Photo in Natura | nature transforming people

Dive with Anacondas hits the web and goes viral

2012-01-15T20:57:00.006-03:00

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UPDATE 2 (22 Jan 2012 @ 1 PM):
Another very nice and informative text in English

UPDATE 1 (17 Jan 2012 @ 7 PM):
a good text in English telling more about the "anaconda hype"
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The story about diving with anacondas
was today's main subject on the local news...
(screen capture from g1.globo.com website)

About two days ago, some Facebook friend found and commented about the pictures that I took in Aug 2010 of a team of photographers diving with anacondas here in Bonito (Brazil). The photos ended up on my wall and - for some reason that I'm still trying to understand - had hundreds of hits during the last 48 hours, much more than when I originally posted them.

And so I got a call from G1 (Globo), Brazil's #1 news portal, who wanted more information to publish an article using the pictures. I agreed as long as there was no sensationalism, that the text had an educational approach to demystify these snakes.

... and featured as a highlight at Globo.com,
Brazil's major news portal.
(screen capture from globo.com website)

Today the story was published and is going viral, since it was featured nationwide on the main pages of Globo.com and G1, besides being the day's main article at G1's regional portal in Mato Grosso do Sul State. The best of all is that the regional team of G1 did a wonderful job and strictly followed my recommendation and remarks about the text that should follow the images. A goal for environmental education and awareness!

Read the story (Portuguese only, maybe you can try Google Translator)
Read about this adventure at PiN Blog
Watch my video of a dive with anacondas
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New Year's Card

2011-12-26T12:59:00.001-03:00

This year Photo in Natura adopted a slogan that faithfully represents the importance of nature in our lives. So, these are our wishes for 2012: LET NATURE TRANSFORM YOU!

Artwork and Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011
[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

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To help protect the macaws, please visit www.projetoararaazul.org.br

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New Pictures in our Image Bank

2011-08-20T20:19:00.002-04:00

Larva of a moth (Sphingidae).
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

We have added dozens of new pictures to Photo in Natura’s Image Bank, which now offers over 1000 photo files available for you to check out! The highlights are images of fauna, landscapes, people, indoors and studio.

Researchers collecting botanical samples in the Pantanal.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Detail of a Walking Iris flower.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

A National Geographic photographer dives
with fish in the region of Bonito (Mato Grosso do Sul).
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

This is just a sample of the 60.000+ stock images that Photo in Natura offers for publishing in books, magazines, websites, ad campaigns, indoor decoration, products and whatever else your imagination conceives.

Ecotourists walk over Glacier Perito Moreno,

Patagonia, Argentina.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Serra do Amolar, Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Capybaras in Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul).

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Check out the photographs that have already been published by WWF, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic, Sotokoto Magazine (Japan), Toyota Magazin (Germany) and many other clients.

A Black-hooded Parakeet in the Pantanal.

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

South American Sea Lion, Beagle Channel,
Ushuaia, Argentina.

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Artwork by Móveis Madeira Legal done with
wood from naturally fallen trees.

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011
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Pantanal: Two Days and Much Water

2011-03-15T11:57:00.002-04:00

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.Water, water, everywhere...
Foto: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Upon leaving the paved road, we took a gravel path into the Pantanal, in search for a neat place to watch birds. The way seemed good and the place was promising, up to the moment when we started to see some water on the track, then more and more water. We drove a little further and decided to stop and check out the conditions more carefully. “Will the car make it?”, we wondered. I started to take some pictures while we pondered, when all of a sudden something appears way back, coming on the path. “If that’s a car, it means we can go too”. But no: it was a boat! All we could do was admire the scene, take some more shots and turn around with the car. This is the Pantanal.

Who said that roads are solely for land vehicles?!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

This was the most striking experience of these two days that Tietta and I spent in the town of Miranda (Mato Grosso do Sul), where we will soon present the course “Training birdwatching guides in the Pantanal”, promoted by Photo in Natura in partnership with WCS and Águas do Pantanal Inn and Tour Operator, among many other supporters. The objective is to qualify tour guides, group leaders and other professionals who are interested in learning about this promising and fascinating activity that brings together leisure, conservation, profit and job opportunities.

Birds take off from the flooded fields along the road in Miranda.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Speaking of courses, it seems as 2011 will be the year in which Photo in Natura will become known as a service provider for professional qualification activities related to wildlife. More soon!

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Bonito Field Guide:Second Edition

2011-02-08T19:34:00.003-03:00

The First Edition of our Bonito field Guide, published in 2005, is sold out. Five thousand copies were sold or given away for tour guides, schools, libraries, environmental ograns, NGOs and other institutions, with the objective of fomenting environmental education in a regional level, through estimulating knowledge of our fauna and flora.

Therefore, we now present the "Bonito Field Guide – Second Edition". The new version brings a brand new and redesigned cover, much better picture quality, corrections and scientific updates.

The cover price is BRL 28,00 and the book can be bought through the website www.guiasdecampo.com.br.

