Introduction to the Best of Ontario Winter Workshop

Introduction to the Best of Ontario Winter Workshop

We have created a winter photography workshop in Ontario, Canada... From the urban city of Niagara Falls, to our wildlife, the secluded Amish community, and enjoying wilderness by dog sledding, we have encompassed the highlights we believe you cannot find anywhere else all in one location.

Dates: February 3, 2017 to February 11, 2017

Instructor: Kevin Allen Pepper and Chris Pepper

Price: $4500CAD

A deposit of $750 secures your spot and the balance is due on November 3, 2016

Maximum Attendees: We are limiting this workshop to 8 people. (four spots left)

Included: Single accommodation, transportation, all entrance fees, park fees, breakfasts and dinners as outlined in the itinerary, models

Not Included: International airfare, travelers insurance, all breakfasts and dinners as outlined in the itinerary, any extra nights needed before or after workshop.

Itinerary of Workshop

Day One

Arrive in Toronto and get picked up mid-day and taken to our hotel in Niagara Falls.

On the way we will stop at a few locations along the waterfront of Lake Ontario to take winter scenes that all the local photographers visit during the winter. Waterfalls, frozen piers and an iced lighthouse.

When we get to Niagara Falls we can photograph the falls by night as they are lite up in the colours of the rainbow and then go enjoy the casino or one of the local restaurants.

One cannot visit Ontario without a visit to the falls. Niagara, Canada is one of the most attractive four-season destinations in the world. From the sheer spectacle of Niagara Falls to the region's renowned wine country, from its rich history to its beautiful parks and hiking, Niagara overflows with things to see and do, both inside and out.

Overnight in Niagara Falls (Dinner is included on the first night)

Day Two

We wake up early and photograph the waterfalls at sunrise. Winter is the only time of year that the sun rises behind the falls and is the perfect time to capture a golden hour.

Then from there we head to Simcoe to photograph the following bird species in flight and perched in natural wooded settings... Depending on weather conditions, species will consist of the following species... Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Great Grey Owl, Great horned Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, American Kestral, Red Tailed Hawk or Merlin Falcon.

Some of these birds will be perched on posts and in the evergreen forest, some will fly for us. We will put you in position to capture the best angle of each bird.

Overnight in St. Jacobs, Ontario

Day Three and day four

For the next two days we will photograph Amish in a winter setting driving their buggies across minimalist backgrounds of white show on country roads.

Amish have long lived in Canada, with roots in the country dating to the 1800s. Today Amish number nearly 5,000 in Canada, in over one dozen communities. Ontario is the only province in Canada where Amish are found. Photographing them is an honor because of their deep seated religious beliefs. But as residents of the area, with acquired friendships inside the community, we have been granted access that most will never receive to photograph a small handful of the community.

We will also photograph Amish children dressed in traditional clothing walking down lane ways and posing for your cameras. We will also photograph horse and buggy riding in and out of Canada's oldest covered bridge.

At the end of the day four we drive to photograph snowy owls...

Overnight in St. Jacobs, Ontario

Day Five and Day Six

We spend two full days photographing snowy owls in the wild. Each day from 730 till 430 we will photograph snowy owls in flight and perched on fence lines and on local barns. On each day you will have a minimum of 10 to 15 flights of a snowy owl coming right at you perched from barns, standing on fields, or from fence lines. in between flights you will be presented with an abundance of static image opportunities of owls perched.

We promise you will be captivated by their mesmerizing yellow eyes and witness the stealth flight and the subsequent attack on the unsuspecting voles and rodents they feed upon. We will get you close enough so that you can shoot with lenses from a 70-200mm to fill the entire frame upon attack of their target, to as long as a 500mm telephoto to capture the acrobatic turns and wing action while in flight.

This part of the workshop is designed to give you great opportunities to photograph the owls on properties not accessible to the general public. We will take you to the private access locations far away from the local birders and photographers so that we are not disturbed, and we will assist you with winter exposure, compensation, metering, focus tracking and more.

After our second day is finished we will drive east to the Haliburton area of Ontario.

Overnight close to where the Owls will be located.

Day Seven and Day Eight

We will spend the next two days with the dogs... in the mornings we are at the Haliburton Wolf Preserve to photograph a pack of wolves for three to four hours in the morning. In the afternoon we spend the time on the dog sleds mushing through the Canadian Wilderness in 80.000 acres of forested, rolling hills interspersed with more than 50 lakes and hundreds of wetlands.

We will be winding through the forest on more than 300 kilometers of groomed trails making this a dog sledder's paradise.

Hidden along the trails are a number of small camps and shelters providing scenic locations to have a snack, take photos and warm up.

Overnight in Haliburton, Ontario (dinner is included on the last night)

Day Nine

After breakfast we will drive you to the airport and will have you there by 12:00pm
If you are ready to experience all that Ontario has to offer the photographer in the winter, click on the following link to contact me, http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/contact-me