Jaguar Photo Tours 2012

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The thrill of photographing wild jaguars
Just a few years ago the idea of photographing a wild and free jaguar, without camera traps, was almost absurd. It would require months spent in the jungle to maybe get a glimpse of one of these elusive cats. But today, after the heydays of hunting, things have changed and in Northern Pantanal’s Meeting of the Waters State Park a new and exciting photo opportunity is arising. The region is becoming famous for its very dependable jaguar sightings, creating numerous photo opportunities during an average short stay. Please note that these jaguars are not being fed or attracted in any way (we highly condemn this practice) they are truly free wild animals roaming through their territories and doing their everyday things. As a matter of fact you may very well see them hunting, this may be stalking capybaras or pouncing on caimans!

We truly believe our tour is a better option than the competition and aimed at maximizing not only the chances of finding and photographing jaguars, but doing so comfortably and safely. Read our description to the right for more information and compare with the other options. Also see some of our testimonials at the bottom of the page. Included on this year’s tours will be some short workshops on advanced photo editing, like selective sharpening and local noise reduction, to name a few.

Our main difference to the competition
- Much better boats, with lots of space and comfort.
- Very fast and silent 4-stroke 115 hp engines.
- Only 2 photographers per boat, not 3 or 4.
- Exclusive air-conditioned van, not dusty open trucks.
- Very comfortable hotels, with lots of space, amazing food, birds, etc.
- Our price includes domestic air-tickets and hosting from São Paulo.
- Our operation is 100% in compliance with brazilian law. This means a tour withouth unwanted surprises.
- The host and guide is an expert in brazilian wildlife and birds, with many years of experience here and speaks fluent portuguese and english.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Click here to see my growing Pantanal portfolio.


Dates: August 11 to 20 and September 21 to 30 / 2012
Fee: US$ 6,899 per person
Single supplement: US$ 650
Deposit: US$ 1,500; remaining 60 days before
Group size: Max of 8 (2 per boat)
Included: Domestic flights (starting in São Paulo), accomodation on dbl occupancy, all meals, bottled water, ground transport on air conditioned van, 19′ boat with 115 hp 4-stroke engine, boat driver, unlimited fuel, park fees, photo instruction and guidance, fully hosted trip.
Not Included: International flights, overweight luggage fees, insurance, visa, hotel in São Paulo, meals and drinks while enroute, side trips, phone calls, laundry, tips, drinks other than water, liquor and anything else not mentioned as included. Check Terms & Conditions for detailed information.
Tour leader: Octavio Campos Salles

Description
The Northern Pantanal is the location for this amazing trip, more specifically at the very end of the famous “Transpantaneira” road, where the Cuiabá River meets the Piquiri, Três Irmãos and some other smaller rivers. This meeting of waters coming from varied areas create a mix of different ecossystems and an incredibly rich food chain. As a result you will see wildlife everywhere: many hawks and ospreys, king vulture, toucans and araçaris, parrots and macaws, all 5 South American kingfishers, colorful small birds, many egrets and other wading birds, the gigantic jabiru stork, families of giant otters, neotropical otters, peccaries, tapirs, capybaras, hundreds of caimans (a croc) and, of course, the enigmatic jaguar.

But before heading deep into jaguar territory we will spend a couple days at a comfortable lodge at the Transpantaneira, where we will have the opportunity to photograph numerous birds (a pair of hyacinth macaws nest in front of the lodge), howler monkeys from a fantastic observation tower, many water birds and snail kites. We will also be looking for giant and southern anteater, tapir and marsh deer. A remote but exciting possibility is a puma. After this we head for our main focus on this tour, the jaguars!

Our spacious hotel at the riverbank, just a few minutes from prime jaguar habitat, features large and clean air-conditioned rooms (single occupancy available), swimming pool, buffet restaurant, wireless internet and open areas with trees and a wetland filled with giant water lillies. All of the real action happens at the river though, shooting from boats. This is where we think our tour really excels. A striking difference from the competition, our boats are spacious and very stable 19 foot center consoles, with ample space at the front or at the back for setting up the cameras and shooting freely on both sides of the boat. There will be a maximum of only 2 photographers per boat. Our boats also have retractable rooftop covers for shade and radios to communicate to one another and give the location of a jaguar. After that your experienced boat driver will speed with 115 hp outboard engines so that you will be at the action fast. This can be all the difference between getting the shot of a lifetime or spending precious time riding the boat just to finally arrive to the scene and find out that the cat is gone.

