Tomorrow we take off for the Cloud Forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica. The past few days we have been in Papagayo relaxing. I am anxious to get out and explore again so the next couple days should be wonderful!
Tonight I decided to take a walk along the beach in Papagayo Bay, Costa Rica. After walking for about 45 minutes, I happened upon these local fishermen. I was about 2 miles from my hotel, and it was getting dark quickly, but I stayed to hang out and photograph them.
This charming old man called me over and started explaining what he was doing in Spanish, of which I understood ZERO. It was still pretty neat to watch.
Not the most amazing image, and the low light made it tremendously difficult to shoot handheld, about 30 yards out in to the ocean, but the shot below might be my favorite of the trip so far.
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The older gentleman called me over after I finished shooting to proudly display one of his fish. This was probably the second time I ever used my on-camera flash. I only had the 14-24mm lens with me (reason for the skewed perspective), but made the best of what I had to work with. What a cool experience!
By the way, whenever you travel, go out of your way to have experiences like this. Walk down that unknown path, talk to a stranger, eat street food, get away from the pool… It will make your travel much more memorable and regardless of what you have heard, the locals in these countries are some of the most genuinely nice people you will ever meet.
As I was walking back, the tide was much higher than when I started, pushing me up against the seaside jungle. I came face to face with an orange diamond-patterened snake, stopping just inches from his hissing mouth! In the low light this was about all I could see…
Anyways, I made it back without incident, and the evening was spectacular but i have no idea what type of snake it is. A friend mentioned it might be a type of Boa… Anyone able to help me out????
Thanks a bunch for visiting!!
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About the last photo: Classic shot, fabulous color.
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Another vote for Boa. http://www.theworldofsnakes.com/?fuseAction=home.view&uid=15&showSaleInfo=no
Are you using any HDR processing tools for the first fisherman? These are great shots.
Thanks Jonathan. Nope, havent used and HDR in quite some time.
Wonderful series of images Adam. That first one is killer.
Len Saltiel recently posted..Panoramic Sendona
These are all wonderful shots, but the first one is my favourite. It is spectacular!! By the way, you really need a “like” button. Sometimes I don’t have a particular comment, but I really want to indicate that I was here and liked the shot.
Another thing I’ve been meaning to ask you – I already follow you and get an email every time you post something. However, when I make a comment I always get an email asking me to confirm that I am following. I don’t understand why.
That’s weird… Do you maybe have the “notify me of follow-up comments by email” box checked? If not, I’m not sure! I will be completely re-doing the blog in the next couple of weeks so that will probably be fixed as well. Sorry for that, but I appreciate you following!
My shot of the snake would have been taken with a telephoto lens. A looooong telephoto lens.
Great shots! As far as the snack goes, I have no idea what kind it is since I would have been running so fast in the opposite direction.
Awesome series Adam. Sounds like you’re really making the most of your trip to Costa Rica. I hope someday I am able to find the time to travel like this.
John Davenport recently posted..A Touch of Fall
Sounds like a fun trip, Adam. Produced some excellent shots, as always.
Mark Summerfield recently posted..Estate Mount Washington Plantation
Great set of images Adam. That first one is spectacular. OK the snake…that would have scared the s**t out of me. I don’t think I would have stopped long enough to photograph it.
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Wonderful images Adam. There are two kinds of snakes. The first is a live one and the second is a dead one. I’m afraid that yours falls in the first category.