Trip Dates: February 17 - 21, 2025

Photo Tour Fee: $3150
Includes 2 boat outings, in-the-field guiding and instruction, van transportation during the trip. Does not include lodging or meals. I may be able to pick a few people up from the airport so double check, but you’ll likely need to Uber or get a car to get from the airport to the hotel 20 minutes away.

Deposit: $850 (to be subtracted from the total tour fee, leaving a balance of $2300 due 90 days prior to the trip).

From: La Jolla, California

Leader(s): Matthew Studebaker

Target Group Size: 4 - 5 photographer

Our home base will be right on the beautiful rocky coast, next to a large pelican and seabird colony. Sandy beaches nearby offer lots of chances at everything from Long-billed Curlew to Snowy Plovers. We’ll have a couple sessions for land birds looking for California specialties such as the endangered California Gnatcatcher and Lawrence’s Goldfinch. Inland marshes provide some of the best waterfowl photography in the country. Finally we’ll get out on boats to photograph courtship displays of Western and Clark’s Grebes.

Travel considerations: Fly to San Diego. You can either rent your own vehicle and follow me to our shooting locations, or ask to ride with me, there will be plenty of room.

Camera Gear: Bring a digital SLR and your longest telephoto lens. Some of our target birds, like Snail Kite, and Red-cockaded Woodpecker, will be fairly shy and we'll want all the reach we can get (at least 600mm including your tele-extender). We will sometimes be quite close to pelicans, ducks, and others, so a medium telephoto (like a 300mm or a 70-200mm) as well as a landscape lens (I'll have a 17-40mm) are recommended as well.   Bring a tripod for your long lens, and binoculars if desired. No flash will be necessary.

Likely Species on the trip. Opportunities in bold will be the easiest/most common/most likely -

Birds:

• Cinnamon Teal

• Green-winged Teal

• Blue-winged Teal

• Gadwall

• Ruddy Duck

• Wood Duck

• Northern Shoveler

• American Wigeon

• Bufflehead

• Ring-necked Duck

• Lesser Scaup

• Western Grebe

• Clark’s Grebe

• Little Blue Heron

• Great Egret

• Snowy Egret

• White-faced Ibis

• Double-crested Cormorant

• Brandt’s Cormorant

• American White Pelican

• Brown Pelican

• American Avocet

• Black-necked Stilt

• Western Sandpiper

• Black Turnstone

• Black Oystercatcher

• Willet

• Long-billed Curlew

• Whimbrel

• Snowy Plover

• Western Gull

• Heermann’s Gull

• Allen’s Hummingbird

• Anna’s Hummingbird

• California Quail

• Nuttall’s Woodpecker

• Bushtit

• Wrentit

• California Scrub-Jay

• California Thrasher

• Lesser Goldfinch

• Lawrence’s Goldfinch

• Acorn Woodpecker

• Oak Titmouse

• Dark-eyed Junco

• Pygmy Nuthatch

• Mountain Chickadee

• Orange-crowned Warbler

• Yellow-rumped Warbler

• California Gnatcatcher

• California Towhee

• many other species are possible as well

Check out the gallery below to see some of Middleton Evan’s images from our 2024 trip.

What to pack

• Boots: Waterproof Hiking Boots and pants are a good idea in case we run into wet grass or a little mud

• Light Jacket: mornings on the boat can be chilly. Prepare for temps in the 40's on the water.

• Hat and Gloves: only if you want to be super prepared. At least bring a baseball cap.

• Sunscreen: A good idea for working in the sun

Weather and Schedule:
The sun will rise and set around 6:30 am and set at 5:30pm. Most days it will be common to wake up with temperatures in the mid 50's to 60's. Some afternoons we could see temperatures in the lower to mid 70's. We will meet early enough to get to our first location around sunrise and photograph through 10am or so if we have sun. After lunch, a slideshow, and a little personal time, we'll head to our afternoon location by 3pm and photograph until we loose light. On cloudy days, we will abbreviate our afternoon break and try to maximize mid-day overcast light.

Transportation: From our hotel, most of our shooting locations will be within 30 minutes, but a couple locations are we will need to drive about an hour. Rent a car and follow me or ask before the trip to see about riding in my vehicle if desired.

Hotel: More information to be provided about where to stay upon signing up for the trip. Hotel costs are not included in the photo tour fee. Hotel cost will average around $220/night if you stay at the same hotel as the group. The hotel isn’t fancy but the location is amazing location.

Meals: Free continental breakfast is NOT provided at the hotel. We’ll eat on our own in our rooms which are equipped with refrigerators. Lunches and dinners with the group if desired. We will eat at places everyone can enjoy.

Early Arrivals: Feel free to arrive in town as early as you like and stay later. Unfortunately, I can't accommodate early arrivals in my vehicle. Please DO ask me if you want to know about good places to photograph before or after the trip. I have tons of great suggestions.

Learning / Slideshows: On the first day, and during a couple mid-day breaks I will go over some tips, composition, and post processing ideas. This is a photo tour, not a workshop, therefor I am presuming that everyone is taking this trip more to maximize productivity than to learn how to use their gear, but please ask if you have trouble or questions. Along with a few brief slideshows and discussions. I will try to talk about my photographic vision for each situation and spout off my camera settings in the field as well as peek over everyone's shoulder from time to time to check histograms and exposures. Aside from that, I'll need YOU to tell me if you have additional questions, learning objectives, or concerns.

 
My job is to know the area, do many hours of research, know and be able to ID the animals instantly and understand their habitat and behaviors, drive you to the most productive areas at the right time of day, be prepared to attract the animals or assist the group in stalking them, advise on how to make the most of each photo opp, pre-arrange time with the most experienced and licensed boat operators, ensure that everyone has their physical needs met, and ensure that everyone gets the most and highest quality images in the time we have.

Your job is to communicate your needs and have fun. I want to emphasize that each of you please communicate and keep me aware of your needs.

Physical Requirements:
Almost all the photography on this trip will be done right from a boat or within a five minute walk of our vehicle. There will be a single mile+ walk on a beach in order to photograph Snowy Plover. We may be standing and walking for long periods at times, but in general this trip should be fairly easy physically and will not require very long hikes or wading in water.

Photographic Objectives:
I want to go after some of the rare and special birds of souther California, as well as photograph some of the more common but beautiful and charismatic species. I’ll try to balance looking for species with simply photographing the most beautiful situations regardless of species.

Cancellation Policy: Participant will receive a full refund of their deposit minus a $250 re-listing fee if we are able to fill the cancelled space. If we are unable to fill the cancelled space, we cannot issue a refund or credit of any kind.