I was able to photograph four species of monkey on my trip to Guyana. This mom and baby are Guyanan red howler monkeys, captured in the Iwokrama rainforest. The Iwokrama is considered one of the four last pristine tropical rainforests in the world (along with the Congo, New Guinea and the Amazon). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 4000, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.

I love photographing parrots, macaws and toucans. But more often than not, they are high in the canopy of very tall trees, set against a bright white sky. Occasionally, however, they grace us with their presence a bit closer to the ground. I was at the airstrip in the Iwokrama Forest of Guyana last week waiting for my departing flight when I saw a bunch of blue-and-yellow macaws behind and above an adjacent village. The plane was running late, so I unpacked the camera to see what I could capture. Most of the macaws were high in the treetops, but three or four of them suddenly dove down to feed on the fruits of a low-lying bush, perfect for an eye-level perspective. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

As I mentioned on Monday, I saw two anteater moms with their pups. This pair came very close. Giant anteaters are practically blind, but they have an excellent sense of smell and are very attuned to sound. The trick was to be downwind from the anteater, and to sit quietly with a silent, mirrorless camera. I eventually had to move away so she wouldn’t stumble right into me with those long claws. Babies will continue to hitch a ride on mom’s back for up to ten months, after which they venture out on their own. You can’t really tell in this photo, but the pup will position itself so that the dark stripe of fur aligns with that of the mom and provides camouflage against predators. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 90mm) ISO 280, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.

The other species I really wanted to see in Guyana was the Guianan cock-of-the-rock. There are two cock-of-the-rock species in South America, the Andes and Guianan. I’ve seen the Andes twice but wasn’t able to get any photos. That luck changed last week when I saw three males all vying for the same female. She watched from the sidelines while the males took turns performing their courtship displays at the lekking site, appropriately situated on a rocky cliff. More posts and info on these guys coming soon. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 6400, f/5.6 at 1/100th of a second.

Just back from a successful trip to Guyana. I’m pleased to report that I did, in fact, find a few giant anteaters to photograph. Four mornings were dedicated to the search, and on each of those mornings we found at least one anteater. On two of the mornings, we found two anteaters, and that’s because we found two babies riding on their mother’s backs (but more on that in a future post). The reason we set out each morning before the sun is because giant anteaters are nocturnal and sleep for most of the day. In the early morning, however, they can still be found, doing the last of their rounds before finding a place to sleep. And true to form, shortly after taking this photo, the anteater walked into a bit of a hidden ravine and curled up in the bushes. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 140, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.