Once a cat is found you can start shooting right away while the driver positions and anchors the boat, finely adjusting position for the best angle for both photographers. On some occasions you will find a jaguar resting at the riverbank, especially on hot days when the riverbank is cooler, and you will be able to photograph that cat for several hours! On other occasions you will find what we call a “roaming cat”, one that is just walking along the shoreline, appearing here and there once in a while and providing different photo opportunities.

But the Northern Pantanal has many things to offer besides jaguars, and the hours spent looking for one are not empty for there are numerous other photo opportunities just waiting at the next river bend.

The main leader of this tour is professional photographer Octavio Campos Salles, with ample experience of many years throughout Brazil and the Pantanal. He speaks fluent portuguese and english.

Accomodations
Very good with great and varied food throughout (for vegetarians too), comfortable and spacious air-conditioned dbl occupancy rooms with private bathrooms and hot showers. Ours hotels have 110V electricity and free wireless internet access. Ground transport is with air-conditioned vans exclusively to our group.

Level of fitness and weather
Most photography is done from boats. They are stable and very safe, but participants must be able to handle his/her photo gear well and this includes getting in and out of the boat at the hotel pier and carrying the gear to your room. Whenever possible we will be choosing rooms that are closer to the pier. Weather is generally warm and sunny, with the possible odd rainshower in the afternoon. On very rare occasions we might see a rather mild cold front pushing from the South, bringing temps down to low 70′s in the morning, otherwise it’s usually around the high 80′s to low 90′s. Unless something special is going on, we come back to the hotel during midday, for lunch and resting.

“In a simple word, your Pantanal trip exceeded our expectation. Thanks to your leadership, your intimate knowledge of the area, your expertise on the wildlife particularly the birds, and your skill on photography made the trip a resounding success. I was quite amazed at your using self-made “recall” system to afford us a second chance of watching and photographing the birds. I also learned some new insights on photographing, such as mindfulness of the background, appreciation of the quality of light, ways of dealing different lightings…
All in all, we had a great time traveling and returned home with many memorable images, even a few “wow” ones. I would definitely recommend this trip to any one. Thank you very much for the wonderful trip.”
                                                                                                                                                    – Shinnan and Lucy Kiang, USA

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“I want to thank you again for a great trip to the Pantanal and Bonito region. The photographic opportunities, accommodations, and food were all excellent – your meticulous planning and knowledge of the area made for a fine trip. The transportation arrangements were perfect. The experience of watching and photographing the magnificent macaws and all the abundant wildlife in the Pantanal was everything I had hoped it would be. I definitely look forward to more trips with you in Brazil.”

                                                                                                                                                    – Bill Harbin, USA

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“Less than a year ago I thought that I probably wouldn’t ever get to see a jaguar in the wild. Unless I was prepared to spend a couple of months in some seriously tropical South American rain forest. Even when you convinced me to join the Jaguar Photo Tour 2011, I still wasn’t sure if and how we may get to see any jaguars. Looking at my photographic results now, I am extremely pleased. In addition to your perfect planning of all aspects regarding travel and accommodation, it was your professional focus and determination, your familiarity with the areas we visited and of course your indepth birding knowledge that made this excursion a very special experience. You are an outstanding photographer and a perfectionist in every aspect that matters. You have certainly helped me a great deal to improve my own photography, particularly with the use of flash in the field.
I will recommend this trip to anybody and as a next Brazil excursion I would like to travel to the Atlantic rain forest with you.”

                                                                                                                                                    – Patrick Meier, Switzerland

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“First of all – perfect organization and logistics. Everything worked like in the Swiss watch (maybe the influence of Patrick) –from the very beginning organization over the internet, travel, transports and accommodations – just perfect. Since one does not control the nature – we have seen what she wanted to show to us and the nature seemed on good humor. Of all the spectacular fauna we have missed only the great anteater. And the goal of photographing the jaguars was achieved in thousands of pictures that made Sandisk factories work at full speed. Complete satisfaction here. Octavio is extremely knowledgeable about the area and it’s flora and fauna and easily shares the information with the group. He is also a fantastic photographer with a sharp eye and quick finger and his photographs and ‘tricks of the trade’ that he’s more than willing to share are an inspiration to even the experienced amateurs.”

                                                                                                                                                    – Andre B. Erlich, France

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“For quite some time the Pantanal has been on our list of places we wanted to go to. In 2011 we decided now is the time.
Having been through the various tours and other options, there was no doubt, Octavio was the one we wanted to join. We signed up immediately, and we haven’t had any reasons for regrets. Octavio is a dedicated and determined quide. Everything worked in a smooth and unstressed way. The group we joined was small, and we are sure, that the photographic outcome was outstanding for everyone.
Thank you.

                                                                                                                                                    – Hanne and Jorn Wahlstrom, Denmark