HUMMINGBIRDS AND MORE WITH GREG BASCO AND GREG DOWNING

This itinerary focuses on obtaining outstanding images of hummingbirds in flight and pollinating local flowers. In addition, we have chosen destinations and added a number of activities designed to yield excellent photo opportunities of songbirds, water birds, insects, and frogs as well as dramatic landscape photos. You will come away from this workshop with a beautiful and diverse portfolio of images as well as a wealth of new knowledge to help you to continue improving and expanding your own photography at home and on your next trip to Costa Rica!

• When: March 21-31, 2012 -- SOLD OUT. CONTACT US TO BE PLACED ON WAITING LIST OR TO LEARN ABOUT ADDITIONAL DATES.
• Where: Costa Rica
• Price: $4,295

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NATURESCAPES WORKSHOP

This workshop is part of the new certified workshops program at the popular online nature photography forum NatureScapes. These workshops bring together some of the best nature photography instructors in the world! Greg Basco and Greg Downing enjoy working together and their passion for photography will be contagious.

The Itinerary

Day 1, March 21 San José/Hotel Bougainvillea

Arrival to Costa Rica. Meet our representative at the Juan Santamaría International Airport and transfer to your hotel near the capital city of San José, the Hotel Bougainvillea where Foto Verde Tours' Greg Basco will be awaiting your arrival. Those who arrive early can take the afternoon to photograph the beautiful orchids and other tropical flowers in the hotel's expansive tropical gardens. The Hotel Bougainvillea has free wireless Internet throughout the grounds and in the rooms.

Hotel Bougainvillea overnight, no meals included

Day 2, March 22 Turrialba/Rancho Naturalista

After breakfast, we will travel to the Turrialba area in the Atlantic slopes of Costa Rica's Central Volcanic mountain range, where Rancho Naturalista is located. A famous location for birdwatchers, Rancho Naturalista is known for the diversity of birds, especially elusive hummingbirds such as the snowcap, that can be found along the several trails and around the lodge itself. We will dedicate a considerable amount of time here to capturing world-class images of several species of hummingbird (including the green-breasted mango, snowcap, and white-necked jacobin) from our multiple-flash setup on the lodge balcony. And we will keep an eye out everyday for sunset pictures of the mountain view from the lodge's main building. After dinner this evening, we will enjoy an introductory slideshow on photography in Costa Rica from our photo guide Greg Basco, resident Costa Rican nature photographer and co-founder of Foto Verde Tours.

Hotel Bougainvillea (B), Rancho Naturalista Lodge (L, D)

Day 3, March 23 Turrialba/Rancho Naturalista

We will have our multiple-flash setup on the balcony going all day today and will also rotate through another multiple-flash hummingbird setup in the lodge's private forest reserve. When not photographing hummingbirds, we will photograph the tanagers, orioles, oropendolas, and chachalacas that visit the lodge's fruit feeders.

Rancho Naturalista Lodge overnight (B, L, D)

Day 4, March 24 Turrialba/Rancho Naturalista

We spend the entire day again today at our hummingbird flash setup and the fruit feeders in search of outstanding bird images. We end the day with a night walk around the lodge grounds and forest reserve in search of insects and frogs for macro photography.

Rancho Naturalista Lodge overnight (B, L, D)

Day 5, March 25 Bajos del Toro/Bosque de Paz

After breakfast, we travel to the higher cloud forests of the northern Central Volcanic Mountain Range and our lodge and photography base for the rest of our trip, Bosque de Paz. Bosque de Paz Ecolodge is located in one of the most biodiverse areas of the country, nestled in a picturesque valley at approximately 4,500 feet above sea level between the Poas Volcano and Juan Castro Blanco National Parks. With its rushing mountain streams, cool air, and orchid and moss-festooned trees, the area is akin to a tropical Colorado. After a lunch stop in the charming town of Zarcero (Greg Basco's home), we arrive at Bosque de Paz in mid-afternoon. Afterward, we can unpack and do a bit of photography around the lodge's fruit feeders. In late afternoon, we can usually obtain great portraits of the turkey-like black guan and the large forest rodent, the agouti.

Rancho Naturalista (B), Fresh Mountain Café (L), Bosque de Paz overnight (D)

Day 6, March 26 Bajos del Toro/Bosque de Paz

After breakfast, we set in immediately to begin photographing hummingbirds at our multi-flash setup right on the lodge grounds. Here we are offered a different set of hummingbird species including the scintillant hummingbird (Costa Rica's smallest species), the violet sabrewing (Costa Rica's largest species), the purple-throated mountain gem, and the green-crowned brilliant. We will spend most of the day concentrating on our hummingbird photography but will also split into small groups and set off on hikes into Bosque de Paz' forest reserve to photograph cloud forest streams, a beautiful waterfall, and any wildlife we find. After dinner, we will have a night hike to look for tree frogs, glass frogs, tarantulas, and other macro photography subjects.

