Peru

I arrived in the Amazon basin three days ago by boat. We took a 6 hour boat ride up the Madre de Dios River. The river is quite large but is low at this time of year because it is the dry season. On the way we saw many species of birds, yellow and blue macaws, horned screamers and wood storks. We were told that one out of three boats has a good chance of seeing a jaguar basking in the sun on the side of the river but we were not so fortunate. We arrived at Los Amigos station just before sunset and were greeted by a few employees before being whisked up the longest flight of stairs I have ever summitted. The station is built on a cliff. It was actually an old mining establishment that has since become a biological station. As we arrived we saw the following view over the basin. It was a magical introduction to the Amazon. I used High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging to keep detail in the plants while maintaining the color of the sky.

More soon.

Gabby

Sone useful sites (Alex Mody)

Hey everybody,

Here are a few useful sites for those of you who are interested in learning more about nature photography. Browsing and participating in critique and discussion forums has helped me immeasurably. I hope you all can make some use of this! All of these sites are free to sign up, and are full of experienced photographers that are eager to help.

http://www.naturephotographers.net/
http://www.naturescapes.net/docs/
http://www.birdphotographers.net/

Poppy fields

Field of common poppies with cottages in the background.

Over the past couple of months I have been particularly busy trying to keep up with the abundance of new subjects that May and June bring, which accounts for the absence of blog entries over the recent weeks, so my apologies.
Common poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are a common sight scattered in farmers fields and on roadside verges in the summer. These ruby red poppies are one of my favourite flowers so I was delighted to discover a field ablaze with them on a recent outing.

Common poppy close up

Public Gardens (Nathanael Gass)

One of my favorite places to photograph at near my home is a botanical garden. The gardens are filled with wildflowers all year, and also filled all sorts with wildlife as well. I frequently see snakes, lizards, toads, frogs, mice, birds, and all sorts of other wildlife. Everything at the garden is tame, and relatively used to humans.

One of the best features is a set of ponds filled with waterlilies and lotuses. While most people would concentrate on the showy flowers of these plants, I focused on the leaves. The leaves of lotuses are covered by a water-repellent wax that causes water to bead. This allows a photographer to easily manipulate very photogenic beads of water.

New Issue (Gabby)

Dear Readers -

The new issue is now online! Check it out at www.naturesbeststudents.com. Also, remember to submit to Picture of the Week and to our new photo contest, open from now until August 15th, 2009. The grand prize winner will receive a Sigma lens (retail value of $400-$500).

Keep in touch!

- Gabby

Dear Readers -

I'm just finishing up my senior year of college and will be heading off to Peru on June 1st. Packing is a challenge - I am limited to 50 lbs on the small airplane I will take out to the Amazon basin. From there I will take a boat deep into the basin. I am currently working through a book on the birds of Peru and reading about the history of Manu National Park. I have attached an image of the cloud forest in Ecuador - it is a similar ecosystem to the one I will be in for 3 weeks this summer.

More updates soon!

- Gabby Salazar

Woodland orchids (Jodie Randall)

Early Purple Orchids

Bluebells

The first orchids are beginning to bloom here in the south east of England. A walk through some local woodland revealed an explosion of colour. A thick carpet of bluebells is now covering the woodland floor, broken up by patches of bright yellow lesser celandine flowers that are so vivid they appear to glow in the sunlight. Groups of delicate white wood anemones are scattered here and there, but the real jewels are the early purple orchids.

Lying down in a small clearing, careful not to squash any flowers, I was able to get a better angle to take my shots. The woodland floor was alive with insects. Spiders scuttled all around me, and earthworms weaved their way deep down into the mud. Butterflies flitted energetically above the bluebells, settling now and again, but only for a split second. Caterpillars hung from the acid green leaves suspended by threads of silk, twirling in the gentle breeze like wind spirals, while clouds of gnats were less welcome, biting me whenever I kept still for a moment.
There were only between fifteen and twenty orchids in the woodland, all in a relatively small patch. Quite the reverse of last spring when during a trip north to the Peak District National Park, I was greeted by thousands of early purple orchids adorning the chalky hills. Even though the orchids in my local woodland are not anywhere close to this in number, there is something particularly special about discovering things on your own local patch.