Earlier this year I visited florida again. It is starting to feel like a second home despite being there for only two week out of a year. I came across some amazing people both local and foreign. It really makes the difference to a trip when you can meet such friendly people especially with a common interest.

Photographic oppertunities were few and far between at times, which pushed me to visit new places. Some of which I will be sure to visit again.

Here are a few favourites from my trip, I hope you like them too.

There is only one way to settle this... FIGHT!

Most wildlife will disappear or distance themselves from a potential threat, such as people getting too close for comfort. Depending on the situation, fear is surpassed by some animals and they become oblivious to what is going on around them. I have seen two robins having a scrap outside a cafe in the street - they just seem to be lost in their own little world and unaware that they risk getting trodden on by morning commuters. A sparrowhawk can be so engrossed with its prey that it doesn’t notice approaching people as a threat. This type of behaviour is mostly likely to arise as a result of food, rival males or defending territories. 

These two willets were fighting in the surf on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Despite people playing in the water and others walking by along the beach, they continued to fight.  After several minutes, the fight was over and the birds went their separate ways. 

Nothing like a bit of free entertainment whilst on the beach. 

Costa Rica

A few weeks ago I was standing in the the very hot and humid rainforest of Coast Rica. It was a totally new environment to me and along with a vast array of bizarre and highly fascinating subjects surrounding me, it was overwhelming to say the least. Sometimes it was just nice to stand back and admire it all without my camera.

Being under the dense canopy of the rainforests, meant that light was the biggest issue for photography. But foreknowing this I bought a small soft box for my speedlite (Lastolite Ezybox), which turned out to be one of the best investments I have made during my time as a photographer - it’s small compact and weighs very little, so perfect for traveling where size and weight always matter.

I spent most of my time exploring during late evening when the wildlife just seems to go into a league of its own. So armed with a 100mm macro lens and a single speedlite (soft box attached) I went in search of creatures of the night.

I came across this Red-thighed Wandering Spider that was just meters from my room where I was staying. Every night it would appear and lay in the same position, waiting for its prey to walk on past.
I can honestly say that I have never seen a spider move so fast. It grabbed a beetle that strolled by with such speed and accuracy that my eyes barely registered it. It was definatly one of the best finds of the trip. 

Red-thighed Wandering Spider

Everywhere you go in Costa Rica you will see the red eyed tree frog being exploited on post cards, t-shirts and gifts etc. 

If you listen carefully you can identify this particular frog from others, as they call to each other in the dark. After looking on-top and the undersides of every leaf I eventually found one. They really do live up to their reputation of being one of the most photogenic species.   

Another frog that I came across was the gladiator frog.

A lot of the wildlife in Costa Rica is designed to blend into its surrounding environment, making it hard to find unless you know where to look. You defenatly need to spend a lot of time there to really reveal the hidden world.

These bats were found inside a termite mound that was seven feet up in a tree. A hole had been bored about twenty centimetres into the mound from the underside - it proved to be the perfect resting place for this colony of bats. (species to be confirmed)

Tropical Screech-Owl

Hanging flower found in the cloud rainforest (species to be confirmed)

Three-toed sloth

Crested guan

Hummingbird (species to be confirmed)

Howler monkey

Swarm of tiny black bees (species to be confirmed)) 

After spending just over ten days in Costa Rica, I merely even scraped the surface of what can be found. It contains some the most diverse wildlife on the planet, making it a must see place.
If possible go for as long as you can. As it takes a while to get used to the humidity (in parts).
Exploring with your eyes is one thing but when taking a lot of camera gear, I would say it was quite challenging work at times (especially when there is so much to see and photograph). But this gets easier once you acclimatise.  

High resolution images can be viewed with the following link:-

http://www.timhuntphotography.co.uk/untitled/recent-images

Florida 2014

What seems to be a never-ending barrage of bad weather, has driven me go in search of some inspiration to keep the photographic passion alive. So taking advantage of the January flight sales I travelled to Florida.

A day into my trip I soon realised that the bad weather back home had come back to haunt me. Pouring rain and skies so grey the sun never made an appearance. So much for being the ‘sunshine state’. Some parts of florida had nearly 2 feet of rainfall in 24hrs. A knock on effect from all the rain meant that the swamps and pools that were usually teaming with wildlife, were now too deep for all the wading birds. Even the Everglades National Park seemed awkwardly quiet. I had hoped to spend four days there but Instead only spent an evening and a morning, before deciding to head back west. 

Many other photographers that I met were also feeling the shortage of wildlife and bad weather this year, so I was not alone. It is a constant reminder of the challenges that come with this type of photography. You just have to adapt and move on.
To sum it up, I didn’t get as many images I was hoping for.  Despite the bad weather I did manage to have a few productive days and I met some great people along the way, which made the trip a lot better, so thank you, I hope to stay In touch.

Here are a few favorites from my trip

For a better viewing experience please follow the the link; 

http://www.timhuntphotography.co.uk/untitled/recent-images

Osprey with fish

Armadillo foraging

Osprey

Alligator

White Ibis

Tricolored heron using its wings to create shade in order to reduce reflections

White ibis with crab

Fort Myers beach after all the rain 

Brown Pellican

Great blue heron with nesting material

An alligator basks on a dirt road in front of my hire car

Tricolored Heron

Playful willets

Snowy egret chasing off a tricolored heron

A family of magpies

South Florida and the Everglades: Part 1

I have very recently arrived back from a two week trip to florida. My time was spent exploring the natural history of the south.
It truly is a remarkable place to visit if you get the chance. This is the first of several uploads to come, so watch this space!

Double crested cormorant

Tricolored heron

Sunrise over the Everglades

Burrowing owl at first light

American alligator 

Anhinga 

Anhinga plumage 

Pied-billed grebe

Raccoon wading through the swamp

Red shouldered hawk

Reddish egret with fish

Least sandpiper

Eye of a cormorant 

Hope you liked them!

High resolution images can be viewed with the following link:-

http://www.timhuntphotography.co.uk/untitled/recent-images/album/southfloridaandtheeverglades?p=1