* Bonito Field Guide is the first guide of fauna and flora dedicated to the Bodoquena Plateau.

Sample pages of the Bonito Field Guide, Second Edition.
Photos: © 2005 Daniel De Granville | Artwork: © 2005 Kiko Azevedo
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Frogs and Otters

2011-01-31T09:07:00.004-03:00

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.Posing for the curious photographer.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

This year started off kind of slow: no guiding trips, no official photo shoots so far. But it doesn’t mean that my cameras are taking a break – the past week was particularly productive.

Last Monday, I was just getting out of bed to start a new week, when one of my neighbors calls: “Daniel, I’m sorry for calling so early, but I just found this rare and unique frog in my garage and am saving it for you to photograph, please hurry!”. I dressed quickly, picked up my Brazilian Amphibians guide book and went to see it. After identifying the species as a Melanophryniscus fulvoguttatus, I placed it on a nice leaf on the ground, took these pictures and let it go.

My wife likes to call this one "The Yoga Frog"!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Even though it does not appear as endangered according to IUCN’s Red List, this may change at any time, as amphibians suffer global impacts. The species has a quite restricted range, covering part of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil, a portion of Paraguay and a bit of Argentina. So, if you want to see this exquisite frog, you must come to the region where I live!

Back to normal.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

A few days later, some tour guides with whom I am friends mentioned that a Giant Otter was showing frequently at one of the region’s river springs used for snorkeling programs. I made my plans and spent nearly 10 hours over the weekend inside the water to try and photograph it. Even though I succeeded, I am still not satisfied with the images and want to get some different situations. This means that I must go back to the river again, what a sacrifice : -)

Giant Otter: up close and personal.
Photo: © Samuel Duleba, 2011

If YOU were a Giant Otter,
wouldn't you LOVE to live here too?!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

Different from the little frog, this big semi-aquatic predator appears as endangered according to IUCN. So, the privilege (not only mine, but for all tourists who are seeing it) is incommensurable. I must thank these critters for giving me such a good time this past week : -)

Plenty of fresh food, just pick one.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011

He ate this "corimbata" fish like
if it was a bag of potato chips.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2011
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(UPDATE: AS OF FEBRUARY 25, 2011, AFTER EXTENSIVE WEB SEARCHES ON IMAGE BANKS AND TALKS WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS, I AM QUITE SURE THAT UNDERWATER PICTURES OF GIANT OTTERS IN SUCH CLEAR WATERS ARE EXTREMELY RARE, IF NOT UNIQUE!)
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More than 1.000 Pictureson Our Site!

2011-01-17T18:32:00.002-03:00

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Artwork and Photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2003-2010

Photo in Natura's Image Bank was updated today, with more than 150 new pictures added.

We now offer over 1,000 images available for online searches, selected from nearly 40,000 that are part of our files.

How about a quick visit to check them out?!

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One more time, New Year!

2010-12-17T09:54:00.001-03:00

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CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Dear friends, colleagues, business partners, clients and collaborators of Photo in Natura:

Once again the time has come to send best wishes for the new year, so here is Photo in Natura’s card with our hopes for 2011.

We chose a small sample of everything that we saw and photographed this year at our backyard, without leaving home.

All the best and Happy New Year!

Daniel and Tietta
Photo in Natura

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New Postcards

2010-09-28T10:44:00.001-04:00

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Photo and Artwork: © Daniel De Granville, 2006-2010

The new postcards of our exclusive collection have just arrived – now we have 20 different models printed in special, high quality paper. This time we chose to show two scenes that are icons of Bonito: the Lago Azul (“blue lake”) cave and the Monument to the Piraputangas, at the city’s main square.

Photo and Artwork: © Daniel De Granville, 2008-2010
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Expedition, Part 3: Pantanal

2010-09-18T20:34:00.003-04:00

READ PARTS 1 and 2 OF THIS STORY
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Smile, you are being photographed!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

“What’s so special about the Pantanal?”. The question, asked when the team is deciding whether the original itinerary will be changed or not, claims for an easy – but not necessarily short – answer. So, I prefer to offer an abridged version of my lecture that I keep in my laptop. At the same time, I give a partial answer, saying that the abundance and profusion of wildlife in the Pantanal – specially at this time of the year – is something fascinating and indescribable for animal lovers. I explain that, upon crossing the gateway which indicates the beginning of the Transpantaneira Road, the landscape changes abruptly and the animals put on a show before our eyes.

While one caiman seems full of hunger...
... the other carries its banquet, a freshly caught armored catfish.
Photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

Franco jokes: “oh, so you are saying that, at one side everything is calm, but all of a sudden, starting at this spot that you mentioned, the animals decide to show off and make a parade in front of the cameras?!”. I reply: “ex-act-ly”. He laughs.

