Tofino in focus – Nature photography tours

The location and therefore the meeting point depends on the goal of the tour e.g. wildlife or sea scapes. Clear instructions as well as my phone number will be provided upon booking.

I will share my local knowledge with you as well as I should be able to show any level of photographers things like

• • using manual settings: Freeze birds in flight, capture the motions of waves or the flow of the receding tide with an epic long exposure shot and more…
  • helping with compositions: Composition is probably one of the most important things not only in nature photography. So let’s talk about leading lines, layers, balance and all the things that will help you compose a great shot!
  • focus stacking and bracketing: Get the sharpest image with the most dynamic range possible
  • environmental considerations e.g. weather, light and tides

GOOD WEATHER

General items to consider are

• Hat with sun shield
• Long sleeve shirt
• Long pants
• Sun screen
• Polarized sun glasses

BAD WEATHER

While sane people usually try to avoid bad weather, nature photographers love these conditions as for the drama that usually comes along with them.

In case the weather is cold be sure to layer up accordingly as we will spend an extended amount of time outside. Possibly without moving too much e.g. while watching an animal and waiting for some action.

Rain pants are as essential as underrated whenever nature gets wet and cold. Often we want to get on eye level with our subject which sometimes requires us to kneel down or even lay flat on the ground to show some extra enthusiasm…

As for footwear, I highly recommend gum boots or even better high neoprene socks combined with some runners or hiking shoes. These are great for standing in the water and taking close-up wave shots as well as in general, they’re the right thing to have in Tofino! 😉

In general, any camera is good enough though a DSLR with different lenses are a preferred option to take advantage of various techniques!

To fully benefit from the tour I recommend the following:

• • digital camera with interchangeable lens capacity or advanced built-in lens.
  • a wide-angle lens wider than 24mm for landscape shots
  • a telephoto lens of 300mm and above for wildlife and sometimes landscape shots as well
  • a (sturdy) tripod
  • Polarizer! Very useful but not mandatory for most of what we’ll be doing
  • Nd filters: Of course you want them all but a ND 6 and a 10 are a great set for taking long exposures

If possible, yes as this would allow us to change our location and drive somewhere else in case we feel we don’t get what we want.

This will depend on our location. Some of the places I go are located inside the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and will require a parks day pass. We’re going to clarify that in our pre-tour briefing

Definitely bring enough water or some beverage of kind for the duration of the tour. I usually bring tasty sandwiches for everyone as well as you can expect some sort of trail mix to share with my group. Anyways, feel free to pack some additional snacks, even a little picnic is possible. We will always have time for a break to add some sugar to the bloodstream 😉

In case of cold weather you may even consider bringing a thermos with some hot tea or coffee.

Yes, you can! I can provide you with a Sony DSLR camera, e-mount lenses with filters and or a tripod.
Rental fees are:

• Sony A6400 incl. 3 batteries – $50
• Sigma 24-70mm (Full frame) incl. polarizer – $35
• Sigma 16mm F1.4 prime incl. polarizer – $30
• Colorado Tripod Comp. ‘Centennial’ tripod with ARCA plate attachment for your camera – $25

In case you need or want to try out the whole kit you can rent it at a discounted $80 per tour.

As soon as you reserved a tour we are going to be in touch and discussing the trip whenever necessary.
If the weather is just too bad to take photos we will either re-schedule if possible or give you a full refund.