I just returned from spending a week in Costa Rica, and can’t wait to go back in February for a workshop I am helping teach for ANPW. If you haven’t been, here is what you are missing; friendly people, stunning natural parks, scarlet macaws flying through the jungle, monkeys about everywhere you look, and dramatic sunsets over the pacific. We will also do some off camera flash of the dart frogs and stunning tropical butterflies. There is still one spot left on this trip!
I did a post for PPC on jungle shooting tips. The biggest thing to be prepared for is shooting at high ISO when we are on jungle excursions. I shot at ISO1600 and was able to get shutter speeds at 1/125 or faster depending on the situation. Some monkeys I photographed at 1/20 using my 80-400mm with VR and got tack sharp images.
As many of your know, my family and I are birders. We racked up over 100 species of birds without trying to hard. Costa Rica has as many birds (800+) as the US but in an area the size of Vermont and New Hampshire put together. One of my favorites was the Violet-Crowned Woodnymph at the top of this post.
Speaking of workshops, there is space still left on the ANPW Acadia workshop; stunning sea cliffs, fall colors and great lobster for dinner!