Top Ten From South America

Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, I was not terribly productive photographically during the nearly six weeks I spent guiding aboard the SilverExplorer as we travelled from Valparaiso, Chile to Barbados. Much of the time ashore or out on zodiacs was spent during the brightest part of the day; unfortunate scheduling for a photographer. And yet there were moments. Here are 10:

In case you haven’t picked it up from previous posts, I really like photos that tell stories. This image I think, tells a pretty good story. I made this photo from a small skiff as we headed from the ship out to some islands off the coast of Peru near Paracas. Along the way, we passed a number of fishing boats pulling in nets teeming with anchovies. The pelicans, and terns too knew there were anchovies and arrived by the thousands to poach the nets.

Dinosaur or bird? It isn’t hard to tell the evolutionary origins of birds when you look at this homely Peruvian Pelican chick.

This may be my favorite image of the trip. We did a pre-dawn landing on Islas Lobos del Tierra in Peru, so early in fact that as staff we drove the zodiacs in the dark, navigating by a single light visible on the island and checking water depths with a headlamp. The island was covered in Blue-footed Boobies and the rocky shoreline was dotted with pelicans, and cormorants. The early morning light was a rare opportunity to photograph in sweet light and I tried to take advantage of it.

Later the same day, as we cruised further north, we passed through an enormous mixed pod of Bottlenose and Common Dolphins. They were pursuing schools of anchovies and worked together to herd the fish into more compact groups where they could be devoured. There were thousands. I’m not exaggerating, THOUSANDS of dolphins in the pod. In the air above, boobies and pelicans plunged into the water, one after another. Yeah, it was pretty good.

Isla Gorgona in Colombia is a tropical island located a fair distance off the mainland. It is a former penal colony and the main occupants of the island up until the 80s were prisoners. Now abandoned the old prison is being taken over by the jungle. Strangler figs tore the bricks slowly apart as these (introduced) White-faced Capuchins foraged among the eroding walls. I desperately wish I could have had a few more hours for photography. Alas.

In the Darien province of Panama, we drove the ship’s zodiacs, and couple local dugout canoes up a jungle river to a native village. It was a bit of touristy spot, one of the locals told me they see about 500 visitors a year, so the visit was a bit contrived. Still, the residents used the tourists for the right reasons, to preserve their land and culture. They spoke primarily their native tongue, and for the most part, their Spanish was as broken as mine. This man was standing a bit in the background away from the rest of the chaos of the visit and I approached him to ask about the village, then later, to ask for a photograph.

Later the same day as the photo above, after we’d driven the zodiacs back down river and across the bay to the ship, I encountered this man fishing from his dugout. I’d dropped my group of passengers off at the ship and was waiting for my zodiac’s turn to be hoisted up onto the ship. There were a few local fishermen about, but when I waved at this man, he gestured me over, and was happy to be photographed. I spent about 10 minutes with him, and only reluctantly returned to the ship.

The old, walled portion of Cartagena, Colombia is perhaps the loveliest city I’ve ever encountered. Most of the buildings date back to colonial times and the architecture is beautiful. Balconies covered in flowers and buildings painted in bright, cheerful colors. The streets were packed with people, a few tourists but mostly locals. There were fruit vendors and food stalls along every narrow street. I had a rare opportunity to spend a few hours here on my own. It was the heat of the afternoons (with the emphasis on heat) so I looked for shaded areas to photograph. In one such alley, I found this image.

I photographed this Ruddy Turnstone on a beach in Tobago. This species is an old friend from Alaska, so I very much enjoyed seeing it foraging along the coral-sand shores of the Caribbean.

The Barred Antshrike has always been one of my favorite tropical species. I’ve encountered it across the rainforests of the New World but this was the first time I had a good opportunity to make a photograph. This was in the highlands of Tobago, at a Cacao plantation we visited on an organized tour. The shade-grown plantation was rich with birds and fortunately I was carrying my 500mm. That day at least, it was worth the weight and bulk. 

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