Great Egret with flaps out as it prepares to land.

Great Egret with a stick for nesting material.

Great Egret displaying to attract a mate.

Just one of many subjects that we will photograph on my upcoming Fort DeSoto Safari!

All images captured on Nikon D3, AF-S 600mm VR with TC-17E on Lexar Digital media

Hooptie Deux, that’s the pontoon boat owned by James Shadle who took us out to photograph the Roseate Spoonbills today. What a great adventure it was. We spent several hours both in the morning and again in the afternoon photographing Spoonbills, Reddish Egrets, Brown Pelicans and many more wading birds in Tampa Bay. I’m really excited to share this great find with my safari participants next week. Thanks for a great day James.

Image captured with Nikon D3, AF-S 600mm VR with TC-17E on Lexar digital media.

The folks over at LensCoat have been busy…they just introduced several cool new products to protect our camera gear. There’s the Body Bag, the Gimbal Cover, the Flash Keeper and even the Beamer Keeper plus 7 new LensPouches all made of protective neoprene to protect our equipment from normal everyday wear and tear and keep it looking good as new.  Choose from your favorite camo pattern or the simple but, elegant basic black.   What will those guys think of next. I’m off to place an order. Remember, take care of your equipment and your equipment will take care of you.

Fort DeSoto, FL March 3-7, 2008

With Fort DeSoto Safari fast approaching, there is still room to join me and my special gueat assistant “Moose Peterson” for a week of great fun in the sun photographing the birds of Fort DeSoto. Great blue heron, Great egret, Snowy egret, Reddish egret (both dark and white phase), Royal tern, Sandwich tern, Forster’s tern, Yellow and Black-crowned heron and Spoonbills not to mention all the shorebirds we will have the opportunity to photograph. And if that’s not enough, as a special treat we will take a morning and evening boat ride to a nesting Spoonbill rookery to photograph Roseate spoonbills in their magnificent breeding plumage as they go about their business of nest building, displaying, preening, flight opportunities, everyday living.

So Texas Birds May 5-9 & 11-13

So Texas is a bird photographers mecca! Where else can you sit in the comfort of a chair in a blind and knock of 35-40 species in a week? Join me for a week of photographing Green jays, Golden fronted woodpeckers, Scaled quail, Harris Hawks, Crested Caracara and so much more. We visit four different ranches in five days to get a variety of birds as well as different settings to photograph them in. If you give them water, they will come….and that’s just what happens in So Texas. With water holes and food set up in the natural habitat, the birds flock (pun intended) to the area and we reap the benefits with outstanding photo opportunities. $1950.00 includes: transportation to location, entry to private ranches, expert photographic instruction, five each morning and afternoon shoots at a variety of locations, midday down time for uploading images, edits, critiques, my techniques for finishing images in the digital darkroom, instruction. An optional 3 day extension has been added with a concentration on raptors. We spend three days at one ranch photographing a wide variety of birds in the morning and then concentrating on raptors each afternoon. $1650.00 includes all the above plus, meals and lodging at a deluxe ranch nearby.

For more information or to sign up contact Laurie at:laurie@laurieexcell.com or 503-703-3872

Alaska Coastal Brown Bear Safari Sept 10-17, 2008

Come experience Alaska’s magnificent ambassadors, the Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai, Alaska. Fall is the time of year when the bears are fat with the seasons bounty, their coats thick and lustrous as they prepare for the upcoming winter. A fifty minute float plane ride from Kodiak and we are in another world; the land of the brown bear. We hit the beach running, the friendly staff meets us at the plane and quickly makes us feel at home as they show us to our cabins (single occupancy). After a quick lunch we’re off in search of our first subjects.

Our home for the next week is a beautiful wilderness lodge nestled in it’s own private corner of wilderness in the 3.6 million acre Katmai National Park. The biggest crowds will be the bears we have come to photograph. From Halo Bay north, to Kaflia bay to the south we are the only human inhabitants, visitors in a world most never have a chance to experience.

Included in the $4950.00 price is airfare to Katmai from Kodiak Sept 10-17, 2008, gourmet meals, private rooms, experienced, friendly guides, expert instruction and photographic guidance by your instructor (me). Limited to six participants. While bears are our primary focus, other subjects we may encounter are bald eagles, harbor seals, red fox, to name a few. The scenery is a photographer’s dream with rugged mountains rising up from the sea, picturesque bays, rocky coastlines, extreme tides changing the landscape every twelve hours. We will take advantage of the sweet light each morning and afternoon, exploring the Katmai coastline in our quest for bears. Midday break back at the lodge is a time for relaxation, downloading, editing, sharing images, critiques, time in the digital darkroom finishing favorite images.

For more information or to sign up contact Laurie Excell at: laurie@laurieexcell.com or 503-703-3872

I look forward to sharing on of my favorite little slices of paradise with you soon.