The last leg of our trip to the Galapagos included Isabela & Espanola islands. Here we were able to capture a variety of the inhabitants of the the islands, from the usual suspects such as groups of boobies and marine iguanas to spotted eagle-rays and the colorful hawksbill turtle, which I photographed above water using my polarizer in the shallow mangrove estuaries. Pairs of albatross and a dynamic Galapagos hawk rounded out this part of our journey.
At San Cristobal & Floreana Islands I was able to capture some wonderful shots of the local bird life, and the Galapagos sea lions were all too willing to show off for the camera. I purchased a generic light weight camera housing along the way to ensure I could get these under water shots, although I was admittedly a little weary of putting my new Canon 1DX into the water in a setup that I hadn’t tested before and trust it would not leak, but no guts no glory! The payoff made the risky endeavor worth while as the sea lions gave us quite a show. I also managed to capture schools of fish as well as some boobies looking for a meal.
I couldn’t be happier with what we were able to find on this trip. The local wildlife has been an incredible host for our group.
Thus far on our trip the marine iguanas have managed to steal the show, but never so much as our trip to Fernandina Island, where their masses carpeted the coastline. Some of my favorite shots so far come from these groupings, photographed from a low angle with the landscape in the background. I also managed to juxtapose some of the smaller iconic species of the Galápagos, namely lava lizards and Sally Lightfoot crabs, crawling over the lethargic marine iguanas.
There were Amazing bird sightings during our time at Santiago and Rabida Islands, including a Vermillion flycatcher and Galapagos hawk. We were also visited by curious Galapagos Penguins and Sea lions. While on board the ship eating lunch, storm petrels danced and fed along the ocean surface with moth like movements.
This has been an extraordinary trip capped off by several days spent in one of my favorite places on the planet: the Bolivian Altiplano. Salt lakes, many-hued mountains, and the surprise of flamingos living at 15,000 feet – it is an amazing place to be for a time, and I hope my travels lead me back here again.
One of the world’s most formidable landscapes, the Atacama in Chile is the oldest, driest desert on earth and has been for about three million years. This was my first experience there and it did not disappoint. I just love these craggy, austere landscapes, where the light plays such an important roll in getting great photographs.
Using San Pedro de Atacama as our base, we photographed in the Los Flamencos National Reserve with its impressive Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley. A highlight was photographing at the geyser basin of El Tatio at night as the Milky Way stretched across the sky. Purely primeval.
It’s autumn in the southern hemisphere. It’s always windy; between the latitudes of 40 & 50 degrees, the Roaring Forties, strong westerly winds, smack the Andes and create the most amazing cloud formations. Lenticular clouds scud across enhancing the most spectacular of landscapes in Los Glaciares National Park, which includes Mount Fitz Roy Massif and Cerro Torre.
Join Art as he leads this exclusive workshop to a private lodge in the Katmai region of Alaska. You will have opportunities to view and photograph bears safely at a close proximity and will be creating dynamic images that are different than anything you have seen before. This is a Katmai experience like no other due to the exclusivity of the location. You can be one of only 8 people to learn the nuances of nature photography taught in a truly wild atmosphere by a well-versed set of instructors
Click here for more details and to reserve one of the remaining spots before they are gone!
After the crush of the Kumbh in Haridwar, the nature and solitude of Ranthambore National Park was a welcome change. With an area of 400 sq. km encompassing rocky hill crests which descend to open valleys between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges, dotted with water pools and fruit trees, this park gets its name from the thousand year old fortress, which looms above the forest. Well known for the diurnal activity of tigers, Ranthambore is a very special and unusual area where a natural present meets a historical past.
My attempt to explain the timing of the Ardh Kumbh Mela:
Haridwar is the place for the well-known Kumbh Mela. Kumbh Mela is a Hindu religious gathering which is celebrated for forty days and is the biggest religious ceremony in the world; “Kumbh Mela” translates to “Festival of Urn”. At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at each of four locations. The exact date is determined according to a combination of zodiac positions of the Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon. The Purna Kumbh Mela, the biggest and the most auspicious fair, occurs every twelve years and is organized in rotation among four places where drops of the sacred nectar spilled over: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. A mass pilgrimage for the Hindu community of India, the Kumbh Mela is rumored to be one of the largest congregation of sages, yogis, ascetics, mendicants, men, women and children on the planet. But every sixth year after a Purna Kumbh Mela, an Ardh Kumbh Mela takes place. In the Hindi language the word “Ardh” stands for “half” and “Mela” means “fair”. The “Ardh Kumbh Mela” is called so because it is held at the sixth year and marks the halfway stage between the celebration of the Purna Kumbh Melas every 12 years. The Ardh Mela takes place at Haridwar & Allahabad only. And then there is the mother of all Kumbhs, the Maha Kumbh Mela which happens once every 144 years.
OK, I think they are drinking way too much spilled sacred nectar…
