blown away would be an understatement.  The North Channel has a rugged beauty that I have not experienced before and travelling by sailboat, with a dinghy to get ashore provided us with unparalleled access to this stunning landscape. While trying to combine a family trip with a photographic trip is not my preferred way to work, I was able to get out a few times and get some “work” done.  This first shot is from an overlook on South Benjamin Island the boat you see in the distance is the Little Wing.

The first couple of days the weather was pretty socked in so I concentrated on family time and did some intimate landscapes which were abundant. If you are “liken” lichen this is the place for you. All of the rocks were covered with lichens of all types and colors.

Here are some pictures of the fleet.

Here is a picture of our fearless Captain; Bill Penistan (with my son Jacob at the helm). I found it funny that Captain Bill was amazed that I could identify many of the local birds by their song, but thought nothing of the fact that he knew where almost every rock (above and below the water) was in this area. I really would not feel comfortable travelling in these potentially dangerous waters with a Captain less experienced than Captain Bill.

Here is a shot of yours truly in the galley, that’s boat talk for kitchen.

Did I mention it was really beautiful.

We would love to have you join us on this special trip. A couple of things you need to know before you sign up. We will be travelling by sailboat, which means tight quarters with very little storage space, basically a step above camping. We certainly will not have access to a regular shower, (my family and I bathed in the lake). We will be in the wilderness without access to the corner store etc.. So while you must pack lightly, you must also pack everything you need. There is electricity available on board to charge laptops and batteries etc.

If you have questions or want more information please feel free to contact me at my studio 810-231-8118 or by email steve@stevegettle.com

Thanks

Steve

Here is a link to the Exploration Sail website  (Captain Bill’s company)  http://www.explorationsail.com/

Other trips on the short list:

The Galapagos Islands and cloud forest of Ecuador

This truly is a nature photographer’s paradise featuring abundant wildlife with little to no fear of people, beautiful unspoiled scenery, a unique ecosystem, unlike anything else on earth.  Read more about one of my recent trips to the Galapagos Islands here: http://www.stevegettle.com/pages/2008/07/

Along with this trip, I plan on offering an extension to the cloud forest of Ecuador to photograph hummingbirds with high-speed flash. I will have all of the flash equipment necessary all you will need is a camera to plug the pc cord into. Here are some images I was able to make last time I was there http://www.stevegettle.com/pages/2008/08/

Costa Rica

I spent the first two weeks of March 2009 I will be travelling to Costa Rica to photograph and scout locations for possible photo tours.  I plan on bringing my high-speed flash setup to work some of the amazing hummingbirds, as well as hopefully, some of the nectar feeding bats in the area.  I will be spending time at lodges throughout the area in search of the mort productive and photographer friendly places. While Costa Rica has some amazing birds, I  also hope to photograph some of the other native wildlife such as the unique insects and animals of the area. Here are some images I was able to make the last time I was there in two parts here is part 1 http://www.stevegettle.com/pages/2009/04/19/ and part 2 http://www.stevegettle.com/pages/2009/05/

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

While I have been to these areas nearly a dozen times, I have been invited to give a presentation at the Photographic Society of America’s annual meeting in West Yellowstone this year. When I am out there, I plan on scouting some possible lodging and seminar locations for a possible future photo tour.

If you are interested in getting more information about these trips when it becomes available, please signup for my newsletter at the top of the page and I will make sure you get any updates.  If you would like specific information about one of these trips or you are interested in joining me, feel free to email me directly at steve@stevegettle.com