Bosque de Paz overnight (B, L, D)

Day 7, March 27 Bajos del Toro/Bosque de Paz

After an early breakfast today, we head to a nearby waterfall, which is 110 meters high and offers beautiful photographic opportunities of the waterfall itself and the surrounding cloud forest. As a special surprise, Foto Verde Tours has negotiated permission to set up our multiple flashes at the feeders around the restaurant at the waterfall. This is a great place to photograph some species, such as the green thorntail, coppery-headed emerald, and white-bellied mountain gem, that are less common at Bosque de Paz. We will alternate turns on the hummingbird setups with landscape photography. There are some spectacular tropical foliage shots here of palms and ferns on the cliffs surrounding the waterfall. We enjoy a delicious typical lunch at the waterfall. We return to Bosque de Paz in the evening for a relaxing dinner and time to download our great hummingbird and lancscape images.

Bosque de Paz overnight (B, D), local restaurant (L)

Day 8, March 28 Arenal Volcano/Arenal Observatory Lodge

After an early breakfast, we travel to the Arenal Volcano area. Arenal is the country's most active volcano, with continuous emissions of lava and incandescent pyroclastic flows since the beginning of the present active cycle in 1968. On clear nights, the views of incandescent avalanches are breathtaking! We will stop en route to photograph green iguanas at a river bridge and then later at a small wildlife refuge to photograph boat-billed herons and possibly three-toed sloths, emerald basilisk lizards, and rufous-tailed jacamars. After a quick lunch in the town of La Fortuna, we arrive to the Arenal Observatory Lodge in late afternoon and, after check-in, photograph the sunset over Lake Arenal and the Arenal Volcano with stars and pyroclastic flows. The Arenal Observatory Lodge affords some of the area's best photographic views of the famous Arenal volcano and offers fantastic sunset views over Lake Arenal and the surrounding hills. Foto Verde Tours has chosen your rooms specifically for their balconies, which allow you to photograph the Arenal Volcano all night if you wish.

Bosque de Paz (B), lunch en route (L), Arenal Observatory Lodge overnight (D)

Day 9, March 29 Arenal Volcano/Arenal Observatory Lodge

We dedicate the morning to photographing Montezuma oropendolas, Passerini's tanager, green honeycreepers, red-legged honeycreepers, and emerald tanagers at the lodge feeders, which Greg will have set up with attractive perches. Just before lunch, we depart for a special place run by Greg's friend Victor Quesada. There we have access to an amazing captive herp collection that will allow us to photograph numerous color forms of the amazing eyelash vipers, parrot snakes, vine snakes, and even red-eyed tree frogs, and poison frogs. We will photograph all of these animals on natural stages that we will set up on site. This is a great opportunity to photograph a number of species that are very difficult to find in the wild and also to continue our work on multiple flash setups for pleasing macro lighting. We will enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch as well as refreshments and coffee throughout the day. We return to the Arenal Observatory Lodge in late afternoon to photograph the sunset and the Arenal Volcano.

Arenal Observatory Lodge overnight (B, D), local restaurant (L)

Day 10, March 30 San José/Hotel Bougainvillea

After more early morning photography around the grounds and feeders, we pack up and leave for San José and the Hotel Bougainvillea, which has excellent, free wireless Internet throughout the grounds, including in the rooms. We will stop for a typical Costa Rican lunch en route. Throughout the day, Greg will be available to help you with caption info for your select images from the trip. After arriving in San José, we have a bit of time to relax and then enjoy a farewell dinner at the hotel.

Arenal Observatory Lodge (B), lunch en route, Hotel Bougainvillea overnight (D)

Day 11, March 31 Airport

Private transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Hotel Bougainvillea (B)

END OF SERVICES

THIS ITINERARY INCLUDES

• Lodging as specified
• Meals as specified
• Private transfers to and from hotels on first and last days
• Professional driver and private transportation in spacious tour bus
• Two professional photo guides
• Professional bilingual photo/nature/culture guide
• Photo guide educational presentations and assistance in the field
• Three multiple-flash setups for hummingbird photography
• Photo guide assistance with caption and ID info for your images
• Entrance fees for all described activities
• Taxes on all services listed above
• Biodegradable plastic water bottle for each participant

THE ITINERARY ABOVE DOES NOT INCLUDE

• Airfare
• Airport departure tax
• Alcoholic Drinks
• Gratuities
• Non-meal time snacks
• Non-meal time soft drinks and bottled water

PRICES (IN US DOLLARS, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY)

• $3,995.00
• Single room supplement = $400.00