Exclusive experiences to learn wildlife photography from National Geographic Magazine contributors Steve Winter, Brian Skerry, and Tim Laman.
Brian, Steve and Tim are working on individual photo assignments and have no scheduled workshops. Please sign up for our newsletter for news on future workshops.
Wildlife Photo Masterclass is happy to collaborate with private clients, resorts and institutions. If you or your company would like to host a Wildlife Photo Masterclass please email us here or on the contact page.
With the help of an expert photographer, Matt Bell takes aim at Mexico’s wildlife, conquering more than just his camera’s manual settings.
by Matt Bell
What the hell am I doing?
As far as I’m concerned, that’s the only thought possible when you’re crouching down to enter a shadowy bats’ nest inside of a 2,000-year-old Mayan ruin. This nest in particular was located at the farthest reach of the Yucatán, in the Mexican marshland of Sian Ka’an, miles from any village and hours away from the plush Banyan Tree Resort where I was staying. From a few feet above, unlit squeaking noises, cold and demonic, like the sound of dial-up Internet, reverberated down my spine until it locked in a huddled position. On the floor of this ancient chamber, a little smaller than a subway car, I clutched my camera for dear life.
As any birder knows, weather is a very important factor in bird observation. Rainy, cold, cloudy days are not ideal for birding simply because most birds, much like humans, tend to reduce their level of activity and look for cover. It was therefore with trepidation that we saw the date of the first “Wildlife Photo Master Class Weekend” in Mayakoba approach amidst very grim weather forecasts.
National Geographic wildlife photo-journalist Steve Winter arrived in the Riviera Maya on the preceding Tuesday, and I was invited to join him and James Batt very early the following day for a pre-tour of Mayakoba’s canals and other possible locations for the Master Class. As I drove up to the entrance of Banyan Tree Mayakoba I was awed by a glorious sunrise crowned with a double rainbow, a visual spectacle I decided to interpret as a sign of good things to come. The skies had mercy on us that day but the forecasters had not been delusional and by Friday, as our group of international journalists arrived, the weekend got rolling under thunderous clouds and copious amounts of rain.
Wildlife Photo Masterclass has partnered with the Fairmont Mayakoba Resort, an eco-resort on the shores of the Caribbean in Mexico for a series of
The three-night program lets photographers of all levels – from the novice enthusiast to the advanced – step into the role of a nature photojournalist as they capture some of the more than 200 species of birds and native wildlife within the protected sanctuary of Mayakoba’s exotic mangrove forests and waterways.
Master Class students will receive one-on-one and group guidance on all aspects of photography from Steve Winter or Christian Zielger, who have captured some of the world’s most recognized wildlife images for National Geographic Magazine. Through comprehensive lectures and daily hands-on field excursions with the photographers, as well as their personal company, the workshops provide an opportunity for nature enthusiasts to sharpen their technique with the industry elite.
Guests will stay at Fairmont Mayakoba, a five-star luxury hotel built around Mayakoba’s four carefully conserved ecosystems: mangroves, dunes, low forests and coral reefs. An eco-conscious development, Mayakoba has been recognized by Conde Nast Traveler, the United Nations World Tourism Organization and Rainforest Alliance as a world leader in sustainable tourism. Six miles of crystal clear waterways flow throughout the resort while more than 148 acres of protected mangrove forests along the coastline provide an important habitat for more than 200 species of tropical flora and fauna.
The package includes:
Dates:
Price:
Rates start from US$432 per room, per night, based on double occupancy, plus 19% tax and US$20 per adult per night resort fee.
Reservations must be made directly through the Fairmont Mayakoba resort here, using Promo code PNGE.
Instructors:
Location: Mayakoba is a 40-minute drive from Cancun International Airport and 10 minutes from the town of Playa del Carmen.
