Macro Photography Workshop – BugShot Belize 2015
This workshop has concluded. Read more here: BugShot in the Belizean Jungles of Central America
I am honoured to be one of the instructors at the coming BugShot Belize 2015 alongside highly acclaimed macro photographers Alex Wild, John Abbott and Thomas Shahan. It will be an 8-day adventure with bug-nerds (including photographers and entomologists) where you will learn to take awesome photographs of arthropods in the fastest way possible – by shooting with and learning from the world’s top experts in different genres of macro photography.
The instructor to participant ratio will be 1:5 to ensure that everyone gets more than enough individual attention to learn and improve on their photography techniques. Near the end of each day, there will also be an entomological lesson by the experts in the respective taxonomic order or family. This enables participants to fully appreciate the natural wonders of their tiny subjects. Register for BugShot now!
Here is the tentative schedule (i.e. subject to changes).
| Day 1 5 Aug | Day 2 6 Aug | Day 3 7 Aug | Day 4 8 Aug | Day 5 9 Aug | Day 6 10 Aug | Day 7 11 Aug | Day 8 12 Aug | |
| 7am | Breakfast | Breakfast | ||||||
| 8am | Breakfast | Field Trip Groups 1 & 2 to Caves (NB, TS) Groups 3 & 4 to Green Hills Butterfly Ranch (AW, JA) | Breakfast | Breakfast | Field Trip Groups 3 & 4 to Caves (NB, TS) Groups 1 & 2 to Green Hills Butterfly Ranch (AW, JA) | Breakfast | Breakfast / Closing | |
| 9am | Methods of Magnification (TS) | Composition and Specialized Techniques (NB) | Free Day Enjoy one of Caves Branch’s many tours, take a day of relaxation, or schedule one-on-one time with an instructor. | Insect Identification (all) | Departure | |||
| 10am | In the field 1: Bot. Gard. (TS) 2: River (JA) 3: Trail (NB) 4: Orchard (AW) | In the field 1: Trail (NB) 2: Orchard (AW) 3: Bot. Gard. (TS) 4: River (JA) | In the field 1: River (JA) 2: Trail (NB) 3: Orchard (AW) 4: Bot.Gard. (TS) | |||||
| 11am | ||||||||
| 12pm | Arrival to Caves Branch Lodge | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | ||||
| 1pm | Open time | Open time | Open time | |||||
| 2pm | In the field 1: Orchard (AW) 2: Bot. Gard. (TS) 3: River (JA) 4: Trail (NB) | High Speed Flash Photography (JA) | Panel Q &A; topics TBD by group interest (all) | |||||
| 3pm | Focus-stacking (AW) | |||||||
| 4pm | Open time | Image processing (all) | Open time; cleanup | |||||
| 5pm | Lighting & Flash (AW) | Open time | Open time | Open time | ||||
| 6pm | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | |
| 7pm | ||||||||
| 7:30pm | Welcome to BugShot! (JA) | Intro to entomology (JA) | Jumping Spiders (TS) | Camouflage and Mimicry (NB) | Dragonflies (JA) | Tropical Ants (AW) | Photo Review & Awards | |
| 8pm | Instructors’ top photo tips (all) | Night Walk (all) | Blacklighting/open (all) | Photo sharing & critique | Night Walk (all) | |||
| Blacklighting / open | Night Walk (all) |
During Open Times, instructors will be available for individual sessions.
AW = Alex Wild; JA = John Abbott; TS = Thomas Shahan; NB = Nicky Bay
The trip will cost US$3,249 to US$3,449, which includes all meals during the stay, airport transfer and accommodation at Caves Branch‘s jungle suites, with direct access to a rich diversity of arthropods in a high quality tropical habitat, including forests, rivers, caves, and a botanical garden. For more details on the travel and lodging, please refer to the BugShot Belize tips and program (PDF). You may read reviews and information on past BugShot events and photos in the BugShot website.
For more questions regarding this workshop, please contact me at [email protected] or the event organizer at [email protected]. Alternatively, you may leave your questions in the comments below.
This will probably be one of my very few trips to Central America and slots are extremely limited. Every BugShot workshop has been fully registered early in the past years with several return participants. Register for BugShot early, don’t miss it!
Here is a small selection of photos from past Belize BugShot participants and instructors to get a glimpse of the fauna to expect at the workshop.
Walker’s Moth (Sosxetra grata) © Thomas Shahan
Bearded weevil (Rhinostomus barbirostris) © David Hilmy
Zebra hairstreak butterfly (Panthiades sp.) © Gil Wizen
Tortoise beetle (Stolas sp.) © Alex Wild
Stink bug (Pentatomidae) © Jack Owicki
Orchid bees (Euglossini) © Gil Wizen
Mexican Burrowing Toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis) © David Hilmy
The Zoological Society of London’s EDGE program writes: “The only species, within the only genus of the family Rhinophrynidae, and with over 190 million years of independent evolution, the Mexican burrowing toad is the most evolutionarily distinct amphibian species on Earth today; a fruit bat, polar bear, killer whale, kangaroo and human are all more similar to one another than this species is to any other amphibian.”
Parasitic nematode “hatching” from trapjaw ant © Jack Owicki
Dragon-head lantern bug (Phrictus quinqueparitus) © John Abbott
Red eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) © Stuart Wilson
Fulgorid planthopper (Fulgoridae) © Thomas Shahan
There are many more excellent photographs taken in the past workshops that I can’t show them all here. Try searching the internet for “BugShot Belize” if you want to see more. Or better still, sign up right away!:)
More photos can be viewed in these albums and blog posts about BugShot Belize.
- BugShot Belize: Treat yourself to something good by Gil Wizen
- BugShot Belize 2015 by Alex Wild
- Bugshot Belize – September 2014 Workshop on Flickr
- Bugshot Belize – September 2013 Workshop on Flickr
- Dermatobia Redux – The Human Botfly Video by Piotr Naskrecki
- Bugshot Belize 2013 & Bugshot Belize 2014 by Jack Owicki
This is probably the most anticipated workshop in the world each year, so Register for BugShot early, don’t miss it!
If Belize is too far for you, the Borneo Bootcamp will be another alternative!
