Brazil Untamed

June 19 to 29, 2027

Jim has combined two of Brazil's ultra dramatic and visually arresting national parks to create a photo tour like no other. Drones are welcome, but you will get incredible images using conventional landscape techniques as well. Lencois Maranhensis is a masterpiece of otherworldly, constantly shifting white dunes that cradle blue-green crystalline ponds. The tapestry of graphic design, stunning contrast, and rich texture is simply breathtaking. In low angled sunlight, the landscapes you are able to capture will be like nothing you've ever seen before. In addition, the outrageous patterns in the Black River offer a completely different photographic experience. The phenomenal colors and design seen from an aerial perspective are created by tannins, brown algae, and mineral-rich sand.

We also travel to Iguazu Falls National Park, the most stunning and photogenic system of waterfalls in the world. There is literally water falling everywhere! We stay in the only hotel inside the park so when all the tourists leave at 5:30pm, we will have the entire place to ourselves for sunset, night photography, and sunrise.

You really don't want to miss this one!

What you will learn on this photo tour:

-- How to take long exposures of waterfalls at night

-- Understanding when to use focus stacking with telephoto lenses

-- Exposing correctly for white dunes in bright light

-- Using the correct camera settings for birds in flight

-- How to launch a drone in the wind with blowing sand

-- Retaining aquamarine colors in desert ponds with contrasty exposures

-- Using the crest of dunes as leading lines

-- Deciding how many frames to shoot for an effective HDR

Itinerary:

Day 1, June 19, Saturday

Leave home and arrive in São Paulo, Brazil (airport code GRU) on this day. You may have to leave the day before. Take a taxi to our airport hotel, rest from the long trip, and then we meet as a group in the lobby of the hotel to discuss the upcoming trip. We then enjoy a welcome dinner. Overnight São Paulo.

Day 2 - 4, June 20 - 22, Sunday - Tuesday

This morning we take a morning flight from São Paulo to Foz do Iguazu International Airport. We transfer to our hotel -- the only one located inside the national park -- and check in. We then spend the next three days photographing the most beautiful, dynamic, and mind-boggling waterfall in the world. Iguazu Falls is the largest waterfall system in the world (Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe has the largest wall of water and Angel Falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall), it consists of 275 individual falls, stretches across 1.7 miles, and drops almost 300 feet.

We will photograph the various falls from walking paths and right in front of our hotel. We will also take advantage of being in the park after all the tourists are gone; twilight and night photography are beautiful here.

Close to where we'll be staying is the best bird park in the world for capturing species rarely seen in the wild. Dozens of exotic, tropic birds are on display, many of which are in natural environments. We will spend a few hours here, and you'll be thrilled with the images you can take.

In addition, if you want to take a helicopter ride over the falls, there will be time for you to do that (at your own expense). It's a 10 minute excursion, and you can get an entirely different perspective. Overnight Hotel das Cataratas.