We left Nobres by the morning, quick stop for lunch in Cuiabá, siesta in the van on the way to Poconé and finally the Transpantaneira. Almost everyone is asleep, already tired as we enter the second half of our intense trip. I, sitting by Ismael (our driver), keep my eyes open looking for animals. I ask Ismael to stop at the gateway. “Here begins the Pantanal”, the sign says. Everyone wakes up, gets off the vehicle to take some pictures, and I suggest that they leave their cameras ready.

(E) A Brazilian Tapir is followed by a swarm of insects while crossing the river.
(D) ... Pantanal diversity: Marsh Deer, Capybara and Cattle Tyrant share
one of the diminishing pools.
Photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

The van goes a few kilometers ahead and at distance we see the first bridge with some water underneath, packed with Caimans into a heap. Among them, wading birds are having a feast with the stranded fish that are dying by lack of oxygen. I turn back and see everyone’s flabbergasted gaze, fascinated with such a concentration of animals at a single spot. I look at Franco. He says nothing, but it's needless – his smile seems to say “yes, Daniel, you were right when I made that joke about the animals’ parade”... For the first time in our expedition, I was not apprehensive or tense with the possibility of not finding animals for them to photograph. The spectacle that we saw during the next two days is summarized on the pictures of this post.

Next week, Part 4 (and last) of our adventure:
Dolphins in the Amazon.

Clockwise from top: (1) Flooded field sprinkled with wading birds in search of fish; (2) A Jabiru Stork's nest; (3) A cow is butchered without ceremony at the river bank; (4) One of the last Piúva (Tabebuia) still in bloom.
Photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2010
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Expedition, Part 2: Stingrays

2010-09-13T18:50:00.002-04:00

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SEE PART 1 OF THIS STORY
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Another mission accomplished:
please welcome the freshwater stingray!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

Ten days and 57 meters of anaconda later, already with the feeling of "mission accomplished", it was time to leave Bonito in search of our trip’s second objective: the freshwater stingrays. After my pre-production research, the region of Nobres – in the Savannas of Mato Grosso – was chosen as the ideal spot. Even though we had found some rays in Bonito, the visibility conditions in this new region were more promising, since – according to what we had heard – they occurred in areas closer to the river springs, where the water tends to carry less sediments, which is good for photography.

Upon arrival in Cuiabá, our local support team – Hélio and Jadilson – were already waiting. We followed on to the region of Bom Jardim, a district of Nobres, where we were supposed to stay for the next four days, before heading on to the Amazon to search for Pink River Dolphins. After settling down in our lodge we met for the traditional logistics discussion and, for the following day, decided to explore a river where the chances of finding stingrays were good.

Our well equipped Shaowen, before the first
encounter with a ray, tries to overcome a fallen tree,
while little fish seem amused by the view.

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

Next morning. After the detailed preparation of all necessary gear – masks, regulators, fins, tanks, weight belts, neoprene wetsuits, snacks, sandwiches, drinks, cameras, lenses, batteries, vehicle, etc, etc, etc – we left on our new adventure. The first hour, at least for me, was rather tense, since we did not see a single stingray in the river and I could catch a certain glimpse of frustration coming from the rest of our team – specially after such as blast with anacondas. That’s when our guide Jadilson suggested: “Let’s continue downstream through the part that tourists don’t go, because stingrays are shy and may be concentrated elsewhere. But it will not be an easy drift, since there are fallen branches and trees both above and below water”. Said and done: it was really a more complicated way down the river, with all the gear getting tangled on the vegetation, but our reward came soon: at the first 100 meters of this new way, stingrays started showing up. And after the first one came another, and another, and another, until we totalized eight freshwater stingrays of various sizes to appease our photographers.

Jiří photographing one of the eight stingrays
that we met on the same stretch of the river.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

The sudden success was so surprising that, after the first day was gone, the team considered that they had photographed stingrays in every possible way. So, a change of plans became a possibility. They asked for my suggestion and I – eternally in love with the Pantanal – recommended a two-day “pantaneira” expedition. Even though there was nothing underwater to be photographed there, they surprisingly agreed... The story goes on in the next post!

A pause on the dives to watch the flight of the macaws
before saying goodbye to Nobres.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010
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Video: Diving with Anacondas

2010-09-07T07:58:00.002-04:00

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.Underwater, face to face with a peaceful anaconda
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

I am back to my office after the adventures with underwater photographers Franco Banfi, Jiří Řezníček and friends through the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon. On the next posts I will tell more about what happened after we left Bonito, but I can already anticipate that it was a blast!

For today, I invite you to watch a video clip that I took of our team diving with anacondas. More soon, enjoy!

VERSION WITH ORIGINAL AUDIO AT VIMEO

VERSION WITH AUDIO EDITED BY YOUTUBE

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57 Meters of Anaconda

2010-09-03T18:16:00.004-04:00

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Franco Banfi, in the water, up close and personal
with the second anaconda that we found.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

I spent the last three weeks working with Franco Banfi from Switzerland and Jiří Řezníček, from Czech Republic, two renowned underwater photographers that came to Brazil with the objective of photographing anacondas, freshwater stingrays and pink river dolphins. To accomplish these tasks, we traveled for 21 days through rivers in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon Forest. Joining us were Shaowen and Jana, also photo enthusiasts and lovers of nature adventures. I will tell you the stories on my next posts along September.

