Chicks on the Beach!
Photographing Shorebirds
Long Island is famous for its stunningly scenic beaches. Come to the beach and see the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets and get close to beautiful shorebirds and their babies for an exclusive photographic opportunity.
Come join Don Schroder as he leads a workshop to Nickerson Beach on Long Island, NY to photograph American oystercatchers, piping plovers and common terns with their chicks.
Don will be there to help with your settings (please have a basic understanding on how your camera works), shooting techniques and proper location.
We’ll “follow-the-light” to make sure you come home with wonderful images of these beautiful shorebirds interacting with their young. Don's expertise in shooting shorebirds will ensure that you will be getting the best instruction in the field to capture these beautiful animals in their natural environment.
Enjoy the shorebirds antics, their bright colors, and adorable chicks while immersed in the beauty of the beach and listening to the ocean.
This is an intensive hands on, in the field, shooting event. There is no indoor classroom work or presentations. Photography will be exclusively at Nickerson Beach.
You can see Don’s images from last June when I joined him at Nickerson Beach by clicking the link here: Nickerson Chicks. What an amazing experience! I can't wait to do it again this year!
Group Size
6 participants max.
Registration Fees
$795 tuition only.
Tuition is due in full at time of registration. Deadline for early registration is April 16, 2023.
Click here for information on any other discount that may be available.
**There is a 4 participant minimum required to run this event. We reserve the right to cancel if the minimum is not met. If this occurs a full refund will be made.
Dates and Times:
Nickerson Beach
880 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach, NY 11561
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Fri, June 16: 6:15 pm – sunset
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Sat, June 17: 4:45 am – 10 am; 6:15 pm – sunset
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Sun, June 18: 5 am – 10 am
Where to Meet
Participants will meet at Nickerson Beach on the first evening. Please use the address above for gps directions.
Lodging:
Recommended lodging for this event is the Long Beach Hotel. You can reach them at 516-544-4444 for reservations. There is no discount or group for lodging and it is the sole responsibility of each participant to make their own reservations. Early reservations are encouraged. There are other lodging opportunities in the area with in 5 miles of Nickerson Beach, including these links below:
Best Western Mill River Manor, Rockville Centre
Ramada by Wyndham, Rockville Centre
The Details:
Where to Meet
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Once you turn into Nickerson Beach from Lido Blvd, follow the road around and go through the right-most tollbooth
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Once through the tollbooth the big parking lot is shortly to your left
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Enter parking lot and park near the concession stand that is located in the southeast corner towards the water. There are restrooms
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We’ll meet there, make introductions and prepare our gear
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There’s a good ¼-mile walk on the beach to the nesting colony
What to wear:
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Shoes suitable for the beach
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Quick-drying long pants and long sleeves shirt
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Windbreaker and/or fleece sweater
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Hat
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Sunscreen
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Sunglasses (photograph w/o them)
With regards to camera gear, here are some options:
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Study tripod with ball head or gimbal head
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Cropped-sensor camera with an 80-400 mm or 100-400 mm lens
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Cropped-sensor camera with a 300 mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter
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Cropped-sensor or full-frame sensor camera with a 150-600 mm lens
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Cropped-sensor or full frame camera with a 500 mm or 600 mm lens with & without a 1.4 teleconverter
About Don Schroder
Don Schroder is a photographer who’s always had an interest in the arts, science and nature. As a kid he grew up going to the Long Island, NY shore swimming, fishing, sailing, birdwatching, playing in the sand and collecting shells, horseshoe and sand crabs. When not at the shore, he was climbing trees or in the local swamp collecting tadpoles, frogs and snakes. In college he declared art as a major but finished with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Penn State (nature kept calling him back!).
When it came to photography, it all started with his dad taking him to a camera shop in 1978 and walking out with a Canon AE1. Soon he moved on to the Nikon system where he remains today. The hobby waxed and waned until 2004 when he purchased his first digital SLR camera, a Nikon D70, to photograph his daughter riding her horse. Since then he continues to photograph horse and daughter but has greatly expanded his subjects to include all forms of nature: African animals, reptiles and birds, east-coast song and shore birds, landscapes and flowers.
Whether shooting macro, telephoto or wide-angle images, Don tries to find the perspective that reveals that “certain feeling” while capturing the beauty of the subject. When the two combine is when he’s most satisfied with the image. Don truly enjoys helping others achieve that satisfaction, too!
You can see more of Don’s work at www.donschroder.com
Contact Don with any questions at d.schroder@verizon.net