Archive 2025 · 33-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
p.1 #133-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Congratulations to JavierWP for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 6 votes - View Previous Winners
On this occasion, I want to share you a bit about my last tour of the season and the longest I've had since starting my career as a bird and wildlife photography guide.
Together with my friends Vac and Chet from Thailand, we began our epic trip in my home country Ecuador. For 12 days, we toured the north of the country, visiting some of the best photography spots in the foothills of the Andes and the Central Valley.
During this first part of the tour, we focused on capturing unique and striking images of Ecuador's most beautiful birds and used various techniques, such as macro photography of hummingbirds (as I shared in my last email), as well as birds in flight, and of course, beautiful portraits.
On this trip I also had the opportunity to test the Nikon Z8 and Z9 as well as the 600 and 400mm with the internal teleconverter, so at the end I will tell you about my impressions of this equipment.
The next destination on our trip was Pantanal, "The Jaguar Land," in Cuiabá, Brazil. Here we had several special encounters with this incredible cat. During the three days we spent on this activity, we saw more than 12 individuals and enjoyed unforgettable moments, such as mating.
Afterwards we flew to the South Pantanal in search of new birds and special mammals and it is here where we had some close encounters with Giant Anteaters, this was my best experience photographing this mammal.
During this part of the trip, we had excellent opportunities to photograph three species of macaws, along with a variety of other incredible birds, such as the Toco Toucan, Monk Parakeet, Red-crested Cardinal, Band-tailed Manakin, among others.
One of the birds I most enjoyed photographing was the Blue and yellow Macaw. Although this bird was one of the most common at the feeders, along with Hyacinth Macaw, the setup wasn't designed for photography. So, I decided to move the food in a direction where we could catch the evening sunlight behind the birds, the light was simply magical.
If you'd like to read the full article, please check out the following link. As always, all comments are welcome.
https://mailchi.mp/6395b3fc23dc/33-day-tour-2-countries-and-thousands-of-incredible-images
Regards,
Javier
Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Sony A1 mkii + Sony 600mm F4 I F5,6 I 1/3000 I ISO 6400
Ecuadorian Hillstar, Nikon Z8 + Nikkor 600mm F4 TC I F8 I 1/3200 I ISO 2800
Jaguar, Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 600mm F4 TC I F5,6 I 1/4000 I ISO 900
Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Sony A1ii + Sony 600mm F4 I F6,7 I 1/3000 I ISO 5000
Red-and-green Macaw, Sony A1ii + Sony 600mm F4 I F4 I 1/3000 I ISO 5000
Bat Falcon, Sony A1ii + Sony 600mm F4 + 1,4 Ext t I F6,7 I 1/1000 I ISO 5000
Blond-crested Woodpecker, Sony A1ii + Sony 600mm F4 t I F4,5 I 1/4000 I ISO 5000
Festive Coquette, Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 600mm F4 TC + 1,4Ext I F8 I 1/500 I ISO 5000
Giant Anteater, Nikon Z8 + Nikkor 400mm F2,8 TC I F2,8 I 1/1600 I ISO 1400
Red-legged Seriema, Nikon Z8 + Nikkor 400mm F2,8 TC I F4 I 1/2500 I ISO 2000
Jul 30, 2025 at 08:41 PM
p.1 #233-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Don't see these much in this part of the globe. Steller set. Voted
Jul 30, 2025 at 09:24 PM
p.1 #333-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Excellent series... TFS...
Jul 31, 2025 at 10:28 AM
p.1 #433-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
A delight to view Javier. How much time did you have with the Z8 & Z9? I'm wondering if the frustrations you experienced could have been due to not being intimate with the equipment and/or not having had time to set it up perfectly for you.
Morris
Morris
Jul 31, 2025 at 11:02 AM
p.1 #533-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Javier, some incredible images here. 
Jul 31, 2025 at 04:22 PM
p.1 #633-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
A good sampling, Javier!
Douglas
Douglas
Aug 01, 2025 at 07:06 AM
p.1 #733-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
cs3is wrote:
Don't see these much in this part of the globe. Steller set. Voted
thank you so much, regards.
Javier
Don't see these much in this part of the globe. Steller set. Voted
thank you so much, regards.
Javier
Aug 01, 2025 at 05:50 PM
p.1 #833-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Thank you so much.
Regards
Javier
cambyses wrote:
Excellent series... TFS...
Regards
Javier
cambyses wrote:
Excellent series... TFS...
Aug 02, 2025 at 07:05 PM
p.1 #933-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Wow! (I can't think of anything more appropriate than 'Wow!')
Al
Al
Aug 03, 2025 at 06:46 AM
p.1 #1033-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
keepclicking wrote:
Javier, some incredible images here.
Thank you so much, regards.
Javier
Javier, some incredible images here.
Thank you so much, regards.
Javier
Aug 04, 2025 at 12:10 PM
p.1 #1133-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Just a Wow set !
Ronny
Ronny
Aug 04, 2025 at 01:08 PM
p.1 #1233-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Thank you so much, regards
Javier
douter wrote:
A good sampling, Javier!
Douglas
Javier
douter wrote:
A good sampling, Javier!
Douglas
Aug 04, 2025 at 04:56 PM
p.1 #1333-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
These are incredible images! Love all of them. Voted.
Aug 05, 2025 at 09:01 AM
p.1 #1433-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Thanks for sharing these wonderful exotic specimens! It does a heart good to know that there is still such beauty out in the world, even if I can't get out there to see all of it for myself.
Incredible set Javier, it looks like you are getting along great with your new A1 II, congrats on a successful and safe trip.
Eric
Incredible set Javier, it looks like you are getting along great with your new A1 II, congrats on a successful and safe trip.
Eric
Aug 05, 2025 at 11:52 AM
p.1 #1533-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Thank you so much for your kind words, regards
Javier
Al Trujillo wrote:
Wow! (I can't think of anything more appropriate than 'Wow!')
Al
Javier
Al Trujillo wrote:
Wow! (I can't think of anything more appropriate than 'Wow!')
Al
Aug 06, 2025 at 05:38 PM
p.1 #1633-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Beautiful photos!
Aug 06, 2025 at 07:52 PM
p.1 #1733-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Stunning images Javier!
Aug 07, 2025 at 05:49 AM
p.1 #1833-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Abuttolph wrote:
These are incredible images! Love all of them. Voted.
Thank you so much, regards.
Javier
These are incredible images! Love all of them. Voted.
Thank you so much, regards.
Javier
Aug 07, 2025 at 08:08 AM
p.1 #1933-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Thank you so much, regards
Javier
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Just a Wow set !
Ronny
Javier
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Just a Wow set !
Ronny
Aug 07, 2025 at 03:05 PM
p.1 #2033-Day Tour, 2 Countries, and Thousands of Incredible Images
Beautiful Photography !! Congratulations on your FTOTW Win.
John
John
Aug 09, 2025 at 08:02 AM