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July 9-18, 2023 - Full
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Join us in Brazil’s Pantanal for an exciting adventure filled with great wildlife photography opportunities, including the Pantanal’s signature jaguars hunting caiman and capybaras.
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Jaguars probably put the Pantanal in your bucket list – and for good reason. In most places, jaguars are elusive – you only know they are there by finding tracks, scat, or a bit of hair now and then. But, in the Pantanal, their primary prey (caimans and capybara) like to come out of the water in the middle of the day to sun. That is such a great opportunity for the hunting jaguar that they frequent river and back channel banks when the sun is high – and some even hunt from within the river!
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In the last decade a group of these Jaguars have become habituated to humans in boats – finally creating the opportunity to sit nearby and photograph them as they hunt or rest in the shade.
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Don’t, for even a second, think our Pantanal Photography Adventure is about jaguars and nothing else! The caimans and capybara that keep the jaguars well-fed are abundant – and fun to photograph!
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The waters of the Pantanal are teeming with fish – and those fish support a healthy population of endangered Giant Otters!
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The shores and nearby branches are alive with birds that want to eat fish! We’ll seek five species of kingfishers and try to capture them making their classic dive/splash/fly, taking back to the air with a fish in their beaks!
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The largest flying bird of the Americas – the jabiru stork – is shy and hard to photograph most places – but is quite approachable in the Pantanal.
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There are several raptors that dive and grasp fish and snails with their talons! We’ll find them sitting… watching… and maybe even diving!
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The wading birds, here are amazing. The cocoi heron is common, graceful, and beautiful!
The rufescent tiger heron is striking! |
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But the agami heron takes the cake for beauty! And the length of its beak will astound you! |
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Cormorants and anhingas dive beneath the surface where they swim like snakes and catch fish! In fact, the word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi tribal language – meaning snake bird or devil bird (or perhaps both).
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There are bright and colorful birds, too. Toucans and orioles, and yellow-billed cardinals will be easy to photograph from our land lodgings!
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And our guide keeps track of where to find hyacinth macaws, probably guarding nests!
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The Pantanal is a labyrinth of rivers and streams and connecting channels, probably created when the region sank and flowing water slowed and lost its sediment load… slowly filling the depression with layer after layer of flood bourn sediments and nutrients. The result is a vibrant landscape of savannahs and ponds and waterways edged with dense treescapes. And, filled with wildlife!
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Our Pantanal Photography Safari will start and end in Cuiabá, Brazil. We’ll journey from there into the Pantanal where our beginning and ending Pantanal lodging will be based in small nature-focused lodges. One of those lodges will take us on boat outings which will give us great photographic opportunities.
Our primary focus, though, will be to make our way to a floating hotel (a stationary deluxe houseboat) where we’ll set up camp for our jaguar “hunts”. Daily boat outings, broken by lunch back at the hotel, will feature multiple small craft, where each photographer has a row to herself! It will be up to our very talented guide to chart a course that will maximize opportunities to photograph jaguars, while also giving us great windows to photograph otters, capybara, and a wealth of birds. |
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The lodging breakdown for 2023 is Cuiabá Holiday Inn, Rio Claro Farm Lodge (2 nights), Floating Hotel (4 night), Pouso AlegreLodge (1 night), and back to the Cuiabá Holiday Inn. All meals are included outside Cuiabá and breakfasts are covered in Cuiabá. Alcohol, soft drinks, and bottled water are at your own expense. Purified water for refills into your water bottles is provided. You will also be responsible for taking a taxi from the airport to and from the Cuiabá Holiday Inn. And for tipping guides, boatmen and lodge staff.
Our group will be small. We will limit ourselves to 6 rooms – with only two of those rooms for singles – reflecting restrictions from the small lodging operators.
