Trogon Photo Tours

WASHINGTON ORCAS, EAGLES, FOXES AND MORE PHOTO TOUR

June 19-26, 2021

Photo Workshop: This workshop includes three 5 hour afternoon private Orca and seabird boat trips on a 38 foot boat specially designed for photography, it's low to the water and very stable.  Our main targets on these trips will be Orcas and Tufted Puffins but also other birds and wildlife.  Each morning we will photograph Bald Eagles and a variety of other subjects including Red Foxes and other bird species. We spend 3 nights on San Juan Island where the boat trips leave from and 3 nights in Silverdale near to the location where we have historically led our Bald Eagle workshops.  There are a total of 6 sessions during which we will be photographing Bald Eagles.  

Cost and Logistics:  Cost is $4,950 per photographer with a $700 single supplement.  Cost for a nonphotographer spouse/companion is $3,950.  The arrival and departure city if you are flying in is Seattle.  The cost includes all lodging, local transportation, boat trips, guiding and instruction.  It does not include meals, tips or items of a personal nature. 



Tour Leaders: Nate Chappell and Ken Archer.  Nate will give classroom presentations for those who are interested and both Ken and Nate will help you with in field instruction.  Nate and Ken are both award winning wildlife photographers.  

Maximum Participants: 8 including photographers and nonphotographer spouses/companions.  Our boat is designed to hold up to 16 passengers so we will have plenty of space for shooting and gear. 

Itinerary:

June 19th - Arrival to Seatac International Airport, Seattle, WA.  Transfer to a nice hotel near the airport.  Evening presentation on bird and wildlife photography.

June 20th - Morning outing at a local park or presentation with Nate depending on preference.  Then we will drive to Anacortes, WA and take the ferry across to San Juan Island.  At 4pm we will have our first 5 hour Orca and Seabird trip.  We will be photographing during the golden hours all the way up to sunset.  A nice hotel in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.

June 21st and 22nd - Each morning we will have an outing to a local park, our main targets there are Bald Eagles and Red Foxes.  The eagles often perch on rocks and driftwood in this area and there are 2 families of Red Fox in the area, with the black phase being common here.  We will also photograph other birds such as Black Oystercatcher.  Each afternoon we will have our 5 hour boat trip where we will photograph Orcas, Puffins, Seals and other seabirds.  We depart at 4pm each afternoon and return around 9:30 to take advantage of the best light, then we return to our hotel in Friday Harbor. 

June 23rd - One more morning with the eagles and foxes on San Juan Island followed by check out.  We will have 2 ferry rides to get to our next photography location on the north end of Hood Canal.  Here we will visit a Pigeon Guillemot colony.  We will then continue to our next hotel, the Best Western in Silverdale, Washington. 

June 24th and 25th - Each morning we will head out to Hood Canal to photograph Bald Eagles feasting on spawning fish.  They compete with each other, Great Blue Herons and Glaucous-winged Gulls over the food source.  It makes for excellent action and flight photography.  On sunny days the backdrop is the Olympic Mountains which makes for stunning backgrounds.  This is the only spot we know of where battles between herons and eagles are common.  One afternoon we will visit a local feeding station to photograph songbirds and woodpeckers. 

June 26th - One more morning of eagle photography out at Hood Canal, then return to the hotel check and transfer to the airport for your flight home.  Your return flight should be in the afternoon or we can book you one more night in Silverdale or near the airport. You will head home with a lot of great images and memories.