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It was about eight in the morning when I left home with an unusual task: to find anacondas basking in the sun on river banks. After a sequence of very cold nights, the thermometer outside was showing 12 °C (54 F) as the lowest temperature overnight, and the sun shining strongly, still near the horizon, was the sign of a warmer day. Perfect for my upcoming mission.

The first part of our trip started here in Bonito, always with the indispensable presence of Juca Ygarapé and our “henchman” Dudu, besides the long distance support of Carol from Ambiental, who was always backing our needs with impecable competence. If the challenge of finding the snakes made Juca and I remain tense during the weeks before our clients’ arrival, with the possibility of not living up with the team’s expectations, the first day in the field was enough to fascinate and tranquilize us. After all, in the first hours of our adventure – that included going down waterfalls with a boat loaded of heavy and expensive equipment, passing under fallen trees, walking through saw grass and coping with bloodthirsty black flies – we already found two huge Yellow Anacondas in perfect conditions for our job.

The anaconda’s house...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

Relieved with the sensation of “mission accomplished” (even though our demanding photographers did not consider that they had the ideal shots, what took us to the same place five more times), we went on with our activities and the encounters with these serpents succeeded repeatedly. To such extent that, after the sixth anaconda sighting, we started reckoning our success rate in total meters of anaconda (57 meters / 187 feet in total!).

... and the house’s owner!

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

It is worth remembering that, due to the difficulty of finding anacondas in the wild and the fact that they were the trip’s major objective, 70% of our time in Bonito had been reserved for us to search for them. Since we had such a high success rate in the first days, we decided to invest in the second critter of our list, the freshwater stingrays. Here, once again, success and mission (almost) accomplished, since we were able to find many of these fishes posing for Franco, Jiří and their companions at the bottom of the river.

Franco has a good time with a stingray surrounded by little fish...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

In short, when we reached Day 9 of our expedition, we had already found two of the three main species that our clients were looking for, which meant more time to go for even better pictures and explore other natural wonders that these regions offer, such as macaws, caimans, caves and crystal-clear rivers full of fish. What did we see afterwards? Wait for next post :-)

Besides anacondas, freshwater stingrays and caimans, the program included relaxing dives in crystal-clear rivers full of life.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010
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Photo in Natura Made in Japan!

2010-08-07T15:57:00.001-04:00

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.Header for the article about Brazil at Sotokoto’s website
Photo: authorship not informed
(or maybe it is somewhere in the text...)

Issue # 135 (September 2010) of Sotokoto, Japanese outdoor lifestyle magazine, has just been released. This edition’s highlight is “Brazil, The Biodiversity Wonderland” and the cover shows a picture of a pair of Hyacinth Macaws. Pantanal and Bonito got 10 pages! Of these, two bring 17 pictures and an interview about my life as a photographer and guide in the Pantanal.

The cover of Sotokoto’s issue # 135

I hope that this publication brings more visitors from this very distant country who is one of the world’s leader in number of birdwatchers, and whose tourists always show fascination and excitement for our natural beauties.

The interview deserves a chapter of its own: my friend Hiroya Hatori, an excelent tour guide in Mato Grosso do Sul, had told me about a Japanese photographer - Uruma Takezawa - who was coming to Brazil and wanted to meet me, maybe negotiate some pictures for an article. Time went by, I was on a filed trip when Hiroya e-mailed me assigning a date for our meeting.

(click on the picture to enlarge)

It was a pleasant afternoon of July when both arrived at my house, and only then I understood that the visit would include an interview. I had loads of things to do in my computer (but was not feeling like doing), so I loved the chance of leaving the office aside for some time – and without feeling guilty, after all I was going to talk about work. The conversation went on swiftly for almost two hours, as evening came and Uruma enjoyed the passion fruit juice made with the pulp of fruits picked at our backyard. The result can be seen at the pages displayed on this post – as long as you can read in Japanese, of course!

( click on the picture to enlarge)
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News in Six Acts

2010-08-03T18:14:00.009-04:00

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.Even though I have been out most of the time, this cute opossum came to say "hello" at my backyard on the first morning after I arrived from one of my field trips.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

Staying on the road has been the rule for me during the past months. This means that I am keeping busy, which is great, but also makes it quite difficult to update my blogs. The Portuguese version does receive more constant posts, but doing the same in English has just not been possible. However, today I decided that I should try and change this. So, what I will do is tell in brief lines what I have been up to lately, and along the next weeks I will try to tell more stories. So here we go:

1) In May I started a freelance job for Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company. This was the first time that I really got an assignment because of my postgrad course in Science Journalism. They hired Canal Azul, a production company from São Paulo who specializes in nature programs, to produce a series of 36 videos about the socio-environmental projects that Petrobras funds across the country. I was in charge of part of the field production, directing the interviews, taking still photographs and writing the texts that will come as a supplement for each video. Our team traveled across 11 Brazilian States and covered a wide range of subjects. The trips ended last week and the results will be out soon.

