During a new hummingbird and tropical bird photography workshop, visit the cloud forests of Ecuador in search of hummingbirds, tanagers, barbets, toucanets, and more. You will learn hands-on, with Greg teaching you multi-flash photography techniques, lighting effects, and how to capture stunning action shots of these tiny jewels in flight. We'll see and photograph upwards of 20 species of hummingbirds alone, and tons of other birds too!
Greg is a pioneer in multi-flash hummingbird photography and is a master at off-camera flash in tropical environments. He has been teaching his techniques for nearly two decades. During this tropical and hummingbird photography workshop, Greg will share his personal tips and methods for capturing these tiny jewels in flight and action, all while making your shots look completely natural. This workshop is not just about hummingbirds though. In recent years Greg has developed and discovered new locations for a plethora of other birds like many species of tanager, toucanets and much more. The action has been fantastic at these newly discovered locations so you're in for a real treat!
Everything you need for multiple-flash hummingbird setups will be provided—all you need to bring is a camera and lens! Since our setups will work with any camera brand, there is no concern about compatibility as long as you have a camera with a standard flash hot shoe. Camera lenses of 100–400 or 70–200 range are optimal for the setups, while longer lenses are recommended for perched hummingbirds, tanagers, and other bird species.
“I have been a photographer for over 50 years. I never want to stop learning, and this workshop was a great learning opportunity. Multi-flash technique is an amazing way to freeze even the fastest hummingbird motion. Greg is a great instructor who made this technique come alive. I highly recommend this workshop.”
Marc B.
On day 1 you will meet our representatives at Mariscal Sucre International Airport and transfer to your comfortable hotel 20 minutes from the airport. The hotel is very nicely appointed with a pool, two restaurants, room service, and lovely grounds with abundant birdlife.
Arrival times for travelers will vary; no meals are included this day but there is room service and a restaurant at the hotel which you can utilize.
If you wish to arrive a day or two early to relax before the trip or do a city tour we can make those arrangements.
Hotel not listed*; no meals included.
After an early breakfast your group will travel less than 1 hour to Guango Lodge where you’ll spend the next 3 nights. We have specifically reserved the lodge for our use and we have even reserved the night before (January 6) so that we may arrive as early as we wish and check in immediately. Little details like this are what sets us apart.
Greg will give a brief orientation of the schedule and the lodge, and then we’ll dig right into our gear and start photographing! On this day we’ll be focused on key settings and the fundamentals of using flash as a supplemental lighting source. This will help you capture magnificent and sharp images of hummingbirds in the cloud forest that look natural.
Over the next few days of this hummingbird and tropical bird photography workshop, you will have plenty of time to fine-tune these skills and put everything to practice. This is Greg’s expertise and you will get lots of individual attention based on your specific needs. If you don’t need a lot of personal instruction then you can work at your own pace!
Guango Lodge (B, L, D)
After breakfast we will begin to use the multi-flash setups looking for noteworthy species like chestnut-breasted coronet, mountain velvetbreast, sword-billed hummingbird, tourmaline sunangel, golden-breasted and glowing pufflegs, long-tailed sylph, and others. This is where we will hone our skills with flash settings and really get to know our gear before heading to Tandayapa and some of the new sites for tanagers and more.
When not photographing hummingbirds we’ll keep an eye out for some of the lodge’s regular bird species including but not limited to: gray-breasted mountain-toucan, turquoise jay, buff-breasted and hooded-mountain tanagers, and more. Beautiful masked flowerpiercers are also very common, visiting the hummingbird feeders regularly right outside the lodge’s front door. We’ll also continue to focus on capturing perched hummingbirds with natural light as well as learning about the use of supplemental fill flash.
We’ll have mid-day breaks for lunch and, since we’re right there at the lodge, you can download and review images throughout the days at you leisure.
We’ll enjoy dinner together at the lodge and a relaxing evening by the fire. Wine is available at the lodge and the authentic cooking is renowned.
Guango Lodge (B, L, D)
After breakfast, we’ll take some time to get a few final shots around the lodge before making our way to Tandayapa Lodge which will be our base for the next four nights, with flexible visits to other locations nearby that are productive for different species.
You will not feel rushed from Guango having almost three full days there. Guango only has a handful of species to photograph but they are species we will not see elsewhere. Tandayapa and the surrounding area offer so much more that we will focus most of our time there.
A mecca for birders and photographers alike, Tandayapa Lodge is one of the best birding locales in the world, particularly for hummingbird photography. Nestled in the cloud forest, up to 31 species of hummingbirds have been recorded at the lodge feeders. With 14–18 species most days and up to 100 individual hummingbirds present at any moment, this is one of the must-see bird spectacles of the world.
Tandayapa Lodge (B, L, D)
For the next few days there will be a bit of flexibility between hummingbird photography at the lodge’s multi-flash setups and other areas for different species of hummingbirds to mix things up. We recently connected with two places that are fantastic for tanagers and other passerines and they have had fantastic action.
The first full day will start with breakfast and then you will immediately begin photographing hummingbirds at multi-flash setups right on the lodge grounds. We have reserved the space to do this exclusively for our group and have lots of room for our setups. Here, we are offered a different set of hummingbird species from Guango including western emerald, purple-throated woodstar, violet-tailed sylph, booted racket-tail, and many more.
We’ll have a break for lunch at the lodge and will continue with hummingbirds and other birds until it’s time for dinner at the lodge.
Tandayapa Lodge (B, L, D)
Today you will visit a local family that has set up fruit feeders in their yard; it’s become a sensation among bird photographers and is extremely productive! We have been there when it’s “raining” birds! Some of the possible species here include black-capped tanager, blue-gray tanager, dusky bush-tanager, Ecuadorian thrush, black-striped sparrow, rufous-collared sparrow, golden-naped tanager, crimson-rumped toucanet, red-headed barbet, toucan barbet, and lemon-rumped tanager.
You will get to spend hours here shooting the constant stream of tanagers and other species that visit. We will have a traditional lunch at a local restaurant with a beautiful view of the valley and Rio Blanco.
After breakfast we will travel to another special place. This is a location Greg discovered more than 15 years ago and it has remained very small and rarely, if ever, visited during other photographic itineraries to Ecuador. Another new feature of this location is a very productive fruit feeder where we can expect to see more tanagers, toucanets, and various other species. We will have a traditional Ecuadorian lunch on location and return to Tandayapa at our leisure.
One species to note here, which we will see nowhere else, is the beautiful and iridescent velvet-purple coronet. Violet-tailed sylph has also been known to be very cooperative here.
Today we will spend the morning again photographing the local birds around Tandayapa Lodge. There are extensive hiking trails here for those that wish to explore beyond what is at the feeders. It's also a good day to get those close-up shots of perched hummingbirds. Some days there have been more than 20 species of hummingbirds at the lodge feeders!
After lunch we will head to Quito in time for a farewell dinner and reflection on our productive photography workshop.
Tandayapa Lodge (B, L), Hotel not listed* (D)
On this day take a private transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Breakfast is included for those departing Ecuador late enough.
Single supplement fees reflect our actual cost and are subject to availability. If you're a single traveler and we're unable to place you with a roommate, we will need to place you in a single room and charge a single supplement.
Greg has been traveling the world teaching professional and amateur photographers for more than 15 years hosting his instructional workshops and...Continue reading
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