Pantanal, Brazil (8/12)

Lead a group of photographers to the Pantanal, Brazil last week. We could not have had a better time. One of our goals, was to hopefully have an opportunity to photograph one of the most elusive cats in the world, the jaguar. We were fortunate to have daily sitings as well as photo opportunities. The top image was my favorite of the trip due to the eye contact, position and surrounding habitat. Seeing these animals are certainly a highlight in my life. The two images below were taken on the first day and last day of the trip.

The Giant Otters were another trip highlight. We had daily opportunities with them as well. They are so comfortable with human presence. Time and patience, in close proximity, without disturbance, provides for revealing and intimate situational photos.

Kingfishers are such a challenging species to photograph here in the US. The Kingfishers of the Pantanal are so tolerant. As long as you drift in slowly, they go about their business fishing. There are 5 different species and we were able to photograph 4. Below from top to bottom are a Amazon female, Ringed female and Amazon male.

Black-collared hawks are common in the area we traveled. We photographed several during our week. These images were captured on the Rio Clara River from a boat.

Some additional images that I was excited about capturing are from top to bottom the drinking Caracara, Campo Flicker and Tocu Toucan.

Lots more images over on the web site if interested. I'll be leading another small group again in August 2013. If you have an interest in joining us, click on this Pantanal Tour link or send along a email. Blue Skies.