A type of pipewort blossoms in the Brazilian savannas, one of the areas visited during this assignment.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

2) Still in May, I led a trip of Brazilian students for Ambiental Expeditions to the region of Serra da Capivara, a beautiful area in the middle of the Caatinga (Brazil’s harshest shrubland environment) known as one of the world’s most important prehistoric rock art sites.

The sunset paints the rocks red at Serra da Capivara while hundreds of swifts dive into the canyon to spend the night.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

3) During this period I was contacted by Geo Saison, Germany’s #1 travel magazine, who wanted to publish the first picture that I ever took of a jaguar in the wild, back in 2003. Then, some weeks later, Sotokoto – an outdoor lifestyle magazine from Japan – requested an interview and some pictures of the Pantanal, 17 of which will be published in their next issue, together with stories from my life in the wetlands.

The very first jaguar that I ever saw now makes it to Germany!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2003

4) Early June, back home for a few days. Just in time to: (a) inaugurate a picture exhibition at a local Social and Environmental Fair; (b) help Tietta on setting up our gigantic "Gallery Forest" banner where kids had to find birds hidden in the trees; (c) participate in the launching of the book marker collection with some of my nature photos.

Book markers were given for free to the Fair's participants
Photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2003-2010
Artwork: © Liliane Lacerda, 2010

5) Late July, as the field trips for Petrobras reach their end, I am back to my office working on the publication of the documentary “Ecos de Aruanda” – produced together with a team of colleagues in 2007 – about Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion that worships nature’s elements. The Portuguese version is already available on Youtube and the English subtitles are coming soon.

The front cover of our documentary's DVD
(English subtitles coming soon!)
Artwork and Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

6) At the moment I am finalizing the production of my next adventure: a week from now I will be leading a team of four European underwater photographers and filmmakers specialized in aquatic images. Our task? To get the best underwater shots of Green Anacondas, Freshwater Stingrays and Pink River Dolphins. For that, we will cross parts of Brazil in three weeks searching for our subjects. Sounds fun!

The Green Anaconda is one of the trip's major objectives - as long as the pictures are taken underwater!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008
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Cats: New Video by Photo in Natura

2010-04-07T15:40:00.002-04:00

Our new video clip is online! Two minutes with the cats that share Photo in Natura’s home and office with us. Enjoy : -)

(With YouTube making things way too difficult, I opted for sharing the videos on two other servers for you to choose from: Vimeo or Yahoo! Video). Personally, I found Vimeo’s quality much better.

The cats of Photo in Natura on Vimeo.

The Cats of Photo in Natura on Yahoo! Video.
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The day I taught Indiana Jones how to ride a horse

2010-04-02T16:58:00.005-04:00

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.... and I had to teach HIM how to ride a horse...

This week the blog broke a boring record: the longest period without any posts... usually this happens when I’m in the middle of nowhere with no internet access, but this time is because I have been dedicated to office work. Nothing very exciting going on in front of my computer screen... So, to compensate the delay, here we go with a funny post about a story that took place 14 years ago.

We were somewhere back in 1996. I worked at the Caiman Ecological Refuge (Pantanal) when we got the news that actor Harrison Ford was coming over to spend some days with his family. It was an enormous thrill, we had to build a strategic plan to ensure comfort and peace for our honorable Indiana Jones. We knew that they had come to Bonito and were not very happy with all the harassment from the press and other curious folks, so that our responsibility became even higher.

Our honorable Indiana Jones among Caiman’s staff.
Photo of unknown authorship, 1996

With us it wasn’t any different: the phone kept on ringing all the time, including fake journalists talking in a very poor English, claiming to be a “member of the actor’s staff” and requesting permission to enter the ranch. Others gathered at the front gate hoping to make a scoop. No way...

As the field supervisor at that time, I was assigned to join Mr. Ford on his field trips. And so came the day when we were going for a horse ride!

Picture this: Indiana Jones sitting still on a pantaneiro horse, me standing on the ground adjusting his stirrups and giving the standard speech of safety and procedures. As I talked, kind of strained with such a surreal situation, the images of our #1 adventurer galloping across bridges on fire over mile-high abysses under an attack of arrows kept coming to my mind.

The scene was abruptly interrupted by one of those famous grins that he does in the movies, followed by a humorous phrase: “young man, you’re talking to a Wyoming cowboy!”. It was hilarious, everyone in the group (including me) laughed, but I had to accomplish the protocol before we left. Not galloping over burning bridges, but riding slowly across the Pantanal fields while searching for wildlife. It was a memorable moment, not only because I was leading the raider of lost arks, but due to the fact that Harrison Ford is a renowned conservationist, who had come to the Pantanal to see its beauties and help on its protection.

