St. Augustine, Fla. (February 20, 2019) - The 17th Annual Florida's Birding & Photo Fest is fast approaching. From April 24 - 28, 2019, one of the most popular events among birding, nature and photography enthusiasts will take place on Florida's Historic Coast - St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches.

With more than 110 birding and photography field workshops and classroom sessions led by acclaimed photographers, Florida's Birding & Photo Fest has something for everyone. Whether you're a beginner photographer, advanced or somewhere in between, there are hands-on workshops at locations around St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches. The festival guide and registration information can be found at FloridasBirdingAndPhotoFest.com 

The Festival's workshop Instructors are a "Who's Who" of photographers including Bobbi Lane, Lee Varis, Roman Kurywczak, Scott Bourne, Lewis Kemper, Lisa Langell, Chas Glatzer, Joe Brady, Brett Wells, Shiv Verma, Jack Rogers, Kevin Loughlin, Dan Walters, and Tim McEver including new photographers this year - Rick Sammon, Ken Hubbard, Mandy Lea and Ben Hicks.

The Festival is headquartered at Celebration Hall at St. Anastasia, 5205 A1A S., St. Augustine Beach, Fla.

PHOTO CONTEST: Photographers can submit their best photos to the Florida's Birding & Photo Fest 2019 Photo Contest. The winning image receives a Sigma 100-400 mm lens and will be featured in the festival's 2020 promotions. As well, there's the Young Birders Photo Contest, in honor of Cameron Bespolka, for participants 18 and under. The first place winner will receive a SIGMA 18-300mm lens plus $250. The deadline to submit for both contests is Friday, March 29. Take a look at last year's winners.

KEYNOTE EVENT: The public is invited to attend the festival's keynote Friday, April 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Guy Harvey Resort, 860 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine Beach. Keynote presenter is Rick Sammon, a Canon Explorer of Light and award-wining photographer and the author of 38 books on photography. There will also be an opening presentation by environmental underwater photographer Ben Hicks. Tickets for the evening are $15 and can be purchased online at FloridasBirdingAndPhotofest.com.

Florida's Birding & Photo Fest is sponsored by Canon, Fotopro, Fujifilm, Guy Harvey Resort, Hunt's Photo and Video, Nikon, Sigma, Olympus, Panasonic, Tamron and Old Town Trolleys.

Registration for Florida's Birding & Photo Fest can be made at FloridasBirdingAndPhotofest.com. There is a $25 registration fee, all classes and field workshops are priced individually. For more information, contact Erin Masters, (904) 209.4422 or emasters@floridahistoriccoast.com