Iceland : Grímsey Island : Puffins and More (FULL : Contact for wait list)
Instructional Photographic Workshop
Maximum of 5 Participants
Join me for a small group field-intensive and bird-centric workshop based on Grímsey Island, a 2 square mile gem on the Arctic Circle which is home to about 70 people and a million seabirds including one of Iceland’s largest puffin colonies.
This is a "one stop shopping" location for the serious bird photographer with large numbers of nesting birds, including Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres, black guillemots, Arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, golden plovers, snow buntings, white wagtails, red-necked phalaropes, common snipe, common redshank, Eurasian oystercatcher, ringed plovers, purple sandpipers, dunlin, black-tailed godwits and more. There is also a picturesque lighthouse and church, distant snow-covered mountain backdrops, a group of photogenic Icelandic horses, and landscape opportunities with basalt columns, sea stacks, and dramatic views of the rocky cliffs and coastline.
Grímsey was a little known location among bird photographers before I offered the first bird photography workshop ever on the island in 2015. It has since become widely regarded as one of the best places in Iceland to photograph puffins, and the very best place in the world to photograph puffins in flight. This will be my 20th visit to Grimsey and I continue to discover new photo hot spots in the nooks and crannies of the island’s coastline on every trip.
Basing the workshop on the island for 6 days and 5 nights will give participants the freedom and flexibility to photograph wherever, whenever, and whatever they choose during the more than 22 hours of daylight that will be available each day. Time that might otherwise be spent traveling from place to place can instead be spent in the field and you will always be able to get to your desired shooting locations at the time of your choosing. This extended field time will also allow for more instruction, including more opportunities for one-on-one individualized coaching as desired.
Of all the species on the island, the puffins tend to steal the show. This is an especially good location for photographing puffins in small and large groups and for photographing puffins in flight. At various times of day, you can have dozens of birds flying by every minute at near eye level. We have timed the workshop to take place after the puffin chicks have hatched so that the adults will be bringing mouthfuls of fish back to their burrows.
Accommodations on the island will be at a modern guest house featuring large private rooms, two shared baths, wi-fi, and puffins right outside your door! Meals will either be served family style at the guest house or at the island’s only restaurant and can be timed to accommodate our shooting schedule on any given day.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL : No long hikes are required, but you should be able to walk a mile with your camera on level terrain, traverse uneven terrain for shorter distances (think frost heaves ranging in size from bowling balls to medicine balls hidden by tall grass), and be able to sit or lie on the ground and get back up unassisted.
$6995 Per Person Single Occupancy / $6495 Per Person Double Occupancy
Price includes all lodging, meals, and transportation, as well as photographic instruction and in-field coaching throughout.
Use “contact” button above for more details and registration info.