In this nature photography workshop we will visit places of incredible beauty and richness with natural wonders. The Everglades National Park and the other wetlands in southern Florida, the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

The Everglades National Park is the only subtropical preserve in North America and represents a precious, complex and fragile ecosystem. The park spans the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay and hosts a rich diversity of species. As many as 1000 species of plants, 120 species of trees are known to occur in the park, together with more than 300 species of birds and over 36 endangered animal species.

Protection of wading birds was the prime reason for setting the park aside, and the Everglades is still known for its rich bird population of Great Blue Herons, Egrets, Rosate Spoonbills, Wood Storks etc. It is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live side by side. In recognition of its extraordinary importance and to help protect this unique biological resources, the Everglades National Park has been designated a "World Heritage Site", an "International Biosphere Reserve", and a "Wetland of International Importance".

The Everglades is a very long (190Km), wide (80Km) and shallow (15cm) river which flows from  Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Storm floods in May through October feed the river, which then flows south 30 meters per day until the dry season (December through April) when water levels gradually drop while fish, birds and alligators migrate to concentrate near deeper pools.

We will visit the park during the dry season to take advantage of the higher concentration of animals near the water pools.

We will be able to photograph alligators and crocodiles, herons, egrets, storks, spoonbills, hawks, turtles and iguanas and many many other animal species at very close distance. The fact that the animals are extremely confident in this park makes the Everglades the ideal destination for the nature lover and photographer.

We will also visit many other nature preserves in southern Florida, such as the Florida Keys and the East Coast.

After photographing in Florida we will transfer to New Mexico to witness the annual migration of hundreds of thousand of sandhill cranes and snow geese at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The sight of hundreds of thousand snow geese that take off simultaneously when startled by bald eagles or coyotes will remain forever in our mind and in our memory cards!

We will also be able to photograph eagles, hawks, coyotes, deers and many wading and water birds. Furthermore, the incredible landscape of New Mexico will make for amazing landscape and macro photographs.

Not far from the Bosque refuge lies the “White Sand Dunes National Monument”, with its amazing snow-white sand dunes. We will finish the trip by photographing this amazing landcape at sunrise and sunset.

The program includes practical field photography lessons as well as evening lectures and sessions of editing and processing of the images of the day. Participants will enjoy a true photo course in an amazing location and with the opportunity to try out the described techniques immediately and with the constant supervision of the instructor.

A selection of the best pictures taken by the participants will be published in a photo book that will be given as a gift to all participants.