Lorne Resnick, whose work has been featured on Shutter Bug and who won the Travel Photographer of the Year award in 2005, offers one the opportunity to photograph Cuba and its people in grand fashion.

Enjoy a video from his December 2010 tour:

Based in Los Angeles, Lorne Resnick, was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. His passion for travel and photography keeps him moving around the globe exploring different cultures and countries, capturing unique moments. His pursuit of unique and compelling images has led him to Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Greenland, Cuba, China, across Europe and 22 countries in Africa.

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From his first book of photographs, “Live in Concert: 10 years of Rock and Roll”, published in 1987, to his latest work-in-progress, fine art coffee table book Cuba Dreaming, Resnick has always strived to create images that probe beyond the everyday facade to capture the essential meaning and character of his subjects.

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He has lived in Amsterdam for six years working on commercial projects and spent more than a year in each of Cuba and Africa working on long-term book projects. Resnick’s striking commercial and fine art images have been exhibited in galleries across Europe and America, and have been used commercially for annual reports, billboards, television, web sites and for worldwide advertising campaigns. He currently has eleven fine art posters published of his travel work.

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Lorne’s travel photography workshops are geared toward every participant skill level. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you will gain valuable insights, while creating images in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Whether your passion is landscape photography, nature, people or wildlife photography. Lorne will have you seeing the way you create photos in whole new ways. The emphasis will be on shooting, techniques (workflow, digital exposure, photoshop, etc.,) and discussions focused on unlocking your personal vision. Each participant will have plenty of opportunity for individual attention, questions and portfolio reviews.

Cuba offers travelers a myriad of artistic, social and sensual pleasures. The art, music and architecture are unparalleled in the Western Hemisphere, the tropical waters sparkling blue, and the people are as warm as a Caribbean breeze. Defying all logic, the world’s 105th-largest country is also one of its most instantly recognizable. Think psychedelic Che Guevara murals and antediluvian American Buicks; guys with bongos and old men slapping down dominoes; fishermen on inner-tubes and taxi drivers smoking chunky Montecristos. Cuba has a way of going against the grain. It’s all part of its historical make-up, part of its dynamism, part of its intrinsic beauty.

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Sitting pretty as the Caribbean’s largest and most vivacious city, Havana’s romantic atmosphere and infectious energy are the stuff of legend. Amid the warm crystalline waters of the sparkling Caribbean, over 500 years of roller-coaster history have conspired to create one of Latin America’s most electric and culturally unique societies. The stomping ground for swashbuckling pirates, a heavily fortified slave port for the Spanish and a lucrative gambling capital for the North American Mafia, Havana has survived everything that has been thrown at it and still found time to innovate. At the forefront of modern Latino culture, Havana has spawned salsa and mambo, Havana Club rum and Cohiba cigars, mural painting and Che Guevara iconography. Nowhere else but in the streets of Havana is Spanish colonial architecture so abundant. Everywhere you look there is a unique image begging to be recorded.

Whether by bustling, colorful day or sultry, salsa-filled night, so much of Havana’s daily life is acted out in its streets and squares- and the best way to encounter it is on foot. We’ll hit the streets of all the captivating neighborhoods, with their brilliant natural lighting at any time of day, to discover the essence of the city itself.

Old Havana contains the core of the original city of Havana. It is one of the oldest settlements in the Americas, full of charming, weatherworn buildings and narrow, intriguing roadways. Old Havana is one of the most unique, atmospheric places on the planet. Between the people, the buildings, the music, the history and the food – walking the streets of Old Havana will sweep even the most unsentimental of travelers off their feet.

Lorne has been traveling to Cuba since 1995. During that time he has totaled more than 16 months shooting in Cuba, much of it in Havana. He considers Havana a second home and one of the most photogenic places on the planet. You can see a twenty-minute video of interviews from Cuba here (along with many more images) from his upcoming book on Cuba, Cuba Dreaming – life in the moment.

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Cuba, the Samba and vivid colors and light, all within one’s list of places to visit and photograph.

PTR highly recommends the tours to Cuba offered by Lorne Resnick. He has earned our ✭✭✭✭✭ five star rating.

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One can book a tour with Lorne by visiting his website.

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Photographs courtesy of Glenn Bartley, Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved.

For those who enjoy Bird Photography the choice of which photo seminar to attend is difficult as there are hundreds of tours offered.

How does one choose which one to attend?

As the PTR Team has stated many times, get to know the photographer who offers the seminar and then ask some fundamental questions:

Is the photographer recognized for his/her work?

Is what the photographer offers unique and different?

Will the seminar improve one’s technical skills?

