For a Happy New Year!

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"On Cloud Nine"

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.PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Have a look at this year’s last Gallery in Fotograma, with nice pictures of clouds. In case we don’t meet here again in 2006, I wish you Merry Christmas and a great transition for 2007, hoping that the new year brings us all more and more opportunities for great pictures and pleasant situations amidst nature!

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click to see gallery
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The Cloud Appreciation Society
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National Geographic Hummingbirds article coming out!

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.Swallow-tailed Hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura)
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2005

"Breaking News": it has just been confirmed that the article about hummingbirds in the National Geographic Magazine, for which I worked together with photographer Luis Mazariegos in Dec’05, will be in the January 2007 issue (click for details).


I wouldn’t want to miss that!

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Birds and Photography in 2006: The Top Ten list

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... And there goes 2006. Based on the idea of my good colleague and friend Guto Carvalho, author of Passarinhar blog, I decided to come up with a personal list describing the 10 most remarkable situations related to birds through which I have gone in this nearly-finished year!


Here we go (the list doesn’t follow any order of priority or preference):


1) Accompanying and photographing an active nest of Ornate Hawk Eagles (Spizaetus ornatus) with a chick at Maracaju Mountain Range, with a privileged view.

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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2) Accompanying and photographing an active nest of Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja) on the borders of Serra da Bodoquena National Park, with a privileged view.

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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3) Watching and photographing a pair of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) with their backs covered by snow, in Germany (some folks told me that this is a quite rare scene to watch since the birds keep on diving to remove the snow before it builds up).

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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4) Being invited to set up exhibitions with some of my bird photos in Munich and at Avistar 2006 – I Brazilian Birdwatching Meeting.

PHOTO: © Ralf Tambke, 2006

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5) To be with Tietta when she concluded her Master’s dissertation about
"Birdwatching Tourism".

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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6) Being invited to write and provide pictures for the cover story of Atualidades Ornitológicas # 133, Brazil’s leading periodical publication about birds.

PHOTOS: © Daniel De Granville, 2004-2006

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7) To see the birdwatching market growing bigger and bigger in Brazil, be it by means of an increase in the interest of people and the media, or by the “boom” of printed and virtual publications about the subject.

ARTWORK: © Kiko Azevedo, 2005 with photos by
© Daniel De Granville, 2004-2005

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8) Visiting Cristalino Jungle Lodge and its incredible birdwatching tower over the canopy.

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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9) Being able to spend a total of about six weeks this year in the middle of the Pantanal (on duty, but right by the birds!).

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2003

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10) Being able to watch a pair of Plumbeous Kites (Ictinia plumbea) everyday near my house – they seem to be nesting some dozen yards away from my front door (despite the fact that many trees around have been stupidly chopped down a few days ago).

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

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I hope that 2007 brings us all
more and more incredible situations in close contact with nature!
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Pantanal: From Dawn 'till Dusk

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Pantanal, can anybody hear me?
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Picture yourself getting up at 3:30 AM, taking a quick gulp of black coffee and leaving – still in the dark – on an army-style 4WD truck built in the 1940’s. The destination? A place that you still don’t know if it’s reachable. When will you come back? Theoretically tonight, but…

Therefore, bring along everything that might be necessary: besides the “regular” working tools (in my case all of the photo paraphernalia), remember the spare car battery, the jack, chain, flashlight, wooden boards (might help in case we get stuck), shovel, food, hammocks, mosquito nets, clothes, water, walkie-talkie, fuel, tarp.

Pampas Deer: mother and baby
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

A nightmare? A sacrifice? Not at all, it’s just another sensational shooting day in the Pantanal! This story was written while I was based at Fazenda Rio Negro, on a photo assignment for the Conservation International, where I was photographing some of the region’s Private Reserves of the Natural Heritage for a catalog. This was the last trip, when I took photos of the places that still lacked good images.

Crossing the Pantanal in the middle of the night...
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Yes, it’s a lot of work, the days are long, it’s tiring and requires a lot of good humor plus adventurous spirit. But it provides indescribable moments, which make me feel privileged. First, because the landscapes and scenes and animals that I have the chance of seeing are just sensational. Second, because the people who I end up having contact with in order to do my job are as cool as the place! Spending hours away from any sign of civilization, having lunch at the edge of a lagoon with the sounds of birds and admiring the landscape – all of this brings me a lot of good sensations. Even if on the way back our car gets stuck and I get eaten by mosquitoes while helping my buddy out...

Lunch time. No spoon? No problem! Just improvise one
using the leaf of a bromeliad.
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

* It’s worth explaining that such things will happen solely on special working occasions. Whoever intends to visit the Pantanal on a leisure trip will sure receive the same hospitable treatment which is one of the region’s highlights, but at the same time will find much more comfort to visit these places with safety and tranquility.

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006
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Working for the National Geographic, Part 3: Hummingbirds

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. Black Jacobin (Florisuga fusca)
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2005

To celebrate the first anniversary of this assignment, let’s go on with today’s post!

After working on the Pantanal story, in December 2005 I was hired again by the National Geographic Society. This time I spent two weeks on the field as a producer, photo assistant and guide for Colombian photographer Luis Mazariegos, who is working on an upcoming story about hummingbirds. Mazariegos, author of the highly praised book "Hummingbirds of Colombia", has been a specialist on hummingbird photography for over 25 years, and is considered as the photographer who has the vastest image collection of these birds in the world.

Frilled Coquette (Lophornis magnificus )
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2005

We traveled long distances in search of very specific objectives, such as the Hooded Visorbearer Augastes lumachella, a species who is confined to an extremely restrict area in the region of the Chapada Diamantina (Bahia State, Brazil). We went from São Paulo to Ubatuba, then Itatiaia, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, always searching for hummingbirds. I was impressed with Mazariegos’ expertise and awareness when taking care of these birds, about which he is a great specialist – and not just on the photographic aspect. For this reason, even though photography is not his main professional activity, the Nat Geo chose him to take the photos for the article.


Ultimately, despite the intense working rhythm, I even had time to take my own photos, some of which illustrate this post. Hummingbirds are always very hard to photograph due to their quickness and the iridescence of their feathers, but when you get a good image all efforts are worth it.

PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2005


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