The vast and beautiful Esteros de Ibera marshlands.
For the past two days, Feb 5 & 6, we have been experiencing one of the most famous wilderness areas of Argentina. We saw an incredible number of wild animals, mostly exotic birds, and I made photographs of a few. In the house we have been staying, there is an extensive collection of natural history and scientific books. Among them are some beautiful nature photography books. Studying those photos, as well as attempting to make my own, gives me a greater appreciation for the creativity and skill that is required to make stunning animal portraits. Knowledge of your subject is a prerequisite; knowing as much as possible about the animal’s behavior and its natural habitat enables you to find them in the wild. Once you do, getting the best location to set up your equipment and then having the patience and perseverance to wait for those decisive moments are crucial. It is also helpful, especially for bird photography, to have a very long telephoto lens,1000-2000 mm focal length is optimal. This allows you to be farther away from the animal to avoid detection, yet at the same time to be able to fill the frame with an interesting composition of your subject. For most of my animal photographs I used my Nikon 70-200mm lens, it was great for the larger animals but required some cropping in post-processing for some of the birds.
A Field Flicker - Colaptes Campestris
A couple of Ailicucus - Tropical Screech Owls, catching a nap under the eve of our roof.
A not so shy Carancho, Southern Crested Caracara, that scavenged for tasty morsels of meat we would toss to it from our patio.
One of the many egrets that made a home in a couple of trees in a small marshy area near our casa.
and some of the rest of the flock...
A Cotorra, or Monk Parakeet was one of a flock nesting in the trees around our case, they were definitely the all time chatter-boxes of the neighborhood.
Another one of several Zorro del Monte, crab eating foxes that would stop by to visit us in the evenings
