BALD EAGLE PHOTO WORKSHOP
A unique wildlife experience on Vancouver Island
June 23-28 2025 (1 space remaining)
July 10-15 2025 (sold out)
July 23-28 2025 (2 spots remaining)
What makes this photography workshop unique?
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An eagle photo opportunity like no other
Every year, Bald Eagles gather by the hundreds at this location to feast on hake, a fish species in the cod family. The hake are forced to the surface by strong currents, overinflating their swim bladder and leaving them vulnerable to predators. You often don’t know where to point your lens first; eagles fly down to capture hake non-stop, all-around you. You can have dozens, if not hundreds of opportunities each hour to nail the perfect action shot!
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An abundance of wildlife, on land and sea
The eagle feeding frenzy peaks for about 2 hours each day, based on the tide and currents. However, a diverse array of photogenic wildlife is abundant in this region. When the eagles aren’t active, we’ll spend the sunset hours seeking Humpback Whales, Orcas, Pacific White-sided Dolphins and more. On land, we’ll spend time seeking terrestrial birds such as the Barred Owl and other species in beautiful coastal forests.
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Right place, right time: everything is optimized to get the best photography opportunities possible.
Rather than having standardized departure times for excursions, our itinerary will be tailored to have the best wildlife photography opportunities. When the current is strong, we’ll be with the Bald Eagles. When we have beautiful sunset light, you can be sure that we’ll be out seeking wildlife. When the tide is low, we’ll look for Black Bears foraging. Our boat excursions will be captained by an experienced photographer, who will work with us to position the boat as best as possible to capture the best angles and light for photography.
Details
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The workshop is fee is based on double occupancy and includes your hotel, all meals, daily boat charters, full time guiding and instruction, and more. Single supplement (non-shared hotel room) is available for $899. Tax is 5% GST, and a conservation fee of $125 will apply and be donated directly to raptor conservation organizations.
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Booking deposit becomes non-refundable 120 days before the tour. The remaining balance is due by March 1, 2025. For cancellation 60-90 days before the trip, a 50% refund will be issued. Refunds are not available for cancellation 59 days or less prior to trip departure.
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We’ll be photographing from 12-passenger boats to leave some room for our lenses!
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These dates have been specifically selected based off of the tide schedule, and years of monitoring eagle activity.
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As we’ll spend a lot of time photographing from boats, a portable setup that you are able to handhold is recommended (for example, a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a lightweight telephoto lens such as a 100-400mm, 200-500mm, 150-600mm, etc). While longer focal lengths can be useful for whales and wildlife, the Bald Eagles sometimes come within a few metres of the boat, a distance where it’s possible to get a good shot with a wide angle lens!
Trip Leader: Liron Gertsman
You may have seen him on CBC’s “The National”, heard his voice on CBC Radio One, or seen his work in publications such Canadian Geographic magazine, Audubon magazine, The Guardian, GEO magazine, and others. Liron Gertsman has been photographing continuously since he first got his hands on a borrowed camera at the age of five. His work has been experienced by millions in some of the largest museums across the world, including the Natural History Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Liron’s work has been widely recognized and awarded, winning the professional category of the 2022 and 2024 Audubon Photography Awards, winning the grand prize of the 2023 Audubon Photography Awards, and earning a highly commended designation in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Liron has a biology degree from the University of British Columbia, which he uses to enhance his passion for art and visual storytelling, providing a scientific background to inform his understanding of the natural world.
Liron is passionate about education and ecotourism, and has been running photography tours and workshops for 10 years. He has spent over 15 years photographing Bald Eagles, and is thrilled to get the chance immerse local and international photographers alike in this spectacle.
Trip Partner:
Sample Itinerary
Each day, we’ll have a morning workshop session focusing on photography technique, and an afternoon and evening excursion to photograph the Bald Eagles and other coastal wildlife on the water. We’ll stay out until it starts to get dark every day, to take advantage of the beautiful sunset light! In between field excursions, we’ll have some (optional) time for post-processing practice, photo reviews, and seminar-style photography workshops. While we have an itinerary planned out for each day, we plan to keep things flexible with daily departure and return times in order to maximize wildlife photography opportunities. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all included.
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We’ll arrive in the late afternoon for check-in to our accommodation. Here, we’ll conduct a trip introduction and birds in flight seminar in preparation for the week’s field activities, and get to know each other over a group dinner.
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After breakfast, we’ll conduct a workshop session focused on camera settings for photographing eagles in flight and other coastal wildlife that we may encounter. This will be our window to make sure our cameras are all set up and ready to go for our excursion on the water! We’ll head out mid-day for a 9-10 hour excursion in the Discovery Islands, taking advantage of optimal tides for photographing Bald Eagles fishing, and staying out until dusk to to enjoy beautiful evening light for wildlife photography. Lunch, snacks and a field dinner will be provided.
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We’ll have some open time in the morning, where you an choose to work on photo review and post-processing, explore some local wildlife and photography hotspots, or just relax. After, we’ll head out on the water for another full day of photography, highlighted by eagles, whales and other coastal wildlife, and the sunset.
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After a morning photo post-processing workshop, we’ll head back out on the water. As we make our way towards the Bald Eagles, we’ll be watching for Black Bears foraging along the shoreline at low tide. We’ll focus on photographing Bald Eagles in the beautiful evening light, before looking for more whales and wildlife as the sun sets.
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We’ll have an optional morning excursion will take us to a coastal forest where we will search for land birds, including the beautiful and photogenic Barred Owl. After lunch, we’ll head back out on the water for another visit to the Bald Eagles fishing, and will stay out for another sunset photography session with whales or other coastal wildlife.