Leaving behind the past of intrepid adventures, it is nice to see such an influential character devoted to environmental conservation – at least one thing we share in common :-)

Watch below the video clip where the actor waxes his chest for the benefit of our forests.
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(Post dedicated to José Sabino!)
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Helping Cardoso Island

2010-02-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

Sample of the picture sold at the auction
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

“ Granting image usage rights, free of charge, for non-profit socio-environmental organizations, scientists, researches done in public schools and universities, philanthropic publications aimed at environmental awareness, artistic projects with socio-environmental purposes and others”.

The sentence above is part of the section about Photo in Natura’s socio-environmental commitment. More than just publishing phrases randomly on our website, we must constantly evaluate whether we are effectively accomplishing these precepts – if we say that we do it, we’ve got to do it.

Thus, I recently received a request from Graded School – whose study trips I have joined a couple of times – to collaborate for a good cause. The school organized a charity auction to fundraise in order to build a community center at the marvelous Cardoso Island, south coast of São Paulo, and asked if I could donate one of my photographs.

I agreed without thinking twice, contributing with a 30 cm x 45 cm (12 in x 18 in) print of the picture that illustrates this post – taken at the Island in 2007 – accompanied by an Authenticity Certificate, proving its origin and the limited edition of 12 copies.

It is good to know that somehow, besides the environmental awareness that I try to foment through images, my photography is helping those who need.

Restinga vegetation at Ilha do Cardoso
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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Photo in Natura on YouTube

2010-02-18T11:27:00.001-03:00

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We have just produced a 3-minute videoclip with 40 of my favorite nature pictures. Please click below to watch it!
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Goodbye, Fotograma:Photo in Natura is Online!

2010-02-03T16:46:00.001-03:00

Our new logo!
Artwork: © 2007 Daniel De Granville

After several months of research, tests, exchange of experiences and a lot of work sitting in front of the computer, I am pleased to announce the release of our new website Photo in Natura!

It will replace the good old Fotograma, my first site, which was online since 2005. With a brand new layout and an image bank with hundreds of samples available, Photo in Natura shows our work in a much more practical and complete manner. However, since we are still adjusting some tools, you may experience temporary difficulties for browsing.

Be welcome, make yourself comfortable and please feel free to contact us in case of comments or suggestions. Thank you!

Farewell to Fotograma...
Artwork: © 2005 Nando Pereira | Daniel De Granville
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"Treefrog at Noon!"

2010-01-22T09:24:00.001-03:00

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."I can hardly wait..."
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2010

A popular field tip among tour guides who lead wildlife enthusiasts is the so-called “clock technique”. Probably inspired by military orientation strategies, it aims at facilitating the location of a bird or any other animal on the surroundings by creating an imaginary clock, using its hands to point out the critter. The “clock” can be used both vertically or horizontally, on a tree or in the horizon, for example.

That way, we end up getting used to expressions that sound senseless at first, like “toucan at three o’clock”, “monkey at noon”, “macaws at five thirty”. But what does this have to do with today’s story?

Clock technique using a tree (L) or the natural landscape (R)
Photos and artwork: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

It happens that we have a Milky Treefrog (Trachycephalus venulosus) who is a frequent visitor at our house, but now decided to lodge behind the wall clock. Almost every morning, at around 10:30 AM, it shows up and just sits on top of the kitchen clock, watching our routines and inspiring photos like this... Now, take a look at the first picture and tell me: shall I say “treefrog at noon” or “treefrog at ten to eleven”? :-)

The same species, but this time in the gallery forest
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2003
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Termite Pizza?!

2010-01-06T10:06:00.002-03:00

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.Yummy!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

Termites are almost unanimously considered as a pest, both in cities and in the countryside. They can cause enormous damage in urban areas by attacking wood and even concrete structures in buildings, whereas in crops and cattle ranch pastures they can proliferate to such an extent that they bring problems to landowners. For these reasons, termites are systematically eliminated in cities by specialized pest control companies, and in rural areas their mounds are sometimes poisoned and removed by tractors.

Pasture taken over by termite mounds
in the Brazilian Savannas
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

Here at home it is not too different. Every now and then we find a part of our entry gate being eaten by them, so we decided to make a “pact”: they eat my wood, I benefit from their home. This is how we created a pizza-baking oven inside a termite mound in our backyard. We had heard similar stories of this use from old-time Pantanal folks, but without much detail. The internet also had very few information, so that we had to do it the way we thought it should be (it is worth remembering that, together with a group of friends, we built a similar oven four years ago, but unfortunately it was taken down).

"Sorry for the inconvenience, we are
working to serve you better "
(building the first oven)
Photo: © Rakka C., 2006

Enjoy the results of this new invention, that I am prone to call “ecorecycling”.

Job done, just waiting to be officially inaugurated!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

Today’s lesson: like everything in nature, these insects also have their good and useful side. Probably the first thought that came to your mind were our beloved anteaters, who feed mainly on termites, but these bugs also perform another very important task on soil nutrient cycling. As the world famous naturalist David Attenborough mentions on this documentary, “probably a forest will not miss much if every human disappeared from the surface of Earth, but would sure suffer a lot if the millions of termites were eliminated from the area”.

