Boston POTN Meet

donlavange wrote in post #9404471
Brendan:

I clicked the link to sign up. but the Pay Pal button just opens Pay Pal account. No link to seminar. Why is the seminar/workshop one dollar more than if purchased separately? I must be missing something.

Hey Don, it's now fixed.

mumbles wrote in post #9410241
Hey Don, it's now fixed.

Yeah! Got the 3 hour thing done. Am I missing a location that I am not seeing? Still trying to decide on the next day. Where?

The Seal Island thing sounds so cool! I hope you guys have a great time. I'll be watching for the pictures.

Becca wrote in post #9410380
The Seal Island thing sounds so cool! I hope you guys have a great time. I'll be watching for the pictures.

And why are you not joining in Becca?

donlavange wrote in post #9410276
Yeah! Got the 3 hour thing done. Am I missing a location that I am not seeing? Still trying to decide on the next day. Where?

http://www.eaglesnestn​yc.com/eaglesnest_home​.htm

Don, we are leaning to this place. We are going to make a definite decision on Feb. 1. The sponsors are making it difficult to decide which to use...

mumbles wrote in post #9410923
http://www.eaglesnestn​yc.com/eaglesnest_home​.htm

Don, we are leaning to this place. We are going to make a definite decision on Feb. 1. The sponsors are making it difficult to decide which to use...

OK. I just needed to know what the travel and lodging costs (if I do the workshop) would be.

Round trip Acela
Hotel
Cabs or Subway
Dinner @ L'Entrecote
Seminar
and perhaps Workshop?

What are you guys doing for dinner on the 24th, (the seminar night) ??

My favorite restaurant in the World (Paris original). London and Geneva!

donlavange wrote in post #9413743
OK. I just needed to know what the travel and lodging costs (if I do the workshop) would be.

Round trip Acela
Hotel
Cabs or Subway
Dinner @ L'Entrecote
Seminar
and perhaps Workshop?

What are you guys doing for dinner on the 24th, (the seminar night) ??

My favorite restaurant in the World (Paris original). London and Geneva!

We are driving down. I'm taking all my Elinchrom gear down for him to use. You are free to get a ride down with us. Save yourself $130.

We'd certainly join you for dinner.

Don, if you have some experience with lights, i'd say go for the workshop, not just the seminar. But that's entirely up to you and your comfort level. I don't know how much you use lights...

Take a look over on the thread, the guy that took his workshop... look at his work. That's some impressive stuff.

donlavange wrote in post #9410480
And why are you not joining in Becca?

Because I live in Phoenix now and it would be a LONG trip for me! I will be coming back for a visit this summer so if there's anything going on the, maybe I'll be able to join in. But for now I'll have to live vicariously through your photos!

Best place for birding around here is Allen's Pond in Westport. Not this time of year, though. Great Meadows in Concord, MA is good, too. More birds, but the sun and backgrounds aren't as good as Allen's Pond.


Eagles are garbage birds. If you want to shoot a real man's bird, go for Ospreys. Eagles steal food and eat trash. Ospreys eat only what they catch, and if they dive into the water they have a 90% kill rate. Eagles suck in comparison to Ospreys.


I've done the Orpreys in Maine many, many times now. That is usually a great trip, but sometimes can be a bust since it's dependent on the weather. Not only for when you're there, but for the 3 days previous. Timing the tide is also beneficial.

First time I was there I took about 1200 pictures. It was non-stop shooting, from the moment I stepped out of the car. (An osprey flew 10 feet overhead, with a fish, and the fish dripped blood all overt he hood of my car.) At one point there were 22 ospreys flying overhead.

The last time I was there I took about 100 shots, just because I got bored waiting for a good shot so I started shooting anything that flew by. I still ended up with 2 keepers, but I've got over 100 hours of experience shooting these birds.

If anyone is interested in doing this in May let me know. We can even make a weekend out of it - it is a 4-hour drive from Boston, so a day trip is manageable but tough on the body. And it rules out the best time to shoot them, which is about 7:30 AM, when the sun is behind you and lighting up the inlet where they dive.

A 300mm is sufficient for this shoot. End of May / beginning of June.

where in maine do you go?

What part of Maine is this? I'm interested as well, but will probably spend the weekend up there to have a few shots at it in the morning...

Damariscotta Mills, ME

Google Map - right between Toneway Rd and Ladds Hill Rd.

Scottes wrote in post #9426832
Damariscotta Mills, ME

Google Map - right between Toneway Rd and Ladds Hill Rd.

Scottes:

I try to spend a few weeks in Maine in May, so put me down for a meet-up if you do it again! Do we bring Rum?

Hell, I'd be up for a Puffin/Osprey trip to Maine if you guys don't mind me tagging along.

I almost always do an Osprey weekend, so I'll be going. I'll try to keep an eye on things (weather, tide, etc.) and keep folks up to date.

We have 3 options:
1. Watch the weather, short notice, single-day trip. Been there, done that, no personal interest. But this might work for someone who wants to meet others up there.
2. Plan an advance date. We can get the tide correct, but the weather is a dice-roll. And bad weather can make the entire weekend a total waste.
3. Wing it - check the weather every Wednesday and go when it looks good. This might mean a bad tide, and staying at whatever motel just happens to have rooms. This can be tough since a 3-day weekend is best, since that gives 2 chances at prime shooting at 7:00 AM, and not everyone can get a Friday off at a moment's notice.

If 3 or 4 of us took option 2, we could also rent a boat with a guy we've used in the past, and tour some of the rivers in the area. Eagles, ospreys, seals, and a great blue heron rookery are guaranteed. And we can get close. This shot is full-frame, no cropping, at 400mm:

http://www.itsanadvent​ure.com/postimages/gmo​s07_67465.jpg