Falkland Islands Trip Report

December 8, 2025

On my way to the airport I realized that I had forgotten to pack my hiking boots. I had to make a quick stop at a Dick’s sporting goods store enroute. They had a terrible selection of waterproof hikers in my size. I had to settle for a close fit… ugh. I hated buying a half size “too small” but the thought of walking around for two weeks in lightweight kicks pushed the sale. I was going to hold-off and see what was available in Stanley, but feared that I would be living too close to the edge. I had been keeping an eye on the weather all week before the trip and the forecast up until the day I left was calling for extreme rain and wind with a chance of snow— yikes!

My flight from JFK in NY to Santiago Chile was about 9 hours. On my flight and in my group was Alison Kelly, she is so nice and fun to be with. She is good friends with Kitty Kono (longtime friend/client) and Kitty asked me to take good care of her. I also saw my old friend Kevin Watson boarding the same plane. Our flight boarded on time but it felt like forever before we took-off. My group and I stayed the night in Santiago to catch our early morning flight into Stanley.

Our itinerary started off with a free day in Stanley. It’s a good time to grab some last minute goodies at the local grocery and to do some packing adjustments.

Our first island visit was the at the “Neck”on Saunders island. The accommodation is an old shipping container once used by researchers. It is now fondly called the cabin. The cabin is a bit rustic but extremely well located on a remote beach teaming with wildlife. You literally feel like you’ve been dropped off in the middle of nowhere at the end of the world.

While at the Neck, we enjoyed great weather. We had a mix of extreme wind and sun which allowed for some great photo opportunities. The Gentoo penguins just started hatching their eggs and there were plenty of little chicks to photograph. Not to mention Skuas and Johnny Rooks that were strategically placed along the edges of the colony, waiting for their next meal. The Black-browed albatross colony had lots of eggs but no chicks yet. The adults were still in courtship mode (my favorite time) and spent their days doing synchronized movements. They repeatedly crossed and tapped their bills together, sometimes making a clanking sound. They also spend time preening each other. All of this intimate behavior makes for great photos.

During our time on Saunders we enjoyed photographing the very animated and fearless Rockhopper penguins leap out of the water onto the cliff rocks. Sometimes the waves and winds came crashing in with great force. It was hard not to feel bad for the tiny penguins as they slammed into the rocks.

They reminded me of soldiers coming out of the water to work.

One of my favorites, Rockhopper lost in the surf!

There were a large number of King penguins (approximately 23), with one Oakem boy and a handful of juvies. One afternoon, we watched as the young kings spent time in the surf playing and fighting with each other. The whole group got some great photos and had lots of laughs watching them.

In addition to penguins at the Neck, we had several chances with the Commerson’s dolphins playing in the huge surf. There was even a large Leopard seal surfing the coast looking for his next meal. Overall the Neck was a very productive stop on our adventure.

Leopard seal surfing the shoreline for food!

Commerson’s dolphin, I loved the simple abstract pattern of the dolphins in the water.

Our next island visit was at Sea Lion. Sea Lion Island is one of my favorite stops on the itinerary. The welcoming feel the moment you touch down on the island is unsurpassable. The lodge has a nice layout and you immediately feel that you are back in civilization after leaving the Neck- <wink>.

We spent a lot of our time on North Beach and South Beach while on Sea Lion. Both beaches are very different in terms of photography but both are well worth the time.

While on Sea Lion we saw four Orcas hunting in and around the orca pool. It was great fun to try to keep an eye out for them. We saw loads of Elephant seal, all bulls and weaners, two large colonies of Gentoo penguins, 2 small colonies of Rockhopper penguins, Silvery grebes with a chick, Magellanic oystercatchers with chicks, King penguins, snipe, giant petrels, Striated caracara and so much more…

Elephant seal weaner in the surfs edge, slow shutter speed-1/25th second.

Mama Kelp goose brooding 4 chicks, with one popping gout.

Southern giant petrels. I wish the background line wasn’t intersecting them.

