Driving to the Salt Flats of Bolivia

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Reserva National de Flamencos overlook for sunrise near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

This is one of our first photography outings while acclimating in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, on our way to the much anticipated salt fields of Bolivia.  Our goal was to see the tens of thousands of acres of salt flats of Bolivia or the Salar de Uyuni.  These salt flats are submerged in 4-8 inches of calm reflective water.  My desire to drive to the salt flats of Bolivia resulted from Art Wolfe showing beautiful, unique photos through his TV series, Travels to the Edge.  So much of the Uyuni salt flats of Bolivia have changed since then and not necessarily for the better.  (Please note you may click on images for a larger viewing)

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Antarctic Abstracts, Goodbye to the Whales and Penguins

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The melting snow reveals snow fall layers from many prior seasons and Antarctic abstracts.

In one small section of this coastal area we spotted varied Antarctic abstract designs.  The melting snow was revealing the layers of previous years of snow, creating interesting designs.  These muted color patterns in the cliffs were several stories tall.

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Cruising Antarctica Among the Icebergs, Penguins and Seals

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Penguin calling the rock

We often saw penguins making long, arduous treks for no reason apparent to us. Where is this guy going?

On board the Greg Mortimer expedition ship we continued to cruise among giant icebergs and islands, looking for penguins and seals.  The photos in these Antarctica blogs are shown in the approximate order in which they were taken.  So you are seeing the trip unfold as I saw it.  The best is yet to come…

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Penguin Feeding, a Whale of a Tail

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whale tail

Photographs similar to this are the goal of many whale photographers. The whale tail only pops out of the water when the whale is on its way down, diving deep into the ocean to feed on plankton.

The whale tail coming up and out of the water happens much less often than the more common breaking the surface for air and feeding near the surface.  Seeing the tail out of the water like this indicates the whale is diving down deep to feed.  All the photographers set their camera to motor drive and press the shutter down time after time and get no sign of a tail.  One in 20 sightings, or so it seems, result in the whale fluke rising out of the water.

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Antarctica at Last

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lone penguin

A lone penguin stretches and seems to take in the view.

Many tourists visiting Antarctica fly one way and cruise the other. That is exactly what we did.   We flew from Punta Arenas, Chile to Antarctica and cruised the Drake Passage to Ushuaia, Argentina on our return.  However, just getting to the take-off point for Antarctica from Punta Arenas is no easy task.  Weather conditions flying from Punta Arenas are very uncertain, casting doubt on any planned take off.  The weather window must be constantly studied and adjusted. Continue reading →

Antarctica Quest

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We visited Antarctica in March of 2024.  I’ve completed a journey to all seven continents now.  Whoopie!  Our visit was at the end of the southern hemisphere summer cruise season, with only one excursion later than ours.  Ours was a cruise full of penguins, leopard seals, more penguins and best of all, singing whales.  But first, we have to get there….  Our Antarctic quest would begin by flying from Atlanta to Punta Arenas at the southern tip of Chile, then flying on to Antarctica, then cruising back to Ushuaia, Argentina.

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THORLABS Tube Lens Construction for Macro Photography

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ThorLab Backwards

This is the macro lens set-up we will build in this post. Notice the orientation of the brand name THORLABS on the barrel of the lens. As pictured above, this is intentionally backwards from the manufacturer recommendations.

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Colorful Birds of Costa Rica

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Collared aracari

Collared aracari toucans caught in a face-off in Costa Rica.

Photographing toucans in Costa Rica is much like photographing birds that may come to a bird feeder at your home.  One difference in Costa Rica is the bird feeders can be tall as a telephone pole.  The bird feeder at our lodge required two large stalks of bananas daily to entice the toucans, parrots and other colorful birds common to Costa Rica to pose for photographers.

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Costa Rican Humming Birds and Frogs

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Humming Birds of Costa Rica

My very first hummingbird photo in Costa Rica.  This is five separate humming bird photos blended together in Photoshop.

I was familiar with many great nature photos taken in Costa Rica, so I jumped at the chance to go for a couple weeks with a good friend of mine on an organized nature photography workshop.  We photographed endless hummingbirds, frogs, toucans, bats and vultures.  Most of it in a torrent of daily rainstorms.  Thank goodness we went in the dry season.

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Reflections Of Boston

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blue and gold reflections

Blue and gold reflections of a downtown Boston building.

Riding around on a typical Hop-On-Hop-Off  tourist bus, I did my best to photograph the unique downtown Boston building reflections from the open second level.  I’m no stranger to big cities, having lived in downtown Chicago for many years during my working career.  However, I do not recall seeing so many varied styles of buildings and unique design and reflections as I saw in Boston.

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