I just got home from a National Geographic Photo Expedition on the Upper Amazon where I was serving as a “photography expert”, teaching and helping others with their wildlife photography. From our home base on the beautiful boat, the Delfin II, we ventured out in skiffs to explore tributaries and oxbow lakes teaming with birds, monkeys and sloths in Peru’s Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. This reserve is located just beyond the end of the Amazon proper, where it splits into two big tributaries, the Ucayali and the Marañon.
Below are a few images I captured during the trip to give you a little overview of the amazing diversity of life that we encountered during our relatively brief seven day trip. Hope you enjoy it.
Cormorant Liftoff
On this Amazon tour, we spent most of our time looking for wildlife from the skiffs, and there were ample chances to photograph waterbirds along the river courses. On the Pacaya River, there were hundreds of cormorants, but if they did take off, most flew directly away from us, not making for great images. I kept my eye out for one that was taking off perpendicular to us, and tried to track it as it launched. These Neotropical Cormorants need a bit of a run and hop along the water’s surface to get airborne, so I framed the shot including the big splash behind the bird that he created with big push of his tail. A high shutter speed of 1/4000 sec froze every drop of water in mid-air. I love “freezing a unique moment in time” with a still photograph, so this was one of my favorite shots from the trip. Although many cormorant takeoff photos will be made, this exact photograph will never be repeated.
Glimpses of Life in the Amazon
An Oriole Blackbird takes a bath in the river.
Rainbow Boa Constrictor. Our guide found this beautiful snake during a forest hike.
The world’s smallest primate – the Pygmy Marmoset. We had an amazing encounter with this little pocket-sized monkey that primarily feeds on tree sap.
Three-toed Sloth.
Hard to spot up in the trees, these strange mammals were a treat to see.
A giant strangler fig towers into the canopy.
Saddleback Tamarin, another small monkey who came down to check us out.
In the skiff with guide Ericson and driver “Gato”. Thanks for a great trip guys! We wouldn’t have seen much if it wasn’t for these amazing wildlife spotters!
On our last evening, an Amazon sunset reflects in the river.
As always, thanks for tuning in folks and hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of my Amazon trip. Have a wonderful thanksgiving and holiday season.
Warmest regards,
Tim Laman
PS. I have 6 calendars this year and my prints are on sale. Check it out at TimLamanFineArt.com