Is the cost of the seminar reasonable?

What have those who have attended the photographer’s seminars said about their experiences?

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Is the photographer recognized for his/her work?

Glenn Bartley has a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Studies, among his recent publications are two books, highly praised for their quality:

“Birds of Vancouver Island: A Photographic Journey”

“Birds in Ecuador: A Photographic Journey”

Moreover, he has written countless articles about Photoshop techniques, photographic equipment, photography locations, and bird species.

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His articles have been published in magazines, including:  Birding, Bird Watchers Digest, Canadian Wildlife, and Nature Photographer.

His photographs have appeared in National Geographic and Audubon Magazines.

He continues to work on projects with the National Geographic Society.

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Is what the photographer offers unique and different?

Glenn’s tours include travel to some of the most remote places in the Western Hemisphere, and range from Costa Rica and Ecuador in South America to Vancover Island and Churchill in North America.

Visit cloud forests in Ecuador then travel by boat down the Amazon in pursuit of rare bird species.

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Or, tour  Vancouver Island, which is without question one of the most beautiful places on earth.  Home to majestic mountains, lush temperate rainforests and miles of breathtaking coastline it seems that natural beauty can be found anywhere you look.  In addition to its scenic beauty Vancouver Island possesses a variety of wildlife including numerous species of birds, ocean mammals such as seals and killer whales, bears, otters and a fantastic selection of butterflies.

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Such opportunities are different and perhaps unique to bird photography.

While Glenn specializes in Bird Photography, his tours also include opportunities for Landscape Photography.

His wide range of tours can be found here.

Will the seminar improve one’s technical skills?

Too often, the PTR Team hears about seminar leaders who spend their time shooting and not teaching.  Glenn is a teacher, whose knowledge goes well beyond camera equipment and lenses, but gets into the special techniques and post production workflows which can transform one’s skills from beginner to accomplished nature photographer.  Comments from his tour participants stress how much Glenn works to help participants improve their works.

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Is the cost of the seminar reasonable?

Photographic seminars can be extremely expensive to attend.  We looked at Glenn’s offerings to judge whether his charges are reasonable.

One good example is his 17-day tour of Ecuador, including the Amazon River, for approximately $6,000.  This is an excellent price considering that he is covering one’s ground transportation, air transportation in country, and boat transportation.  All lodging and meals are included.  And, he limits participants to six persons!  Given the remote locations, the cost of $350 per day is exceedingly reasonable.

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He offers others tours for far less, particularly his tour of Vancover Island.  Lengths of tours can be varied as well.

A complete listing of his tours can be found at his website.

What have those who have attended the photographer’s seminars said about their experiences?

”Glenn Bartley is an exceptional teacher when it comes to the ‘computer’ and its many applications and challenges. As a recent student of his, I have admired his infinite patience and encouragement during my struggles at grasping new concepts. Not only do I appreciate his ability to teach, I am also captivated by his style of expression when depicting nature in photographs. His shared wisdom, and teaching style, can benefit anyone in his company. I have also enjoyed this same experience while participating in one of Glenn’s recent photo workshops to Churchill. I hope to continue to learn much more with Glenn in the world of computers and with photographic forays into the world of Nature.” Marie O. – 2010

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“Theresa and I would like to thank you for an excellent workshop in Victoria.  Overall, the experience far exceeded our expectations.  Your knowledge of the individual species and local habitat put us in the right place with the right light.  Your attention to detail ensured we were getting the best opportunity for shooting.  Your excellent photographic skills allowed you to make individual suggestions that were quite helpful in the field.” Bill & Theresa P. – 2010

“Glenn is an exceptional, hard-working photographer and always puts his client’s needs first. Locations are well researched and – if the circumstances aren’t ideal – he always makes the best out of it. I would certainly come back for another tour. ” Roland M. – 2010

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Glenn Bartley Photography has earned the Photo Travel Magazine Rating of Five Stars (✭✭✭✭✭). The PTR Team highly recommends his tours for their unique offerings, costs, and personalized attention that every workshop participant wants. Moreover, we are impressed with Glenn’s credentials — few bird photographers have received such acclaim or can point to similar achievements from among the best nature magazines in the world — National Geographic and Audubon to mention two.

The following video, produced by Glenn, may provide you with some insight into what is special about his offerings.

As a teenager I read a lot. One of my favorite books was “Born Free” by an English author Joy Adamson. She is a famous traveler, who lived for many years in Africa with her husband, Kenya’s wildlife protection inspector, and wrote an interesting story about a lioness Elsa and her cubs. Her book accurately describes the habits, behavior and reactions to the environment and people of the growing lion cub and later an adult lioness living in the wild, and her cubs. It was this book that helped me create a dream to see the distant Africa and its nature, safari and animals living there.

