Being in the Pantanal during the dry season is an experience that will stay with you for life. Imagine Jaguars, weighing as much as 300 lbs, hunting the riverbanks as you enjoy and photographing them just yards from our boat or Giant River otters fishing and playing before you. Imagine walking with a Giant Anteater as the morning sun rises or seeing an Ocelot as it searches for food at dusk. And, if you like birds, you will find yourself in front of Hyacinth Macaws, Tocos toucans, kingfishers, and more. The Pantanal is so rich and this is your opportunity to really explore its diversity!
Face to face with Jaguars
There is nowhere else on earth where you can photograph wild jaguars in such close proximity as in the Pantanal. You will shoot with lenses that range from 70-200mm and 180-600, getting full frame shots as these massive, stunning cats hunting the riverbanks right next to your boat.
Decades ago, fishermen began tossing fish to jaguars as a peace offering, which has helped these magnificent animals become accustomed to our presence.
You’ll have the incredible opportunity to observe jaguars up close as they walk along the riverbanks, hunt, swim, drink, rest, and even interact with one another. On a typical trip, we see dozens of jaguars. On one trip, we had 20 sightings of 12 different jaguars in just one day. In special times, we even get to spend time with mothers and cubs.
A Jewel of Biodiversity
The Pantanal was made famous for its jaguar encounters but that is just the beginning! Over the course of our time together, you will come away with stunning images of countless species of birds, mammals that span the gamut from otters to monkeys to foxes, capybara, anteaters and more, as well reptiles like cayman.
Three strategically located lodges
To work the Pantanal successfully for photography, you must stay where the wildlife is. Having done this trip for almost a decade, we have tried a lot of the different lodges and approaches to working this area and have locked in the best locations possible.
For Jaguar photography, we stay on land! Yes, we have tried the flotels and while the concept seems novel, staying on a flotel limits your access to wildlife, especially during the middle of the day when you are trapped in your room or the tiny common area!
Instead, we stay next to the river, in the heart of “Jaguarland”, where we not only have excellent access to jaguar activity but also comfortable, spacious rooms, delicious food and the ability to walk around and photograph wildlife between river safaris. Here, you just walk out of your room to photograph Toco Toucans, Hyacinth macaws and other wildlife that live around the lodge and regularly come in for water and food. Our lodge also backs up to a gorgeous wetland with a boardwalk where you can take your time photographing the dizzying array of herons, egrets, jacanas and other wetland species.
When it’s time to go out in the boats, we simply walk to the end of our dock where our boats await.
We also work two land-based locations. The first location is a 17,000 acre ranch with a wonderful diversity of wildlife species. This location is also one of the last remaining hot spots for Giant Anteaters in the area. We go out before dawn in hopes of encountering these impressive animals. In addition, we enjoy safari truck rides through the ranch lands, finding monkeys, crab eating fox, parrots, macaws, owls, potoos, deer and even jaguars. It’s a rich location.
The second land-based lodge is located along the Paxim river and it is here that we go out in a small boat to photograph kingfishers as they fish along the river and visit a night hide to photograph the resident Ocelots
Private, comfortable boats and seating tuned for photography. Each morning and afternoon, we will go out on the river. Our boats and seating impact your experience and can mean the difference between getting a photo or not.
While the Pantanal is known for jaguars, it is also known for fishing. Being stuck in a boat that doubles for fishing makes what can be tricky photography even harder because they are not tuned to idle in the river. Our boats are small and nimble, allowing us to get to action quickly and are optimized for working the current and holding us in place.
In addition, having space to work is critical in a boat. We understand this and, on our tour, you will have your own row to use as you wish! This provides ample space for you and your gear and the ability to shoot from both sides of the boat without missing a beat!
Expert drivers and guides. As with any safari, knowing the wildlife, their behaviors and their recent activity are key. Our drivers and guides are not only tuned into this but also understand our needs as photographers. They work hard to manage our boats in the river current and keep us in place as the action happens.
Unforgettable Moments Await
We are incredibly excited to share this extraordinary experience with you! The Pantanal offers a wealth of wildlife opportunities, and our tour is designed to maximize your experiences on both land and water.
Two Photography Instructors
Our tour is designed for photographers of all skill levels. You’ll have two instructors, Steve and Nicole, by your side throughout, to advise as you capture images of a lifetime.
Nature Lover’s Trip: While we cannot offer a discount on this trip due to our need to keep the group size small, this is a terrific trip for the non-photographer spouse/friend who loves spending time with wildlife. We actually have a number of non-photographers who love nature join our trips because we are not only fun to travel with but also spend time with wildlife, watching and enjoying the behaviors and activity.
Fitness Level: Easy/Moderate. You will be photographing from boats when we go out on the river. When we are at our land-based lodges there is good shooting right around our rooms. When looking for Anteaters, we will be transported via truck and you will need to walk, sometimes at a good pace to keep up.
