Better Bird Photography Workshop in Prospect Park

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Leader: Tom Stephenson
Transportation: Public Transportation – Participants can use public transportation to arrive at the meeting location.
Meeting Point: After your registration is confirmed, the Registrar will share directions, the exact meeting place, and time with attendees.
Schedule: Half-day trip.
Relative Difficulty: The terrain is mostly level ground with some inclines.

Trip Description: Birds make beautiful pictures but can be very difficult to photograph well. Photos can serve as memories of great experiences and aid in making tough species IDs. During this workshop/field trip, we’ll talk about how to take great, sharp photos. We’ll begin by covering camera basics, including how to set up for different conditions, with some advanced tips like settings for flight shots, dark areas, and backlit birds. Technology, including AI treatment of noise and pixel dimensions of a photo, has radically changed how we shoot our photos. This year, we’ll talk about some new strategies you can use to take advantage of these new advancements.

Our leader, Tom Stephenson, is not just an experienced birder but also the author of The Warbler Guide book and app and the Bird Genie app. His expertise is widely recognized, with his articles and photographs featured in museums and many publications, including Birding, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Handbook of the Birds of the World, Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Birds of Madagascar, and Guide to the Birds of SE Brazil. In 2014, Tom and his team set the US record for a Photo Big Day, capturing images of 208 species in just 24 hours.

Please read The Linnaean Society of New York COVID-19 Field Trip Guidelines before registering.

Registration: Registration opens at 9 am on Monday, March 24. After that time, click here to register. Registration closes at 6 pm on Wednesday, April 2. Members (and those who have applied for membership) will be prioritized over non-members.

Please read the About Our Trips page, if you’re going on a field trip for the first time. It details our field trip policies, recommends what to bring on a trip, and offers other useful information, pro tips, and tricks.

If after visiting the About Our Trips page, you still have questions, feel free to contact the Registrar via email.