Taking Photographs of Animals can be a Tricky Proposition

On June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Blogging, Hiking4 Comments

We have seen many different animals throughout our travels, some of them more interesting than others. As we prepare for our safari, we know that we will come home with many more animal photographs than what we even have today. We are always on the lookout for motion in the trees that surround us, the rustling of bushes, or even shadows moving across the ground so that we don’t miss out on a possible animal sighting. Many of the animals are cute and adorable, some colorful, and others perhaps a little strange or even dangerous. Taking photographs of animals can be tricky at times and sometimes it all comes down to a little bit of luck.

Monkey on the Rocks of Halong Bay, Vietnam

It obviously helps to have a telephoto lens, but that also comes with its own set of challenges. It can be difficult to go from the naked eye to the camera and get it to the location where you just sighted the animal. Another interesting thing that we found from several of our trips now is the trick of using binoculars and a cell phone to capture a photograph. The binocular acts as a telephoto lens for the camera on your phone and the images are often as good as those captured with a digital camera.

Up Close and Personal with Monkeys in Panama

One thing that is clear is that you don’t have to go to exotic locations to captures photographs of animals in the wild. There are obviously birds of all different kinds wherever you travel, but it isn’t surprising to see snakes, lizards and other creatures as well. There are also places that have allowed the animals to remain in the wild at certain tourist locations like the monkeys in Gibraltar or even the wild donkeys in South Dakota. All it takes is a little patience and a willingness to take several photographs so that you just might get the one that you were looking for. Do you take photographs of animals in the wild?

Bird Along the Trail to the Top of Gellért Hill in Budapest

Colorful Details of a Hummingbird Moth in Our Backyard

FINALLY – We Have Planned and Booked Our Next Adventure

On April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Africa20 Comments

It has been 19 months since our last extended trip out of the country and we have been waiting for the opportunity to go almost anyplace. There are still many places that aren’t open to travel, but slowly many of them are starting to resume tourist activities. We have planned a trip to Kenya and Tanzania for the first two weeks of July. We have made sure to check all cancellation policies, travel warnings, and talked to local tour operators. Before COVID, this would have been an easy decision, either we go or don’t go. Now there is a lot more to consider before making such a commitment as it is never cheap to travel, especially for a trip such as this.

The Mountains of Ninh Binh Province in Vietnam – Our Last Adventure

We are doing a 10 day safari that will take us through the Amboseli National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, and Masai Mara. We are obviously very excited, but it wasn’t an easy decision. We have always been able to plan trips relatively quickly, but after a year and a half without traveling, it felt as if we were planning the very first overseas adventure ever. We are optimistic that nothing will change and our trip will happen as planned, but in the current world, there are no guarantees. It seems that people fall into two camps when it comes to traveling post-pandemic. Many people only want to travel somewhat locally and not take the risk of going internationally where they might get quarantined, sick, or have restrictions. Then there are others who have the “itch” like us who simply can’t wait to get back out into the world. Perhaps we’re a little crazy, but we are so glad to have an adventure to look forward to. Which camp do you fall into?

Looking Forward to Seeing the World from Our Airplane Window Again

Fascinating Birds Can Be Found Everyplace

On March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge4 Comments

We’ve been fortunate enough to get into nature in many different places and there are certainly some colorful and interesting birds in the jungles of South America as well as the forests of North America. Birds, however, can be found almost everyplace. Although birds like pigeons and black birds are the most common, it doesn’t mean that you won’t find some more unique ones wherever you live. Like many people, we have a birdfeeder in our back yard to attract different varieties of birds and we enjoy watching them throughout the year.

Bird in the Mountain Village of Telluride

We aren’t necessarily bird watchers, but we do keep our eyes out for birds whenever we are out and about, especially hiking. During our trip to Ecuador, we had two specific opportunities to go in search of birds. The first was our trip the top of the canopy of the Amazon Jungle where we saw macaws and several other colorful birds. On the following day, we took a boat out to a “clay lick” where different varieties of parrots flocked to enjoy the minerals that are found in the clay.

As we mentioned, though, you don’t have to be in the jungle or forest to see interesting birds. We have seen birds in the trees of Budapest, found them in parks of the city, and sometimes in the trees of our hotel. We have so many hawks where we live in Colorado that we consider them to be as common as the black birds and pigeons that we see wherever we travel. We aren’t sure what the most unique bird that we have seen would be, but we certainly enjoy all of the various varieties. It isn’t always easy to capture a photograph of them as they often fly away just as you pull out your camera to catch their image. What is the most unique bird you have seen and were you able to capture it in a photograph?