Accommodations and included meals – We will be spending the first 3 nights in the Hotel Bougainville

On September 15, 1821, Costa Rica and the rest of Central America declared independence from Spain. Every year, this historic day is marked with large patriotic parades and other celebrations, and will be a wonderful opportunity to photograph Costa Rica's national colors and the energy of its people as we join the celebrations in two medium-sized towns in the Central Valley.
This experience will be focus on people photography. We will challenge ourselves to approach and photograph the beautiful people of Heredia while they celebrate their independence. Photographing people, especially strangers, is always challenging. How do we capture their expressions with spontaneity while we are pointing a big camera towards them? Should we be concerned about their reaction to the camera? Should I put on my long lens and hide behind a tree to photograph people, or should I get my wide angle out to overcome my own shyness and approach them directly? Should I as permission or say I m sorry? We will talk about all this concerns and we will practice the skill of photojournalism, or street and documentary photography.
Arrival at Juan Santa Maria International Airport. We will meet you at the airport, and transfer you to your hotel. The Hotel Bougainvillea is surrounded in lush gardens with many brilliant orchids and other flowers, and those who care to stretch their legs after the long flight to Costa Rica will be able to do so in a very photogenic setting. Keep an eye out for the abundant hummingbirds, Motmots, Tanagers, and other vibrant birds that call this tropical sanctuary their home. Lodging: Hotel Bougainvillea – Heredia (Meals not included)
On the first full day, we will explore Heredia the Ciudad de las Flores, or City of the Flowers – known for its idyllic climate, rich coffee culture, and beautiful women. Here we will photograph the Faroles, or lantern celebration, on the eve of the Independence Day. As history goes, in 1821 the people of Central America took to the streets with lanterns to push for independence from Spain, and to this day every year the streets abound with people carrying vibrant mostly homemade lanterns in honor of this significant event. At 6pm sharp the community gathers in the main park or school of every town to sing the national anthem. This celebration will take place in the afternoon and evening, so we will spend the morning at our hotel reviewing photographic concepts and techniques (aperture, shutter speed, white balance, exposure compensation, use of flash, and anything anybody might need to remember or reinforce) to ensure we all get the most of the exciting tour ahead. Lodging: Hotel Bougainvillea Heredia
September 15 marks Costa Rica's Independence Day, and we will travel early morning to San Isidro to photograph the local festivities. Activities we could experience include hoisting of the national flag, lively patriotic parades, performances by local schools, and other merriment, and if we are lucky we might run into a traditional oxcart heading for the parade. San Isidro is located in a fertile valley surrounded in green hills and farming communities, and sets up a perfect backdrop for the day's celebrations. Tonight we will have our first photo review right before dinner. Lodging: Hotel Bougainvillea Heredia
Accommodations and included meals – We will be spending the first 3 nights in the Hotel Bougainvillea , known for its tended tropical gardens and relaxed atmosphere. Meals will be enjoyed throughout the various locations for this portion of the tour, and will emphasize fresh and authentic local delights.
Tortuguero, or Land of Turtles, is the only village in Costa Rica without cars, and we will travel there by boat. Here we will spend several days exploring the incredible biodiversity of Tortuguero National Park by boat and on foot. Navigable canals and rainforest surround the village, and there will be exciting opportunities to observe and photograph the many species of flora and fauna that inhabit this complex wetland. Caimans, several monkey species, a myriad of exotic birds, as well as charismatic sloths are often seen on the morning and evening boat tours, and there is even a small chance of viewing Costa Rica's most secretive mammal, the jaguar. We will also spend an afternoon exploring the village of Tortuguero, and experiencing the laid back authentic Caribbean feel of the local people, as well as a night tour looking for the many species of sea turtles that nest on these local beaches and give the region it's name.
Tortuguero will be an prime location to practice both people and nature photography. This place always surprises me with amazing photo opportunities nature-wise, and we will make sure it surprises you as well! But the beauty of our accommodations is that we will be in the heart of the village, so there will be great opportunities to wander around and continue practicing the skills we learned in the first experience of our trip.