About MAYAKOBA: Located in the Riviera Maya just 15 minutes from Playa del Carmen, Mayakoba is an eco-friendly resort development on the shores of the Caribbean in Mexico. Surrounded by natural beauty in its lagoons, pools and sugar sand beaches, Mayakoba is home to three luxury hotels – Fairmont Mayakoba, Rosewood Mayakoba and Banyan Tree Mayakoba. The resort also offers a spectacular 18-hole course designed by renowned architect and PGA legend Greg Norman. The signature course is home to the OHL Classic at Mayakoba – the only PGA TOUR event in Mexico. Six miles of freshwater lagoons that lead to a white sand beach with turquoise waters on the Caribbean Sea connect all of the hotels. Guests are transported in boats via canals made exclusively for the resort, which have led to Mayakoba being called “the Venice of the Yucatan.” Mayakoba is an eco-conscious development and has implemented significant practices to encourage sustainability.
For more information on Mayakoba, please visit www.mayakoba.com.
National Geographic photographers take guests into the jungle for a master class
By: Matt Bell
Steve Winter offers expert advice for capturing great photos.// Photo: © 2013 Ivan Gabaldon
This is the premise of the new Wildlife Photography Master Class that is launching this January at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, a luxe, 132-villa resort located inside a 590-acre wildlife sanctuary just one mile north of Playa del Carmen. It runs from Friday to Monday morning, is capped at 12 guests and includes meals.
The experience is the pet project of 22-year Nat Geo veteran Steve Winter, who is also the world’s preeminent photographer of big cats and the media director for the big cat preservation nonprofit, Panthera. Winter recently made headlines as the only person to have photographed a wild mountain lion beneath the Hollywood Sign — the image will be released in the December 2013 issue of National Geographic. To help teach the class, he’s enlisted Tim Lamam, the first person to photograph all 39 unique species of birds of paradise, and Brian Skerry, Nat Geo’s go-to underwater photographer, whose work is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. Each three-day weekend will be led by one of the three photographers.
“I picked the Banyan Tree Mayakoba because its grounds are so secluded that the animals aren’t skittish and we can get good pictures,” Steve Winter said during a test run of the itinerary, as we boated through the freshwater canals, mangroves and low-lying forests around the property.
His statement rang true on our first day. The animals we saw, which included crocodiles, iguanas, turtles and a few rare birds like the Yucatan Jay, Limpkin and Least Greve, were unfazed by our clicking cameras.
Winter is a natural teacher. He was patient and excited to help everyone in our group, in which all skill levels and camera types were represented. He explained manual tricks on digital SLRS, helped maximize functions on simple point-and-shoots, explained the tenets of wildlife photography and answered specific questions. But, in those casually cool anecdotal stories that can only come from hanging on a boat and breaking bread with such a pro, he also unveiled the mystique of what lands a photo in the pages of National Geographic. The same happens in formal workshops where the master photographer discusses the inner workings of his most successful pieces.
During the few hours of downtime, guests can hit Mayakoba’s top-tier golf course, spa, beach or pools (including the private pool that comes with each villa). The experience, which also includes trips to Maya ruins and the nearby Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve, culminates in a presentation of the group’s best photos. I had the overwhelming feeling that I didn’t just improve my photography skills, but that I also got an inside look at what it takes to live that wistful daydream of being a National Geographic photographer.
Steve Winter, a photojournalist who specializes in big cats and other wildlife, has produced stories for National Geographic magazine since 1991. He’s photographed extensively in Latin America, India, Myanmar, and southern Africa, concentrating on photographing both animals—and the people that live with them, as well as the environment where they live. He is renowned for capturing previously-unseen images of endangered, elusive or dangerous species, including jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal, the cloud forest’s resplendent quetzal, Asian elephants, Bengal tigers and snow leopards in the Himalayas, among others. In 2008, he was named BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, was twice the recipient of the Picture of the Year International Global Vision Award, and won the World Press Photo contest’s nature story category, among other honors. Steve has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, and NPR. He lectures and runs workshops globally on photography and conservation issues, and serves as media director for Panthera, a big cat conservation organization.