Ready for the pizzas!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

And the help from termites is not limited to nature: besides this rustic oven, in the past it was common for Pantanal people to make the flooring in their houses with mud taken from termite mounds, sometimes mixed with the hard seeds of the Acrocomia Palm to replace gravel. I heard that nowadays engineers are studying the amazingly efficient airflow system in termite nests to come up with cooler buildings that are more energy-efficient by diminishing the demands for air-conditioners.

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2 thousand & 10!

2009-12-24T14:02:00.003-03:00

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The time has come once again to wish everyone an excellent New Year. So, I offer to all of you my virtual card with an optimistic message for our nature. And stay tuned, because very soon our new Photo in Natura website will be online, with a brand new layout and an image bank with hundreds of samples for you to choose from. All the best and thank you very much for supporting this blog!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGEArt and photos: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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My Own Animal Garden

2009-09-17T18:09:00.002-04:00

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.I photographed this South American Coati from inside my kitchen. It was about 6 feet away and the picture was taken with a 100 mm lens.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

From my work desk, where I spend a great deal of my time facing the computer when I’m not in the field, I can see almost the entire garden and backyard of my house. While I carry on building my new website, reply to e-mails, edit pictures and perform other tasks, I am able to watch the 24 bird species who already came to feed on the seeds, fruit remains and water that we put out for them on a daily basis. In total, we have already identified 77 species that come to our house or sing nearby. There are macaws, toucans, potoos, owls, parrots, tanagers, woodpeckers. If we add up all species of the neighborhood, the number goes to 113. But here we have much more than birds.

A Wagler's Snake, one of the serpents that have already visited us
in our backyard - and even showed its tongue to the house’s owner.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

The Tegu Lizard, three feet of length, comes crawling quietly through the lawn, sort of hidden by the shade of the trees. Much to our surprise and general perplexity for our cats, without ceremony he climbs up a step and enters our kitchen searching for a snack, some cat food scraps. I try to get up unnoticed to grab my camera and film the scene. I fail, lizard gets scared and rushes out through the door, one of our cats raises its hair watching everything but not understanding anything. Minutes later, there is our Tegu again cooling off inside the clay bowl that we use to provide water for the animals. But he is a bit too long for that container, so that his belly is submerged but there is a lot of head and tail left to the sides. Again, he is faster than me and goes away before I manage to take a picture…

So far, the only picture that we managed to take of the intruder lizard :-)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

Some months ago we had a Giant Anteater walk past the backyard fence, at 3 PM, less than 30 feet from where I sit to work. Weeks later came the Southern Tamandua, caught in action crawling under our front gate as our car headlights gave him away. Didn’t even get scared, went into the garden and calmly climbed up a tree. Three agoutis are always around (a mother and two young that we have been watching since they were babies), as well as the coatis who every now and then pay us a visit. Completing the team we have the harmless Parrot Snake that showed up one day inside our toilet bowl and the frogs that croak all around the house. Therefore, besides birds we have accounted for 11 species of mammals and 9 reptiles around here. Our cats seem used to it and are resigned of having to share their space with so many different critters.

Southern Tamandua caught red handed upon
breaking into our garden through the front gate.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

No, we do not live in a remote countryside ranch. We are just one mile away from downtown Bonito, in one of the remaining forest and savanna fragments that surround the city. You can also have an animal friendly garden or porch, take some time to search the subject on the internet. The pleasure of spending your days among wildlife is simply beyond description!

The garden that makes animals happy.
Click here for a bird’s eye view of us!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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The Pantanal Rules!!!

2009-08-12T18:55:00.002-04:00

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.A Southern Tamandua goes for a stroll
in the Pantanal with its baby
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

“There’s a Southern Tamandua with its baby in front of the lodge!”, our guide said upon breaking into the room and interrupting the slideshow that one of our clients, also a professional photographer, was presenting. No one seemed to be annoyed by the sudden intervention – after all, the slides could always be resumed afterwards. But tamandua and baby, no way.

We went out to the garden and there they were, demonstrating much less worries than one could suppose from an animal that suddenly finds itself surrounded by a crowd of cameras and flashes. Everybody took some pictures and decided to go back to the room – except for Kelly, Mariana, Mike, our guide Fabiano and myself, still flabbergasted with the rare scene. All satisfied, we decided to let those critters follow on alone. Little we knew about what was yet to come…

After they had gone for about 100 feet, a super curious Crab-eating Fox comes and seems to be a little too interested on that pair of ant eaters. We quickly understood what was going on: the baby, which looked more like a stuffed toy, was about to become dinner. We left our biological purism aside and decided that there was a need to intercede: we walked towards the trio, scaring the fox away, and joined the family until the nearest tree, where they would be in safety. And that is how mother tamandua got herself a human escort for the next 200 yards and 10 minutes until they reached a safe spot. I’m really sorry, Mr. Fox, but tonight you will have to look for food elsewhere. Mision accomplished, back to Kelly’s slides!

