Costa Rica

I’d always heard that Costa Rica was a wonderful place to visit – and everyone was right. We saw so much, and yet we saw so little. We experienced friendly people who are very proud of their Country.

I’d never done much in the way of bird photography, let alone rain forest photography.  For better or worse, I didn’t take the time to do a lot of research, and came back humbled in some respects.  Lessons learned and thoughts on the experience will be a blog post – if I can help someone to make their memories better, it’s the least I can do.

We had a fantastic guide for our group whose knowledge and enthusiasm for his Country and the birds was infectious. I have a new interest and perspective in bird photography as a result of this trip.

Click here to view the gallery.

Fly me to the moon.  Scarlet Macaws, Jaco, CR
Fly me to the moon. Scarlet Macaws, Jaco, CR

 

A limb is a pillow. White-faced Capuchin Monkey. Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica


As many of these images are crops from full zoom images, they’re not going to make huge prints. I envision these images in small prints in a group on a wall – hence, they’ve all be cropped to square format.

Blue iguana. Manuel Antonio National Park, CR

With the exception of a few images from an iPhone 7+, all images used a Tamron 18-400mm all-in-one zoom. The driving force behind this lens was to not be in a rain forest or on a boat changing lenses, or to be caught with the wrong lens on the camera. I purchased my 18-400 from Powell Camera after extensive research and deliberation (the lens and the process will be the subject of another blog post).

Dentist’s delight? American crocodile. Tarcoles River, Tarcoles, Costa Rica.


Identifying the birds and captioning the images took quite a while (bits of time over two-plus months to be exact). I used the following resources to assist: Bird Guide provided for our great excursion on the Tarcoles River by Jungle Crocodile Safari, Costa Rica Birding Tours, All About Birds, and Audobon. Where I wasn’t sure about the identification, there’s a question mark in the caption. Comments and corrections are welcome.

Wood stork in flight. Tarcoles River. Tarcoles, Costa Rica.



Contact Misty Travel if you’re intersted in a Costa Rica experience of your own.

Enjoy!

It’s Mine! All Mine!

Did you ever wonder what goes on in a hummingbird’s mind when it approaches a full feeder and there’s no one else around?

This little one paused for a couple of seconds on approach to lunch and seemed to be pondering a nearly full feeder with no one else around when I made this image.

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Which caused me to think why it paused there and just what might be going through its’ mind…

Was it an It’s mine! All mine! moment?

Was it “gee – there’s no one else here – I wonder if the food in this joint is any good?”

Or, “Wow – I finally beat the crowd?”

Maybe it was “good, there’s no one else here – I can have seconds!”

Perhaps it was “he/she’s not here to see it, so I’ll just have one more for the road”

I think we all have those moments when we think It’s mine! All mine!

For me, it’s a brownie and about a quart of whole milk.

Did you know that since a batch of brownies is really just one big brownie before it’s cut into pieces, it’s technically just one brownie? 

Mrs. Frog doesn’t buy that logic – but think about it. Really think about it.

How can you argue against that logic? 

If they’re supposed to be called brownies, then they should be baked as brownies, not as a brownie.  But,

I digress….

It seems that the only time It’s Mine! All Mine really happens is when Mrs Frog just needs an anchovy or two out of a whole can…

The image can be found in the little winged things gallery on Laughing Frog Images.

For the photographers out there reading this, here’s a tech tip: 1/320 second shutter speed is not fast enough to freeze the wings of a hummingbird in flight.  It does, however, freeze the body and expression of the hummingbird while preserving the motion of the wings.  Which, in itself, can make for an interesting image as it did here.  Tamron 18-270mm VR zoom at 270mm, ISO 320 at 1/320 second, f6.3.

 

Everyone likes a cracker

At least this little guy (or gal) did!

Mrs. Frog and I were at a great museum that exceeded expectations – the Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, NC.  There’s a recreation of a 16th century sailing ship, exhibits of the Native American inhabitants of the area, and interactive exhibits of the early settlements, among other things.  You know how sometimes you go to a museum with reservations (about going – not a scheduled time)?  I went in with a little bit of that attitude, and left with a different view.  This was well worth it, at least to us.

Anyway, besides all of the history stuff, there are friendly little critters running around the grounds.  Like squirrels.

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This guy/gal wasn’t the least bit bothered by the big two-legged things that invaded its’ home.  Indeed, it was quite content to have what appeared to be a mini-Ritz cracker or two.  As you can see, I was right there with my Icon as the cracker was carefully rotated and consumed.  As I’m sitting here typing this, I’m thinking to myself that this would have made an entertaining short video.  Maybe next time.

A couple of different images from this impromptu wildlife shoot will end up in the “peaceful (for the most part) critters” gallery on Laughing Frog Images.

Wander on in and check it out.  And maybe create a coffee mug or something else for yourself while you’re in there.

Happy browsing.  Enjoy!