Pair of goslings swimming in a pond

October 1 – 3, 2010

Join Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine contributing editor and professional wildlife photographer, Paul Burwell, for a many-faceted workshop that will immerse you into the world of wildlife photography.  We’ll spend the entire weekend together helping you learn about the aspects of wildlife photography necessary to produce compelling images.  We’ll discuss the equipment the pros use, technical skills necessary to produce captivating images, learning to find wildlife photography opportunities, developing a creative vision to separate your photos from the average, choosing the right digital darkroom tools and techniques for selling your images.

During this intensive weekend, Paul will spend classroom time educating you about wildlife photography and once you’ve received a firm grounding in techniques, we’ll head into the field for a wildlife photography session at a specially chosen location.  Paul will be with you every step of the way to help you come away with the best possible images.

Once you’ve captured some images with the new techniques and skills you’ve learned, we’ll come back into the classroom where you can digitally process your images.  Each participant will have the opportunity to choose 4 – 6 images to have critiqued by the instructor with a focus on what’s good and what could have been done differently.

Porcupine wide-angle portrait

About your instructor

Paul Burwell is a professional outdoor photographer, writer and educator.  His images have appeared in numerous magazines, greeting cards, advertisements and calendars. He is a contributing editor for Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine where he has a regular column called “Let’s Go Digital!”  In addition to the wildlife photography workshops and tours he hosts worldwide each year, he also teaches a number of photography classes at Edmonton’s Metro Community College.  Paul has been a finalist in both the 2009 and 2010 Worldwide Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and has been named by Popular Photography magazine as a “top shooter” of wildlife photography in their March 2010 issue featuring a two-page spread of Paul’s photo of a Snow Leopard.

Paul facilitates his workshops and tours in a cooperative and constructive environment and does not photograph for his own portfolio when he’s teaching.  He is strictly there to help you learn.

Pair of Red Fox kits play-fighting in some tall grass

Equipment Required:

To get the most out of this workshop, you DO NOT require the latest and greatest digital SLR camera with a monster telephoto lens.  However, there are a few pieces of equipment that you’ll require to help maximize your experience.

At a minimum, you’ll want to have…

• A digital SLR camera manufactured in the last 5 years
• A telephoto lens in the range of 70-200mm or 70-300mm.
• Memory card(s) that can hold 200-300 images.
• A computer to process the images made during the workshop.

Some optional equipment to consider includes…

• a tripod capable of supporting your camera and telephoto lens
• a laptop with current photo editing software installed on it like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop or Apple Aperture.
  • Most software manufacturers make 30-day trial versions of their software available for download from their web sites. 

Snowy Owl perched in an old tree

This workshop includes:

• 9 hours of classroom instruction
• a field trip to a specially selected location for a wildlife photography session
  • your instructor, Paul Burwel, will be onsite with you to help you make the best possible images
• Wildlife Photography course book
• CD with numerous articles pertinent to wildlife photography
• Wildlife Photography Academy t-shirt or ball cap
• Wildlife Photography Academy certificate of completion
• Delicious snacks during coffee breaks
• Small group size, limited to 12 participants

Snow Leopard watching intently from the down-side of a snowy hill - CA

Itinerary

• Friday, October 1st 7:00pm – 9:00pm:  Orientation meeting and slideshow.
• Saturday, October 2nd 9:00am – 5:00pm: Classroom instruction
• Sunday, October 3rd 7:00am – 10:30am: Wildlife Photography field trip that we’ll car pool to
• Sunday, October 3rd 12:00pm – 5:00pm: Classroom instruction along with image critiques

Male Grizzly standing and watching

Workshop Costs

• $225 Canadian Dollars (plus tax). Current currency exchange information between the Canadian dollar and your local currency is available here.