Every fall in Haines, Alaska bald eagles congregate along the Chilkat River. A fall salmon run attracts these magnificent birds, resulting in the largest gathering of bald eagles in the world. Their numbers are staggering. More than 3000 eagles arrive, and it is not uncommon to have hundreds of birds in trees across the river. This is a bucket list trip for wildlife photographers. Imagine listening to the constant chattering of bald eagles while viewing multiple birds in your camera viewfinder feasting on salmon. Amazing!
14 Nov 2027 - 19 Nov 2027 | 2:00 pm - 2:00 pm
$5299
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Haines Road, Haines, AK, USA
All Skill Levels
We will meet our group in Haines at the ferry dock to begin our adventure. After checking into the hotel, we will have an afternoon photography session in the field.
For the photographer, there is no easier place to photograph bald eagles in the wild than Haines. Each day we will take a short drive to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and spend our day photographing the birds. The eagles often fight over salmon giving photographers ample chances to photograph these encounters. Frequent flybys give photographers plenty of chances to capture birds in flight against the rugged snow-capped Takinsha Mountains. In the evenings we will review images and work on editing.
You will have a lot of fun, improve your photography, and create images worthy of hanging in your home.
What you will learn:
- Exposure
- Composition
- Wildlife Photography techniques
- Photographing birds in flight
- Editing in Lightroom and PhotoShop
A typical day: Our days focus on photographing the eagles. Our goal is to help you learn how to take compelling eagle photos with hands on instruction. We will cover camera settings, anticipating behavior, and specialty topics like auto-focus patterns. and pan/blur techniques.
Alaska Weather: Occasionally the weather in Alaska will cause travel delays. This time can be used for editing images or photographing the area. This is a regular part of photographing in Alaska and may result in rescheduling flights or hotel stays at the participants’ expense.
Hotel: We will be staying at the Captain’s Choice in Haines. The hotel is right on the waterfront and is within easy walking distance of local restaurants. Lodging is included in the workshop fee.
Closest Airport: Juneau, Alaska
Getting to Haines: The dates of the trip were planned to coincide with the Alaska State Ferry Schedule. The easiest and most reliable way to travel to Haines is to fly to Juneau and take the morning ferry to Haines on Sunday. Consider flying to Juneau on Friday to give yourself an extra day buffer in case of weather delays. We are happy to recommend hotels, restaurants and places to photograph in Juneau.
What to Bring
Recommended camera gear:
- 1-2 camera bodies (back up body recommended)
- Lenses ranging from wide angle 24mm to 70-200mm
- Wildlife telephoto lens – 300mm or more (200-500mm or similar works great)
- Tripod
- Polarizing filter
- Laptop for editing and critique
Caption
UK
Model
f/8.0
20.0 mm
1/5
1/5
50