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2023 |
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The word Madagascar evokes mystery and wildness. Madagascar is home to all of the world's lemurs, a branch of primates from the same roots that also spawned humans. There are scores of species of chameleons. Several species of baobabs. And most of the birds here are endemic. The size of Texas, Madagascar has numerous ecosystems - each with its own set of creatures - and a number of exciting landscape opportunities. This round is a private tour. Another round in 2024 - with limited space. Contact us if you want on the list! |
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Sep |
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The vestages of the great Mayan world. Exciting caves. Rainforests and rivers filled with exciting flora and fauna. |
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Dec |
2024
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Venture out into the wilds of Rwanda with a small group, often on foot, to experience photographic encounters with wild gorillas, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, golden monkeys, and much, much more. Dates are tentative until we secure permits. We are building custom groups of travelers we have field experience with. Ask if you fit this group! |
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Timed to meet the great migration in the Serengeti, our safari takes you to some of the great parks and protected areas in northern Tanzania in search of lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetah, hyenas... Of all our itineraries, anywhere in the world, this one has the best reviews - and is a real life-changing experience! If you'll only be making one photography foray into sub-Saharan Africa in your life - this is the trip! |
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We're headed back to the Galapagos with a new yacht and new itinerary. Join us in 2024 - and we'll explore favorite haunts and add new landings and vistas. Giant tortoises, flightless frigates, 3 kinds of boobies, land and marine iguanas, sea lions and fur seals, flamingos, and the northernmost penguin in the world. The list goes on and on! Truly an inspiring experience - ties the Serengeti in client feedback as the "most life-changing" experience of their lives. |
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Apri19-29 |
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Journey with us through Ecuador's Chocó Cloudforest Ecosystem to find exciting birds. We have choreographed an adventure to help you build an outstand collection of images of colorful and exotic birds - including a number of unique hummingbirds! And, we'll have our very own bird "whisperer" along to help us find them! Did we mention nightwalks for spiders and other creatures? And butterflies and waterfalls? |
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Apr 30 - May 7 |
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Explore the wilds of Borneo. Rainforest filled with unique birds, reptiles, mammals, and insects. Sun Bear. Orangutan. Proboscus monkeys. Langurs. Pygmy Elephants. 8 kinds of Hornbills. Trogons. Broadbills. Fish owls. Kingfishers. Not the same versions of these one might find elsewhere! Giant Flying Squirrels. Pangolin. Clouded Leopard. The list goes on - and this itinerary gives you both a great experience and outstanding photography opportunities. |
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Jun 20-30 |
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The Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras reaches Tanzania's Northern Serengeti in late July or early August. Rains furthern north, in Kenya's Masai Mara beckon the herds - and the route involves crossing the treacherous Mara River where crocodiles await. We've timed this safari to put you at the right place at the right time to capture the drama - and so much more as we explore the areas around the Mara, the Central Serengeti, Tarangire National Park, and the fabled Ngorongoro Crater! |
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Aug 19-30 |
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It's time to grab your spot on our Kenya Photography Safari. We have secured a set of logistics to put us in great positions to photograph great wildlife, superb landscapes, and some unique cultures. Your chance to create images of three kinds of giraffes, and several species not found in other southern and eastern Africa safari destinations. Our key destinations include Samburu, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Elementaita Lake, and the Masai Mara! And there is an exciting extension to Amboseli National Park September 15-19. |
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Join us on a photographic journey to special ecosystems on the mysterious Island of Madagascar!. All of the world's lemurs are endemic here - 110 species and counting. Chameleons - 160 species! And more kinds of baobab trees than anywhere else on earth. Wet forests, dry forests, endemic plants and animals everywhere. We'll photograph during the day and again in the darkness! And an extension to Tsingy - a land of razor-sharp limestone blades and pinnacles! |
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Journey with us into the wilds of Ethiopia to visit a number of ethnic groups that have clung to the old ways. We'll learn how each group sees the world differently - and how it shapes their personal actions and looks. We'll make amazing artful images of the peoples, their worlds, and the natural world around them. This is a wild adventure - we'll be journeying to where few people go - and tourism infrastructue is available. Check out the itinerary here. |
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Ice Caves. Glaciers exhibiting their winter "blues". Frozen Waterfalls. Outstanding icebergs and bits on black sand beaches and floating in both fresh and salt water. Unique ice formations. And, the opportunity to photograph the Northern Lights with great foregrounds. This is an adventure you don't want to miss. Join us! |
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2025 |
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Borneo! Rainforests. Orangutans. Gibbons. Pygmy elephants. Proboscis monkeys. 420 species of birds, including amazing hornbills and kingfishers, brightly colored little birds, pheasants, and the ancestor to the modern chicken. Carnivorous plants. Sun bears. The list goes on and on. We've built an itinerary that takes you into the canopy, on trails by foot, on rivers by boat, and out on night safari. This is not an adventure you want to miss! |
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Our Drones Photography Group is at it again! Back to Iceland to visit a number of unique sites, looking for great places, away from people, to position our drone cameras to capture unique angles. This time we'll find some great "interior" locations, some thermal features, some wild coastlines, and some exciting rivers. Waterfalls are always part of the game in Iceland - you'll be able to position your drone where no person has ever put a camera before. Bring your drone and come create great art with us! |
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Turkey sits at a geographical crossroads, which means that, over history, many cultures have passed through Turkey, each leaving a distinct imprint on the culture and the archaeological record. Let's explore some of the great archaeological wonders - while putting ourselves in great positions make exciting art with cameras. Mosques, Fairy Chimneys, Ephasus, Istanbul, Aphrodisia, Pergamum, Assos and so much more. |
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