I’ve just returned from back-to-back, sold-out Costa Rica photo tours, and I couldn’t be more grateful or more exhausted in the best possible way. A huge thank you to everyone who joined me. I was fortunate to work with two excellent groups of photographers, each filled with curiosity, enthusiasm, and a great sense of humour.
Trips like these remind me why I love teaching and traveling with photographers who are genuinely excited to learn and experience the natural world. Costa Rica never disappoints, and these tours were no exception.
Of course, I also brought along my high-speed flash equipment, giving participants the chance to create true stop-action images of hummingbirds in flight. Pictured here is the stunning Fiery-throated Hummingbird, captured mid-sip as it fed from a flower.
Using the incredibly short flash duration, around 1/15,000 of a second, we were able to completely freeze the wings, revealing details that are invisible to the naked eye.
Watching people see their first successful hummingbird-in-flight image pop up on the back of the camera never gets old.
No trip to Costa Rica would be complete without time spent with the wonderfully cartoonish Red-eyed Treefrog. I’ve had this particular image in my head for a long time. The challenge wasn’t lighting or composition; it was patience.
Once these treefrogs decide to move, they tend not to stop until they reach their destination. Getting one to pause just long enough for a natural-light exposure took persistence, timing, and a bit of luck.
Quite possibly the highlight of the trip for me was getting to spend a half hour with this beautiful Margay. The mostly nocturnal Margay is very similar to an Ocelot. But unlike the Ocelot the Margay spends much of its life in the trees where it hunts birds, lizards, frogs, and even small monkeys. That is one of the greatest things about a trip to Costa Rica you just never know what you are going to come across. It is truly one of my favorite places in the entire world.
One of the personal highlights of the trip for me was spending nearly half an hour with a beautiful Margay. This mostly nocturnal cat is closely related to the ocelot, but unlike its cousin, the margay spends much of its life in the trees, hunting birds, lizards, frogs, and even small monkeys.
Encounters like this are a perfect example of why Costa Rica is so special. You truly never know what you might come across at any moment.
It’s that constant sense of surprise and discovery that keeps Costa Rica at the top of my list of favourite places in the world.
In this post, I tell you all about the Toucan hot tub we discovered!
Good Luck and Good Light!
Steve & Nicole
Related: Using High Speed Flash to Photograph Hummingbirds in Flight