On the morning of day 4, we will travel down the continental divide to the Atlantic lowlands, experiencing a wide array of natural diversity as we descend from the temperate highlands of the Central Valley to the tropical Caribbean coast through Braulio Carillo National Park. At La Pavona, we will board small covered motorboats and journey down the Rio La Suerte to the village of Tortuguero. The boat ride can take up to 2 hours depending on how low the river is, but will be a fascinating opportunity to observe the verdant surroundings. In the afternoon, we will explore the village, interacting with the locals, and photographing some of the daily occurrences we discover like people leaving church, people enjoying their Sunday in the parks and the beach, children playing, boats in the harbor and on the river, etc. For example, every night we will wait for the sun to set behind the rainforest on the other side of the Tortuguero River casting pastel colors across the waterway, and maybe nature will surprise us with a thunderstorm in the distance to make the sky even more dramatic. That evening, we will walk the beach under the cover of darkness in hopes of being lucky enough to observe turtles in the act of laying their eggs in the sand (unfortunately, we will not be able to photograph this activity, but we will take excellent mental images of this beautiful natural event to share with our loved ones at home). Lodging: Casa Marbella Tortuguero
On day 5, we will wake up early to spend the morning exploring the famous Tortuguero National Park by boat. The stable, flat-bottomed motorboats creep through the jungle-lined canals, allowing us to get close to the wildlife that inhabits this lush tropical rainforest, and we will have many interesting opportunities to photograph this unique flora and fauna. We will be able to practice photography from a boat, which can always be challenging. We will pay special attention to our shutter speed as we point towards our subject that could range from a beautiful heron to a secretive snake. In the afternoon, we will take to the park by foot, exploring the coastal forest trails and the palm lined black sand beach. Lodging: Casa Marbella Tortuguero
On day 6, we will again spend the morning exploring Tortuguero National Park by boat. We will return to the village for lunch (and perhaps a siesta), and then spend our last afternoon/evening in park exploring the park by boat in hopes of encountering more exotic wildlife. We will also have our second photo review. Lodging: Casa Marbella – Tortuguero
Accommodations and included meals – We will be spending 3 nights in the Casa Marbella , a quaint locally owned B B right in the heart of the village on the shores of the Rio Tortuguero. Meals will be enjoyed throughout the various locations within the village of Tortuguero for this portion of the tour with emphasis on supporting smaller locally owned establishments serving only the freshest local delights the 'real' Tortuguero experience.
Sarapiqui is an area of Costa Rica known for its rich farming history as well as its lush biodiverse tropical rainforests, and we will explore both to see how nature and communities have been able to co-exist for all these years. First, we will visit some of the farms to see how fruits like bananas and pineapples are grown, and photograph this interesting process. We will then visit with a local man who has started a center for animals rescued from some minor conflict with man, and we will be able to get close enough to finally photograph animals like the Jaguar – that is of course, if we didn't get lucky already and see one in Tortuguero. Finally, we will visit a former cacao farm turned biological research center to photograph sustainable farming of chocolate within a rainforest as well as some of the beautiful creatures that make their home there.
So far we have photographed people in their environment, then nature with a splash of people, but our third and last experience will concentrate on the point of intersection between people and nature. Farming is an activity that, when photographed, calls for the skills of a good nature photographer to show the beauty of the produce and the skills of a good documentary photographer to dignify the workers of the farm. This will be the ultimate challenge to all the skills we have practiced so far.
On day 7 we will travel by boat back out of Tortuguero, and journey to our next accommodation, La Quinta. The vivid gardens and pool will be a sanctuary for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, but for those who still would like to photograph the flowering heliconias and exotic creatures will be waiting. Lodging: La Quinta Country Inn Sarapiqui
On day 8, we will explore the local agriculture to learn where your bananas or pineapples comes from, and about the communities that these farms support. We will also visit Alvaro the jaguar man who operates a jaguar rescue center. This center is also home to various macaw parrots and other colorful a