Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #150 – Wild

Guest host this week, and our natural guide through the wilderness is Dianne Millard of Rambling ranger – ”I don’t want to see groomed gardens or animals in the zoo. No people or signs of people. I want to see and revel in the natural world in your posts. Where’s the wildest place you’ve ever been? Where do you go to let Mother Nature regenerate your spirit?”

Most of you know I am a great nature lover and I always do my best to protect her and … taking only photographs, leaving nothing but footprints.

But love of the wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had eyes to see.

Edward Abbey

Seeing how Dianne lives her life, I can only admire and love her for what she is doing. I share her love of the wilderness, but I guess I was not made for such a tough life that she is living in Alaska… Go see her amazing adventures and photography!

We can all find and love pieces of wilderness at home – but this time I went back to one of my wildest and most loved adventures. Ecuador, the Amazon and Galapagos. I will start like Dianne – with my morning view, of the Napo river.

Every morning after breakfast we went by canoe into the jungle – for a new adventure.

Most significant were the playful monkeys – jumping in the canopy above, curiously swinging down to watch us marvel.
The silence of the gliding canoe, and then all the sounds of the jungle. The diversity in tangled plants and the absolute love and gratefulness of being there… It’s really impossible to describe in words or images, and the feeling impossible to imagine if you haven’t been there yourself.
The light in the darkness under the trees – and us waiting for an anaconda to swim up beside the canoe…
(Luckily?) No anaconda appeared during these days, but every detail was a beautiful gem. Only occasionally it was possible to take decent photos. Low light, no open landscapes, only dense jungle.

Climbing to the top of the canopy, we could hear and see many birds – but from a distance only. We spent our last night high up in a Kapok tree, watching the sunset over the Amazon basin. And I was also enchanted by all the glorious wild orchids residing in the trees.


To really get close encounters with the wild life – we then went for almost a week on a sailing boat to the Galapagos islands.

Here a close-up with one of the most special animals connected to these islands – a giant!

Other special, endemic wildlife here are the Land iguanas –
– and the Marine iguanas. You never forget their faces once you have seen them…
Seals were everywhere of course. This male had a big harem, and he kept a close watch on all the females…

So many adventures we had together, mostly on the water, and incredible close contact with the animals! We met so many lovely faces, and if we only kept a two meter distance, everything was OK. My favourites here are the little yellow warbler and the Mocking bird…they used to come up to me and look me in the eye. The mocking birds tried to steal things from my bag. Paradise is not having to be afraid of one another ♥. We spoke softly together.

Late evening, and both the iguanas and the boobies seemed to love the last rays of sun – just as much as we did.

Every island has its special landscape. Grey, dead trees? Take a closer look…

And every island has its own endemic inhabitants – blending in perfectly. A survival kit we all need.

Thank you so much for sharing last week’s wonderful colours with Tina and the rest of us! And thank you Dianne, for letting me return to another wonderfully wild place on planet Earth. We are looking forward to seeing more wild things, from home or on travels, linked to Diannes original post.

Next week, Patti will be offering LAPC #151, so be sure to check out her site then!  Her theme is From Large to Small.  Pick a colour and take several photos that feature that colour.  Start with a photo of a big subject in that colour (for example, a wall) and move all the way down to a small subject in that same colour (for example, an earring).

72 reaktioner på ”Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #150 – Wild

  1. Hi Leya

    There I was reading along in your post, enjoying the little monkey and feeling the gliding sensation of the canoe and then my heart jumped into my throat at the sentence of your “…and us waiting for an anaconda to swim up beside the canoe…” Yikes. Anaconda? What a very engaging post you have written.

    Here’s my slightly tardy submission for this challenge.

    Beautiful Great Egret and the MBTA

    Best, Babsje

  2. Pingback: Beautiful Great Egret and the MBTA | Babsje Heron

  3. Leya, these are particularly lovely, the colors, the gentle, calm ambiance – so amazing. I wish I could infuse your eye for photography. That tortoise is looks like eyes in a cave. The golden iguana looks like his bumps gathered every bit of mustard pollen in the world. You open a world many never see.

  4. A beautiful ode to nature Ann-Christine. I loved your images and thoughts about your Amazon adventure especially. I could honestly feel the density of the foliage and hear the birds through the silence. Glorious! And of course the Galapagos are so well known for their ecology and for how carefully tourism is regulated there. They are a model we might hope all such places would adopt. Terrific response to Dianne’s challenge.

  5. How different things are on a nearly disconnected land mass. That monkey’s face reminded me of a Phayre’s leaf monkey, but the coloured hand and robust tail and entirely different. And then in the islands you get to see an incredible variety again. How ecology and chance create species!

    • Glad you liked my post – and I had to look up your monkey because I had never heard of it. What masked eyes they have! Incredible.

  6. I so agree with Manja about ‘Paradise is not having to be afraid of one another’ echoing in my mind after viewing this glorious collection of photos. And loving monkeys as much as I do guess which photo brought forth the biggest smile . . . thank you !.

  7. Pingback: Lens-ArtistPC-150-Let’s-Get-Wild – WoollyMuses

  8. Thank you for sharing your adventure, AC! What an amazing photo selections. These creatures are beautiful and precious. The opening capture is incrdible, so are the rest of these images.

  9. Loved your post. What an amazing experience, Ann Christine! I wish I could be there and loved seeing it through your eyes. The monkey is my favorite, but there are so many wonderful images in this post. The gargoyle faces of the iguanas, that wonderful shot of the boobies and iguanas, The gray forest blooming with flowers and lizards… Thank you so much for sharing and taking us with you as you revisited these special places.

  10. I’m speechless. The places you described, I’ve only seen either on the screen or read in books. Yes, I’m green with envy. What an adventure it must have been! Your words and pictures transported me to this other wild world. Fantastic post, Ann-Christine!

      • You’re so honest 🙂 One of the reasons I could never be a good wildlife photographer is that I’m too impatient. Given the quality of your photos, I think you must have a lot of skill and patience!

      • Thank you very much, Sandy, for your kind words! I have friends who sit hidden for hours and hours to get ”THE” photo. I am not that patient! But honest I am…

    • ♥ I am grateful we got there before it is disappearing. The islands are sinking and the waters are getting too warm for keeping the sea food for the Marine iguanas.

    • Thank you for commenting, Otto. I have thousands of photos from there, and they are very precious to me. Now that the islands are sinking and will finally disappear, you should try to go. The Marine iguanas are dwindling already because of the warmer waters – their food is disappearing. We are a sad species, humans.

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