Our third stop was a visit to Bleaker Island, which is another favorite. The lodge on Bleaker is lovely and the food is always fantastic. Bleaker has an enormous colony of Imperial cormorants. There are also nice cliffs for photographing rockhoppers. Plus their gorgeous beach is by far the best place to capture penguins darting out of the water. We had some great sightings including a Macaroni penguin, a leucistic (partially white) Imperial Cormorant and a Northern Rockhopper. Those special sightings kept us all pretty busy! We also saw loads of Sea lions.

leucistic Imperial Cormorant, this one reminds me of a penguin.

Volunteer Point was our second to last stop. It is another must see and always on my route. The King penguin colony is huge and photographing them on the beach is a real treat. This year the kings put on quite a show as did the weather with a mix of rain, hail and sunshine. But overall, the ominous clouds added to some of the photos.

Volunteer Point, King penguins n high-key.

We also went up north to Cape Bougainville to look for Macaroni penguins, we found six. The weather again gave us a bit of a workout but hey, bad weather forces you to be creative.

Overall, I loved my group and had a very enjoyable photo adventure in the Falklands. I’m already looking forward to getting back there!

For most of these pictures, I used my Sony 200-600mm lens and my Sony A1 body, thankfully I always travel with 2 bodies as one failed due to extreme weather on the Neck.

Tender Moments

November 20, 2025

I am heading to the Falkland Islands today. I will be slightly off-grid for two weeks. If you sign up for a workshop or send me an email, just know that I will respond to your email or sign up as soon as possible . In the meantime, I want to share some sweet images with you. I hope to capture some of these kind of images while I am away.

When I think about what type of photography makes me happiest, it would have to be capturing tiny chicks or newborn kits or cubs. The younger the better, and also the more the merrier! It doesn’t matter if I’m belly down on the beach or out on safari in Africa. My goal is to seek out the young ones. I especially look for any kind of interaction or tender moments.

I wanted to share some of my favorite tender moment shots from over the years. Let me know if you were with me when I captured any of them.

Piping plover with chicks-there is another one that it is brooding.

A totally exhausted sow with four cubs, takes time out from her nap to reassure her favorite cub.

Gentoo penguin with newly hatched chick.

Cheetah with very young cub, still with its mantle

Zebra pair showing off their unique foal named Tira -the spotted zebra.

Clients Images ~ Creativity Workshop in Charleston

November 18, 2025

The above image was created at Magnolia Plantation by Jeri Mearns. Jeri lives in Kiawah and she is my new neighbor! Her eye for creative compositions was spot on. I appreciated her processing skills and use of natural light. BTW, the images are listed in order that I received them. Not everyone shared….

The image above was created by photographer Luc Schoonjans. Luc used Photoshop filters to create a unique look for this otherwise drab toned headstone. The assignment was to create something different and I think he did just that!

The above image was captured by Laurie Morgan. Laurie used her iPhone exclusively and she was an absolute inspiration. This in-phone multiple exposure of one of the bridges at Magnolia Gardens wowed us all!

The above image was created by Rachel Rosenthal. I really liked the way she composed this and the bokeh in the background.

Last but not least, is Matt Newman’s image of a tombstone. I liked his unusual perspective and the conversion he did in post processing.

Overall, it was a ton of fun and everyone shared some nice photos—but more importantly they stretched their photography wings!

I love this little garden. I used an infrared camera and in post processing I converted it to B&W. I used the remove tool to get rid of a building in the background—surprisingly it worked great.

Charleston Trip Report

November 8, 2025

My “Recharging Your Creativity” workshop was a great success and also lot of fun. I had a terrific group of photographers that were willing to experiment and try new techniques in an effort to expand their personal growth.

In addition to my Photoshop lessons and demos everyone was willing to work together and share ideas and resources. That’s what I love about these type of workshops; the sharing that goes on between likeminded photographers. It’s easy to create in a space where collaboration and experimentation is undefined.

We visited some of Charleston’s favorite low country photo spots. In a town like Charleston it’s impossible not to see a photo everywhere you go. I gave photo assignments and themes throughout our time together. So many creative images were captured. I tried to select one from each participant to share. I will be sharing those in an upcoming post once I collect them from everyone.

The group worked on creative blurs, B&W, composites, abstracts, multiple exposures both in-camera and in post processing, etc… Again, it was lots of fun. I can’t wait to announce next years trip! Below are a couple of my images that I processed from the trip. But just a few because I want my clients images to reflect our time together—so stay tuned for those.