Last year, in November – the dream suddenly materialized – in the vastness of the Internet in search of a relaxing trip I have found one agency offering a two week holiday in an exotic and distant Kenya for a relatively low price. After a short discussion and some doubt on the reliability of this offer a mutual decision was taken to go. The hardest part of the trip were two flights lasting more than 14 hours from Kaunas to London and form London to Mombasa and the inevitable fatigue due to long, uncomfortable seating, and swelling legs. But the idea to see a distant land provided more excitement.

First impressions on arrival

First impression – pretty small airport of Mombasa, stuffy and long queues to obtain a visa in Kenya. We reached the hotel we stayed in by bus and just when we entered the room the first action was to inspect the bathroom – it was clean; and when we opened the door to the balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean the view was amazing.

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Second impression – where is the water? We had a first close-up view of an interesting natural rhythm: low water in the middle of the day and floods just after lunch. Tempted by curiosity some of us went walking on the bottom of the exposed beach. It was covered with stones, grass, and you could perfectly see the fauna of the ocean in the shallow water – various fishes, dangerous hedgehog plantations, crabs in the burrows, many small shells, sea stars, and since one of the locals volunteered to show everything around, he not only caught the creatures, but gave us a lot of information about ocean animals. Since it was very interesting we didn’t even notice that we went far enough from the hotel and on our way back we already realized having made a fundamental mistake – staying too long in the sun made our bodies red, and when we later started to painfully peel out off the old skin – we jokingly named this experience a walk in Hell Safari.

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Acquaintance with the locals

In the evening, when the ocean “returned” we all finally got a good swim and then started to look around – well where did we get: what are the local people, prices, traditions, entertainment, travel deals. Kenya’s ethnic population diversity is very high, over 40 tribes, each with its own language, but most locals are fluent in English, and among themselves use a common tongue – Swahili.

In the beginning seeing that we have just arrived traders were quite active offering their products – headscarves, paintings, cruises and safaris, bone and wooden souvenirs, art wares and jewelery for an excessively high price. However, during further communication they realized that we are not Germans and not English, they became more accommodating. When we told them where we are from and how many of us are left, our story was followed by their jolly laughter – because Lithuania has a smaller population than their capital Nairobi.

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Local residents addressed a woman “Madame” or “Mama” and the men were addressed “Papa”. At first I was a little surprised because it’s strange to hear it when you don’t have children, but then I got used to it. When I plaited my hair into nearly three hundred braids the entire beach began greeting me with joy – “Jambo Mama Africa”. I liked to see that elderly tourists are very respected, cared for and protected here. Most of the locals are good-natured and kind to the surrounding people, as they say – if they behaved otherwise, this would reduce per capita income from tourism and sales.

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On the beach in a local agency, we ordered as many as three trips: 2-day sightseeing trip in Mombasa ($ 200), one day Safari in Tsavo East National Park ($ 150), and a holiday trip to Vasinio Island ($ 60) with diving ($ 60) and snorkeling.

By the way, I recommend to book trips from official travel companies’ employees who are wearing a tee-shirt with the logo, otherwise you may be left without money and travel.

A trip in Mombasa

Frankly this city didn‘t make an impression on me – there is no extraordinary architecture, only uproar in the market, mess and piles of trash lying on the ground in some places in the middle of the city that is a real eyesore, and unpleasant odors make you turn away your nose while passing by. My impression: huge dark mess. The majority of the population is Muslim – Mijikenda is an ethnic group, so taking pictures is not recommended, in order to avoid possible conflict, as well as in some state or protected areas. The city is built on the island, so the water flowing from the water supply is the salty Indian Ocean water, and fresh bottled water comes from the Kilimanjaro. In the central streets mendicant disabled and fruit merchants are trying to approach the tourists. I had an opportunity to watch as in the evening the city is flooded with a large crowd of people who live in small towns near Mombasa and only work in the city. The same picture was in the morning too.

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Nightlife in Mombasa is different – the young have fun in the clubs and dress in style. In the discos people dance till dawn, and I as an outsider was very interested in monitoring their communication, their original dances, relations between young local girls and older Europeans.

The long-awaited safari

In Africa going on Safari in Swahili means “a journey” – it is the refusal of civilization amenities in the name of the wilderness. And I always wanted to see other wildlife, the animals at close range.

Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya, its total area is 11,747 square kilometers. It was opened in 1948, the park is located near the village of Voi. The park is divided into eastern and western parts. It was named after the Tsavo River, which flows from the West to the East through the National Park, bordering with Chyulu Hills National Park and Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania.

