Highlights of Costa Rica: Final Images: Flora

 Photography in the jungles and rainforest's of Costa Rica can be very difficult. On sunny days the light is very contrasty. One secret to getting nice photos on these days is to look for small windows of nice lighting and focus in on that. If you try and include the whole scene on a sunny day you'll most likely end up with patches of brights and darks that are very difficult to combine in a pleasing composition.
  Shooting in overcast conditions gets easier, the light is more even, but it can still be pretty dark in the thick forests and there is still so much going on in any scene that finding a small area with limited distractions is still your best bet. A tripod and off-camera flash can help here as well. What I look for is a beautiful quality of light and a background that isn't too distracting. To me, pretty much anything can be stunning in the right light.

Costa Rica Highlights 2014: Part III: The People

When traveling around Costa Rica I'm constantly amazed by the people. They are warm, friendly, helpful, and always generous. When traveling through the country I love that at any time we may come across a woman cooking over a fire in her small soda (cafe), farm hands using wooden tools and oxen to harvest a field, or artisans on the roadside. I find photographing them just as stimulating as wildlife and it is very rare when someone refuses permission to do so. Here are a handful of images taken while out and about with my clients, Jim and Michelle. I also hired a dancer to come and be a model for a lighting lesson. She was a natural and the camera LOVED her!

Highlights of Costa Rica 2014 : Part II: Wildlife

Weather you're in to macro photography or prefer going after the larger animals with a telephoto lens, Costa Rica does not disappoint! Sometimes it's impossible to put the camera down. It seemed that every time we sat down for a meal we could hardly finish without being interrupted by some new critter showing up. So we'd grab our cameras and "capture" the new arrival. Too much fun! here are a few of my favorite animal images from this trip.

Highlights of Costa Rica 2014 - Part I

Just back from my fifth trip to Costa Rica! I truly love visiting the country and I can't wait to get back again. The photography can be very challenging but sooooo rewarding. The wildlife is incredible. Costa Rica boasts over 500,000 species so you never know what you may come across. Almost 900 bird species have been recorded and we were lucky to be able to photograph several.
 For this first post I'll share some of my favorite bird images. Over the next few days I'll post other various subject matter. Thanks for taking a look!