I created a softness with both a bright exposure and an applied filter (peachy look) to add some softness and color toning.

The wind and Spanish moss helped to create the softness for this Camellia image. In post processing, I added a bit more softening.

I used an infrared converted camera to create this look for this shot.

This is a composite of 3 images. One soft, one sharp and one leafy image to create the look.

Mara-Samburu Trip Report

October 22, 2025

The beginning of our safari was in the Masai Mara. Of course, we used our same Maasai drivers and had some really special sightings.

During our time in the Mara, we had the great pleasure of an up-close encounter with “Olopono,” one of the large male leopards. He was hidden behind a bush, as we drove around the bush, we were able to capture both a tight head shot and a shot of him slipping into the bush. I captured one shot that I liked and processed it in a dark manner. I know some people would like the image lighter, but I liked the idea of him being elusive and wanted my image to reflect that.

We also spotted a cheetah searching for food, but she never quite made the effort to hunt. She seemed preoccupied with something lurking behind her. We searched but saw nothing. We only had a couple of cheetah sightings in the Mara. This was the year of the lions!

On our very first full day we had two of the Fig Tree pride female lions on a hunt for some pumba (aka warthogs) piglets. We noticed the warthog family of four (2 babies with adults) up the hill from the lionesses. The adult pumba led the piglets down the hill straight toward the lions. Oh no! The one lion gave a short chase that ended directly in front of us. The other lioness never even joined in on the chase. Sadly, after that piglet was captured, the other piglet, (still hidden in the grass) let out a squeal and started to run, the lioness dropped the one piglet then quickly captured the other piglet; she ate them both without sharing a morsel.

Fig Tree lioness with warthog, going after second one.

We also spent time photographing the Rekero pride with three male lions. One of the males had an injured eye and years of battle scars. He walked slowly as if he were in a great deal of pain —but didn’t want anyone to know. In that pride, there was a lioness with a single cub; apparently, she had lost her other two cubs due to carelessness. I was able to get a soft backlit image of the mother with her cub.

Some of our sightings included: watching a pair of ostrich mating in the rain, a giraffe shaking off oxpeckers at last light, topi’s head butting, mongooses on a termite hill, buffalo roaming and hyena pups playing near their den.

We also photographed five other jackal pups being fed by not only both adults but one older sibling that was on hand to help mom feed her pups. It was interesting to learn that fully grown jackals from a previous litter often help feed the next gen. Again, the Mara delivers!

In Samburu, our first game drive started off a bit slower than usual. But soon one of our guides spotted a leopard up a tree, everyone in the vehicle got a shot of it coming down the tree before it ran off to hide in the brush. We were told before getting to Samburu that a cheetah mom with three cubs had been spotted recently. So, we spent some time looking for that family…

Next, we got a call that a leopard with two young cubs was seen up a tree. But by the time we got there, we only got a glimpse of the momma and her cubs. It turns out that it was the same female leopard with cubs that I had photographed in June. It was nice to see that the cubs have not only survived but are getting bigger and stronger.

We also managed to find the female cheetah with three young cubs. They were absolutely adorable. Slender, yet leggy and all three had full bellies. Momma was tall and thin, and looked ready for a meal. She was still nursing the cubs which were between 3-4 months old. We watched her at last light walk her cubs to a safe location then we picked them up again in the morning where we watched as she tried —but failed to capture a Gerenuk after a very short chase.

This cheetah cub was very rambunctious, we all guessed he was the male as he chased birds, rabbits and anything else he spotted.

Other sightings included a pair of Beisa oryx head butting in the dusty sand for some nice backlit images, Grévy's zebra, a Secretarybird with a mouse, a Bateleur eagle fluffing its feathers, several Lilac-breasted rollers, a Kori Bustard displaying and lots, lots more. Plus, the never-ending supply of baboons and Vervet monkeys with little babies.

Overall, we ended up having some really nice photo opportunities and a great time in Samburu. You just never know what you’ll see or get to photograph. I think it’s the “not knowing” what will unfold during a safari that keeps me engaged and wanting more.

That concludes my 35 days in Kenya with three separate groups. And, as much as I have loved every minute of being on safari, I’m ready to go home and see my family.

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