The Atacama Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world…except right now. We are experiencing some of the most rain they have seen in years, which is providing some amazing shooting situations. I was lucky enough to catch some lightning shooting a passing storm in the Valley of the Moon.
With all the rain, we have found great reflection pools in the desert and on the salt flats. One point to remember with reflections, the lower you get, the more clouds you have in the reflection. This image was taken lying on the ground.
We stopped by a flamingo preserve and found lots of flamingos to shoot, and a long lens was not needed. I like to use a 9 point autofocus pattern to track birds in flight, this gives me the fastest focusing…no need for 51 point when you know which way your subject is going.
I have continued to be impressed with the 24-120mm F4 Nikon lens. At f22, it creates amazing sunstars as seen here. This is my favorite travel lens.