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We’ll chat about our trip highlights over a goodbye breakfast, followed by a group photo presentation and (optional) critique.
Limited spaces available: register to book your spot!
Testimonials
Additional FAQs
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Several years in the making, every decision behind our itinerary has been meticulously planned out. However, our plan remains flexible in order to get the best wildlife encounters and photography opportunities possible. Unlike standard wildlife tours, we don’t have strict departure and return times; we can make the most of each day, taking full advantage of wildlife photography opportunities and the beautiful sunset light on the water.
We’ll be making daily visits one to the best sites in the world for Bald Eagle photography. However, it is a relatively unknown spectacle among photographers, meaning there is plenty of room for completely new, unique and iconic images to be made. Combined with the rich diversity of wildlife that this region has to offer, there will be ample opportunities to create a photography portfolio to be proud of.
Liron has been photographing on the BC coast from the age of five, and has been working with his partners at Campbell River Whale Watching for many years. Campbell River Whale Watching brings unparalleled expertise and experience. They are out on the water all day, every day, and know the landscape and wildlife of the region better than just about anyone.
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Over the course of the workshop, we’ll spend about 32 hours on the water (~6.5 to 9 hours per day, based on the tides, wildlife activity, and light for photography).
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We’ll be photographing from open-air zodiacs designed to seat 12 guests. These boats can travel quickly and smoothly, are very sturdy for photography, and are the perfect tool for finding wildlife on the water. Passengers on the zodiacs will be fitted with survival suits, which can act as a flotation device and help keep passengers warm in the sea breeze. Sea conditions are dictated by weather, but much of the region (including the eagle hotspots) are very protected from wind and waves. Given the mild summer sea conditions and smoothness of the zodiacs, seasickness is rare. Non-drowsy motion sickness medications can be used if you are worried, or prone to sea sickness.
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Travel to and from Campbell River, alcoholic drinks, and trip insurance are not covered in the trip cost.
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Please bring a reusable water bottle, several clothing layers (it can be cold on the water, but warm on land), sunglasses, sunscreen, and closed-toe shoes. Meals and snacks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring additional snacks. For photography gear, a portable setup that you are able to handhold is recommended (for example, a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a lightweight telephoto lens such as a 100-400mm, 200-500mm, 150-600mm, etc). While longer focal lengths can be useful for whales and wildlife, the Bald Eagles sometimes come within a few metres of the boat, a distance where it’s possible to get a good shot with a wide angle lens! In addition to your camera, a pair of binoculars can be very nice to have. A tripod may be used for land excursions, if desired.
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When photographing Bald Eagles, it is not unusual for the birds to fish within a few metres of the boat. When photographing marine mammals, we will follow ethical viewing practices and government regulations (100+ metres from most whales, 200+ metres from most Orca). Given the large size of many marine cetaceans, these distances are able to provide fantastic viewing and photography opportunities.
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In addition to Bald Eagles, we will spend time on the water looking for Humpback Whales, Orcas, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Steller’s Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, and Black Bears. Other mammals that we may encounter include Dall’s Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, and North American River Otter. A multitude of seabird species are possible on the water, including Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, three cormorant species, Bonaparte’s Gulls, and many more. On land, we will make a trip to look for Barred Owls, and other terrestrial bird species. While wildlife sightings are impossible to fully predict, this is a highly biodiverse and wildlife-rich region, so the odds are very much in our favour! The trip leader and boat captain have strong identification skills, so are happy to identify birds, wildlife, invertebrates, plants, and other living organisms that reside in this diverse coastal ecosystem.
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Limited physical activity is required, as most of our time will be spent on boats. Some of our morning excursions may take us on short hikes (up to around 1.5km) on relatively flat ground. These will be done at a slow pace, in order to keep an eye out for wildlife and photo opportunities.
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We’ll be staying at Campbell River’s newest hotel, a short walk from where we’ll depart on boat excursions.
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While we do have an itinerary planned out, our schedule is flexible. This will allow for us to make the most of wildlife encounters, good light, and overall photography opportunities. All activities are optional.
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We’ll be based out of Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We are able to travel hundreds of kilometers on the water in the high-speed zodiacs, put will plan our route each day based on wildlife sightings and photography opportunities.
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Having a boat captain that understands photography is critical in order to get the best shots possible. We’ll be working with an experienced boat captain from Campbell River Whale Watching, who has worked with us for several years. Our captain is an experienced wildlife photographer and naturalist, which will allow us to work directly with them to position the boat for the best photography opportunities! We’ll have the same captain each day.
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We aim to have a fun, positive, easy-going and non-competitive group atmosphere! While the goals of the workshop are to achieve fantastic photos and practice and develop our photography technique, we want to make every moment enjoyable, both in and out of the field.
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Between our morning field trips and our afternoon/evening excursions on the water, we’ll have some time back at the hotel. We’ll hold some photography presentations and post-processing workshops during this time, but all activities are optional; guests are welcome to take time to rest as desired.
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As much or as little as you want! The group size is designed to allow personalized attention. In addition to field instruction, workshop activities include optional indoor seminars and post-processing sessions.
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Yes! Carbon emissions from all tour activities (transportation, boat excursions, etc) are offset through a partnership with Wilderness International. Some fees from the workshop go directly to the permanent protection of old growth forest in British Columbia.
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Yes! We will reach out to you to find out your dietary preferences in advance of the trip.
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The trip price is based on double occupancy, but single supplement is available for $1000.
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Presentations, workshops, and some meals will take place at the hotel. However, If you have your own place to stay and can travel to the hotel (the departure point for field excursions), we may be able to provide a discount on your trip fee.
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Smoking is prohibited during group workshop activities.