For those who love bird photography, there are few places on the east coast that provide more opportunities to photograph a large variety of species with so little effort. The Rookery at the Ocean City Welcome Center is a fantastic spot for photographing birds in flight, nesting birds, and possibly some babies, too! Species normally found there include great egrets, black-crowned night herons, glossy ibis, white ibis and more.

We will begin early in the morning at the rookery, and spend several hours photographing the birds from a variety of vantage points, both from the bridge above and ground level below. When the group has had their fill, we will take a break and grab a bite to eat. We then have several options available depending on the group preference. We can visit another nearby wildlife refuge for more bird photography-this time potentially including osprey, then wander the boardwalk playing with a bunch of creative compositions and techniques. For those interested in staying the entire day, we will photograph sunset and blue hour from the beach, create long exposure images of the surf and pier, then head to the amusement areas for some creative light painting doing long exposures with the amusement rides.

This will be a full day of fun and photography for all levels of photographers. We can work with whatever gear you have, but to best capture the birds up close, a minimum of 300mm lens is suggested. Telephoto lenses that extend to 400 or 600mm are ideal. If you do not have a long telephoto lens, there are a variety of places that rent them for the day or weekend. More details will be given a few weeks prior to the event. A super wide angle to mid-range lens would work best for the boardwalk and amusement rides.

Full details will be given several weeks prior to the event. This will include lodging suggestions for those that may be traveling from several hours away. If interested in staying overnight, you should secure a hotel as soon as possible

A pre-trek class will take place via Zoom prior to the event to go through all the details for the day. We will review images of what you can expect to see and shoot, and instruction on all techniques to use throughout the day. Participants should be comfortable with their camera and how to change settings such as aperture, shutter speeds, ISO, focus points, etc. Instruction will be given throughout the entirety of the day.

Workshop fee includes admission to our private Facebook group, where you will become part of a friendly and fun community of photo enthusiasts, be able to share images from the day, and interact with not only other participants from this workshop, but those who have participated in past workshops, as well. It is a fantastic way to stay in touch and continue the learning long beyond the event itself. Fee also includes an image review following the workshop. Participants will share 1 or 2 images which we will review together. You will receive helpful feedback on your images, including suggestions you could make to improve the image, as well as editing tips to help bring out the best in your images.

Event is weather-permitting. In case of rain, we will reschedule to Saturday June 17th. Same time

Transportation to Ocean City and meals are not included. We will carpool from our first meeting location as we travel throughout the day.