The park is accessible only through the three main gates: Manyani, near the village of Voi, Bachuma if you arrive from Mombasa or from Malindi side. Our group of travelers arrived at the park through Bachuma gate. A ticket for one person costs $ 50 for a period of 24 hours. Several local merchants were waiting at the gate rather obsessively offering to buy headgear – sunscreen safari hat for a much higher price than usual, so you must always negotiate.

Most of the park vegetation is semi-arid grasslands and savanna. It is believed that it is one of the world’s biodiversity strongholds, and its popularity has led to large quantities of various wild animals, therefore you can see the famous “big five” animals which are the Masai lion, black rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard. We were lucky and we saw giraffes, elephant herds, herds of buffalos, a leopard, a lioness lying lazily in the bushes, gazelles and various small animals, zebras, ostriches, monkeys, varans, even some wild birds from a close-up.

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But if one has enough financial possibilities I would recommend visiting the Masai Mara – it is the most popular.

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Entertainment & Leisure

Traveling to and from the Vasinio Island we had a chance to see a completely different picture – isolated villages and areas rarely visited by tourists, and we could see the fragments of Muslim religious festivals held there. Underwater World was perhaps not as impressive as in the Red Sea, but we liked the punt with the sea turtles, watching exotic fishes and admiring coral reefs.

Having returned to the hotel after long journeys, we simply relaxed on the beach, and later each individually chose mini-trips around on the boat, beach picnics or a visit to the local villages and nearby crocodile farm. The most delicious food – fresh seafood – was served in the nearby Coco beach. All hotels took care of evening entertainment for their guests: snake shows, acrobats, music and dancing.

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The more you travel in this country, the more African colors you can see – from poverty and trash lying in the middle of the city to nicely handled private or park areas, but I was most charmed by the wild nature of Kenya and somewhat shocked by significant difference between daytime and night-life in Mombasa. Cultural differences could be felt most while communicating with the locals.

I am glad that I had an opportunity to see this country, expand my horizons, and gain new experience.

Hakuna matata – no problems (whatever happens it is like a declared philosophy of their life)

Pole, pole – slowly, slowly. i.e. leisurely, and we – Europeans look like always on the run in their eyes.

Caribbean – welcome

Asante sana – thank you very much

Tafadali – please

Habari shepherds? – How are you?

Mzuri sana – very good.

I wish you all to visit it and say: Jambo, Africa! – Hello, Africa!

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There is no form of photography more rewarding than capturing birds in flight.

Does one need special equipment to do this kind of photography?  Well, yes and no.  The fact is, one can do successful birds in flight (BIF) with most DSLRs.  The key is to observe, then work on eye hand coordination, and then practice.  Good equipment can help, but it is not essential.

Observation is the most important factor of all.

For example, many camera reviewers say that the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is too slow to capture birds in flight.  Really?

Here is a shot I did in the Farne Islands, off the Coast of England, with the 5D II.  And, I gotta tell you, there is no bird on this earth more difficult to photograph in flight than a Puffin.  They are fast, very fast flyers. The reason I got this shot was that I stood watching the puffins for about 20 minutes. Then, knowing their patterns of flight, I was ready to take some shots. The speed of the camera and how fast the AF of the lens, did not matter.

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So, it’s not the camera or the lens.

It’s about observation, eye hand coordination, and practice.

For example, here is a shot done with the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens, which a very famous bird photographer told me was too slow to capture birds in flight. I won’t give you his name, but he makes a good living doing seminars and writing books. But, frankly he was wrong.

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Of course, it is handy to have some eagles around to practice on. I was fortunate here to be in a very special place in Alaska where there are hundreds of eagles. All one has to do is wait and observe, one will fly by soon.

I live in Florida, where there are lots of birds, so I get to practice almost every day. I miss lots of shots, but I also get lucky too. Here I watched the Black Skimmer for a good while. I noticed that the bird would move back and forth along the shore in a specific pattern. After observing, I knew exactly where the best shot should be taken.

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Two days ago, for example, an Osprey happened by and I got this shot. But, again, I observed the pattern that the bird was using.

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I have photographed birds in flight all over the world, and the principles are always the same — here I noticed that the bird was hovering just above a cliff, the bird would turn away and come back, time and time again. It was easy then to know when the bird was to be in the perfect spot for the shot.

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So, let’s start a list of things we need to have and do.

