The Reluctant Photographer's Guide to Wildlife Photography: Overcoming the Obstacles to Better Wildlife Images

This class will help the beginner, amateur and advanced amateur photograph learn specific skills and knowledge to advance their photography expertise. If you have never picked up a camera or you have been photographing a while, this presentation is sure to give you something to take out into the field with you. Lee will share specific images and then give you the background on how the image was made including the behind-the-scenes information such as tracking or finding the subject, knowing which camera gear to use, putting yourself in the best position to get the image, knowing how to expose the image properly, and how to use autofocus or manual focus to your advantage. Olympus is known for extremely durable, high quality camera gear that is not only great to use outdoors but lighter and more compact than the competitors. This class will also help you understand the benefits of using the Olympus OM-D system for wildlife photography.

BIO:

As owner/operator of Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours, Lee focuses his time on helping others enjoy the beauty of the Big Bend National Park Region and serving as a freelance photographer when time permits. Publishing is fun, but his main interest is in helping others find that special bird or teaching them to capture spectacular images while they are visiting Big Bend National Park or surrounding areas. He is an award-winning photographer and his images have been in Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Texas Highways, Bird Watcher's Digest, & NANPA's Expressions. He began photographing with the Olympus OM-D system in April 2019 and was named an Olympus Educator in April 2020.

He also serves as a photography workshop instructor for Wildside Nature Tours and Kevin Loughlin with destinations such as the Galapagos Islands National Park, Ecuador, Amazon Riverboat Cruise, Costa Rica, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park in winter, Mongolia, and more. You can see some of his images from these destinations on his portfolio page at www.tourbigbend.com.

His passion for birding began during his first visit to Big Bend National Park in August 1989 when a Canyon Towhee caught his eye in the Chisos Basin. Since then, he has traveled to 49 states and 7 Canadian provinces in search of the birds and wildlife of North America. Big Bend is his favorite and he has been on every trail and road in the park.

In the past, he has served as a transportation planning coordinator; roofing contractor; church planter; and supervisor of the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center in Langtry, TX. His heart has always been in photography and birding, but life circumstances prevented him from pursuing this passion full-time. Finally, in March 2018, he knew what path was ahead and Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours was born!