Capturing Stunning Moments In Nature
2025 Schedule
Galveston Birding Festival
April 23-28, 2025
Join Ruth’s workshops scheduled during the festival. Find her workshops and classroom sessions at the Galveston FeatherFest birding festival in Galveston, Texas.
The Birds of Texas
May 1-6, 2025
Cost: $3,900 (double occupancy)
6 days / 5 nights; 6-10 participants
Cost for optional morning session: $450
Credit Card Cost Breakdown
- 3,985 per person (includes blind access, instruction, double occupancy lodging, and two dinners)
- $368 Single Supplement
- $499 additional per person for local transportation (if you do not want to drive or rent your own car – includes local airport pickup)
- $525 Non-refundable Deposit due upon Booking
Cash Discount Cost Breakdown
- $3,795 per person (includes blind access, instruction, double occupancy lodging, and two dinners)
- $350 Single Supplement
- $475 additional per person for local transportation (if you do not want to drive or rent your own car – includes local airport pickup)
- $500 Non-refundable Deposit due upon Booking
Final Payment Deadline: March 1, 2025
Join award-winning photographers Ruth Hoyt and Cheryl Opperman for an exclusive photo workshop on private property to photograph the diverse and beautiful birds of Texas. The workshop includes four morning blind sessions & four evening blind sessions with a variety of perches and water holes against pleasing backgrounds with front light (on sunny days).
Maximum time is spent in the field with optional sessions during the middle of the day for individual instruction, critiques, and post processing assistance. We will help you as much or as little as you want, all to ensure you go home with the best images possible.
Spring migration is in full swing as birds move from their wintering grounds to their northern summer homes and many spend time on the ranches during this period. Most of the birds are fresh because they have shifted wardrobes to their finest plumage for courting and breeding. The tour focuses on birds, as well as wildlife and other creatures of deep south Texas.
Workshop Includes:
- Eight (am/pm) photo shoots on a South Texas private ranch
- Five-night stay in an Edinburg hotel
- Water and snacks
- All applicable taxes
- Welcome and farewell dinner
- All ranch/blind fees
- Our full photographic knowledge and instruction, not only in the blinds but with critiquing and post-processing sessions in between. You will go home with many awesome images and memories!!
Workshop Does Not Include:
- Transportation to Edinburg, TX. Closest airport is McAllen, TX, 14 miles from Edinburg. If you choose the optional morning session, please plan your departure for mid-afternoon or later.
- Transportation to and from the ranch
- Travel insurance
- Mid-day meals
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Gratuities
Likely Species Include:
Painted Bunting
Green Jay
Pyrrhuloxia
Curve-billed and Long-billed Thrashers
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Olive Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Crested Caracara
Black-crested Titmouse
Harris’s Hawk
and many more…
Itinerary:
May 1 Arrive in the late afternoon
Lodging and Welcome Dinner
May 2-4 Morning and Afternoon Blind Sessions
Lodging
May 5 Morning and Afternoon Photo Blind Sessions
Lodging and Farewell Dinner
May 6 Photograph local area park before departing for home
Participants:
Minimum of 6 – Maximum 10 with two Professional Photographer Guides
Texas Birds Workshop
May 14-17, 2025
Cost: $2,950 (double occupancy)
4 days, 3 nights
Single supplement fee (to have your own room): $325
South Texas is home to an amazing number of bird species. If you love photographing birds, especially birds in flight, join Ruth Hoyt and Jim Zuckerman for an incredible opportunity to capture olive sparrows, crested caracaras, green jays, great kiskadees, thrashers, black-crested titmouse, flycatchers, Northern cardinals, Harris’s hawk, turkey vultures, and painted buntings. You will be awed by the number of great shots you’ll be able to take. Don’t miss this one!
What you will learn in this workshop:
- What camera settings to use for flying birds
- The best focus point arrangement for bird action
- Panning techniques
- How to mitigate excessive noise in post-processing
- How to replace distracting and less-than-ideal backgrounds
- Choosing the best frame rate for birds in flight
- Pre-planning depth of field when birds are close to you
Itinerary
Day 1, May 14, Wednesday
Fly to McAllen, Texas, and take a taxi to our hotel. Meet Ruth and Jim in the lobby at 6pm for a discussion about the upcoming workshop. Here they will share camera settings for capturing birds in flight, and then we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner. Overnight in Edinburg.
Days 2-4, May 15-17, Thursday through Saturday
For the next three days we have early morning and late afternoon photo sessions on a private ranch, the Laguna Seca Ranch. We take advantage of the best light in mornings and afternoons, and the midday is reserved for lunch, downloading images, and resting. We use natural-looking setups consisting of tree stumps, flowers, and various native plants, and the birds are drawn to these photo locations by strategically placed food. You can photograph birds reflecting in water, birds in flight, perched birds, and often confrontational encounters in which wing formations can be stunning when captured with a fast shutter speed. Overnight in Edinburg.
Day 4, May 17, Saturday
After breakfast we have our final morning session at Laguna Seca Ranch, and then the photography is over. Jim drives participants to the airport. You can make your homeward bound flight reservations from 1pm onward.
A week or so after the workshop, Jim hosts an online critique session where participants can share what they photographed. Jim offers thoughts on the images and makes Photoshop suggestions, if necessary, to make already good pictures better.
Workshop Includes:
- Two dinners
- Five photo sessions on a South Texas private ranch (am & pm)
- Three-night stay in an Edinburg hotel
- Photographic instruction in the field to help you maximize your stay and improve your photographic knowledge
- Water and snacks
- All applicable taxes
Workshop Does Not include:
- Transportation from your home to and from McAllen, TX
- Travel insurance
- Meals except those mentioned
- Items of a persona nature
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Gratuities
Youth Nature Photography Workshops - The Valley Land Fund and Quinta Mazatlan
Cost: $5 Per Student Per Session
The Valley Land Fund and Quinta Mazatlan have partnered to offer youth photo summer workshops. Two sessions are scheduled for five Saturdays during June and July.
The first session runs from 8am – 10am for 8- to 12-year-olds and 10:30 am – 12:30 pm for 13- to 18-year-olds.
Advance registration is required by visiting quintamazatlan.Ticketleap.com. Cost is $5 per student/per session.
These classes are taught by Ruth Hoyt who excels at showing children how to capture the beauty and diversity of Rio Grande Valley nature.
Colombia (South America)
November 16 - 27, 2025
Watch for the details, coming soon!
Costa Rica
November 28 - December 9, 2025
Optional Costa Rica Extension:
- December 8(evening) drive to extension location
- December 9-10 extension
- December 10 (afternoon) drive to San José hotel
- December 11 depart SJO airport
Registration Form