1. A DSLR Camera and a telephoto lens. Any consumer grade DSLR will do, it need not be expensive. I do recommend at least a 200mm lens. The longer the lens is, the easier flight shots are to do. Anyone who can stop a bird in flight with a 100mm lens is an absolute master. So, I often laugh when I see photographers praised for a shot done with a 600mm lens. That is child’s play. Why is that? Because the further away the bird is from you, the speed of the animal is less. Yes. Closer equals faster, further away equals slower. A longer lens slows down the bird. Pretty simple. So, if you can afford it, buy a longer lens. A 400mm is almost ideal.

2. Observe. Put your camera down and watch what the birds are doing. Study their behavior. Soon you will see a pattern. The practice following the bird with your eyes.

3. Eye hand coordination. Have someone toss a basket ball in front of you. Practice following the ball with the camera and lens. Just practice the movement. Keep both eyes open. The principle is the same as shooting skeet with a shotgun. Learn to anticipate movement, learn to flow with the object.

4. Practice. Practice. Practice. Then go back and do it again. I can’t count the days I have spent in the field practicing. Sometimes I get really frustrated, but I keep going back and I keep trying. Persistence in any field of endeavor is key to success.

5. Travel. I have thousands of shots of Bald Eagles in flight because I went to Alaska twice for long periods of time. Sometimes you gotta go to where the animals are. But that is the joy of photography and travel. It is the travel that gives one opportunities and inspiration. Watching TV or surfing the net can become a bad habit. Save your money, you can travel much cheaper than you think. Do it.

I hope to be back in Alaska this year, there on a wonderful beach, where the eagles fly.

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Or perhaps somewhere in England, where the Arctic Terns nest, after flying 10,000 miles at the opposite end of the earth. And to observe them with wonder.

Learning how to capture birds in flight is exceedingly rewarding. Try it.

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Website: www.tomcrouse.zenfolio.com

My wife and I, both avid photographers, recently spend a week in Nova Scotia in mid-October – had a great time and we’re still processing the images. It’s a good time of the year since the fall colors are spectacular and the tourists all gone. On the downside, the “season” ends early there so lodging and restaurants are harder to find and museums mostly closed, but we had enough options. We divided our time between the Cape Breton peninsula (the Cabot Trail) and the south coast between Halifax & Lunenburg. The Cabot Trail is at the far end of the province so if you only have a few days, stick with the south coast. But if you have the time, the Cabot Trail is well worth the effort.

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For the Cabot Trail, we stayed in Baddeck two nights which is the main staging area. The trail is a 280 mile loop drive and is rated one of the best drives in the world – and it is. We only had one full day to do the drive which is barely adequate – plenty of time to do the loop but not much time for hikes or side trips. More time would be better. The best part is in the north, around the Cape Breton Highlands National Park so plan to spend most of your time there. Be sure to take the short side trip to Neils Harbor, a postcard pretty fishing village. Look for lots of shots of rocky coasts, mountain scenery, waterfalls & fishing villages.

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The south coast (called the lighthouse coast) between Halifax and Lunenburg is all within about an hour or two. This is where most visitors go and for good reason. Near Halifax is the justifiably famous Peggy’s Cove and the even smaller village of Prospect. Both are not to be missed photo opportunities

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Prospect is little known so you may be the only visitor there. Peggy’s Cove can be a real zoo when the tour buses hit (20 arrived the morning we left) but it’s worth the effort to be there when they’re gone. We stayed at the local B&B and had the town to ourselves in the evening and morning. It has managed to remain relatively unspoiled – if you can avoid the buses.

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We used Lunenburg as our center for the next three nights. It is a World Heritage Site with lots of B&Bs, restaurants, shops etc. The waterfront and museums were pretty much closed but still plenty to see in town.

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The nearby towns of Chester and Mahone Bay are also worth a visit, although they are smaller with fewer photo ops, so they don’t take too much time. Two very small fishing villages near Lunenburg are definitely worth a trip – Blue Rocks and Stonehurst. I guarantee you’ll get lots of quaint village shots without a single tour bus.

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Unfortunately, the high speed ferry from Bar Harbor (“the Cat”) is currently out of business so getting there from Maine by car is considerably more difficult. So if you’re going to go, plan on spending at least a week. There is plenty to see and photograph.

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About Tom Crouse

I started in photography over 40 years ago, but it was only in the past five years, with the advent of digital photography, that I have been serious about it. I got into photography largely because I enjoyed the creative control of the dark room. Now with digital cameras and processing software, the darkroom is back, without the smelly chemicals. I am primarily a landscape photographer in both color and black & white. But I pursue all aspects of photography including macro, travel and creative. Largely self-taught, I have also have attended a number of photography workshops. I routinely enter photography contests and have won a number of awards & competitions.

Tom can be contacted here.