The cute little fox almost had its night of big bad wolf!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

I don’t know of any area where scenes like that are so possible and almost trivial. The fact only came to confirm the feeling that I had some days ago: that the Pantanal is for me the best place in the world to see and photograph wildlife, nature, landscapes, local culture and many other things. Each day I understand that this was the main reason for which we decided to come back and live in this region after almost two years in São Paulo.

Want to check it out? So be welcome to Fotograma’s new Month’s Gallery with a selection of 20 pictures that I took during these winter months in three Brazilian biomes where I have been: Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal.

To see the images, click here here and choose 08.2009 gallery. If you experience any difficulties, please try this alternative link. Have a nice virtual trip!

A Giant Anteater having a chat with a Red-legged Seriema!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

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The Speed of Things...

2009-04-28T19:36:00.000-04:00

Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Some firsthand thoughts that I had today about photography in the digital age.

It all started last Monday, when we met some college teachers from Rio de Janeiro that we had met in the Pantanal during one of their field excursions, back in 2004. After some chatting, we decided to take a group picture and someone made the comment about not having seen any pictures from that trip. Only then we remembered that, in those days, very few people in Brazil had digital equipment, and cell phones with cameras were a thing of the future. Then I remembered that 2004 was the year when I bought my very first digital camera, a Canon EOS 10D.

Cut to yesterday, when I went to take photos of a local hotel that I had already photographed in 2002. I have just downloaded the files from my memory cards to the computer: 227 images, considering that I haven’t yet photographed the rooms (which means that I’ll easily go over 300 shots). On those photo sessions seven years ago, all I used were no more than two rolls of film, or 72 pictures...

Finally, every now and then I go over my 10 memory cards just to make sure that no image was left behind without being saved into the computer. This afternoon I found a bunch of unpretentious photos that I took about two weeks ago. My sensation was the same as if I was looking at old pictures that remained forgotten in some picture album, and that I didn’t even remember about.

Definitely, things are really changing in this photographic world...

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"...I bless the rains down in Africa..."

2009-03-30T19:19:00.002-04:00

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Giraffes in the rain
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

The introduction to my first African safari could not be more instructive. While contemplating the savanna landscape from our bus’ window, a short while before arriving at Pilanesberg National Park, situated inside the crater of an extinct volcano, the local guide gives the instructions that I should pass on to my clients:

“During the safari you must tell your clients to remain silent and avoid keeping their bodies outside of the vehicle, or else...”

Remembering my work in the Pantanal, I mentally concluded the phrase and was about to say “the animals might get scared and go away”, but she was faster than I and completed: “... might cause them to attack the vehicle”.

Welcome to Africa, Daniel!

Our tour began through a landscape that, if I showed only the photos, with no captions or animals, many observers would be sure that I was in the Brazilian Cerrado. But the scene that followed came to show that we were at a very different place.

African Savana: any resemblances with the Cerrado
are not mere coincidences
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

A few minutes after we left the lodge, the weather changed abruptly and our fear of rain was justified, including a severe hail storm. Even so we decided to follow on, after all the chance of coming to Africa doesn’t happen every day... A couple of miles ahead, we saw some safari trucks stopping and pulling back. We thought that they had seen something by the road, as our guide talked over the radio and also began to pull back. Only then we noticed this enormous elephant walking towards us and not willing to change its route. We kept on playing this game of backing and stopping, until finally the animal decided to leave the road and followed on through the savanna, calmly starting to devour the leaves of a tree.

Make way for the elephaaaaant!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

After this came gnus, impalas, jackals, rhinos, hippos, zebras. The twilight brought us the icing on the cake: a pride of ten lionesses climbing up the hill to hunt. Lightened up by our handheld beam, their twenty eyes shined pretty much like the caimans in the Pantanal. Unforgettable. Welcome to Africa, see you next time!

Impossible not to think of those
lion chases at Animal Planet:-)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

To see the image gallery of these four days, two safaris and a lot of rain in Africa, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" icon, located on the right-side column of Fotograma’s main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.

A lazy moment for this lion
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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Ecotourism and Volunteer Works

2009-01-30T20:46:00.002-03:00

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."Smile, you are at the Chapada!"
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

For the second time since the program was created ( first time was in January 2007), I have just returned from the field trip with students of Austin College (TX) during their Jan Term named “Brazilian Ecosystems”.

We spent almost three weeks visiting the Brazilian Savannas of Chapada dos Veadeiros, the Atlantic Rainforest of The Ribeira Valley and Lagamar and the city of São Paulo. Besides in-depth views of each environment, at the Chapada dos Veadeiros we developed socioenvironmental works with students from the “Escola do Sertão de Alto Paraíso”, resulting in a series of banners in English aimed at informing tourists who come to the National Park. A relatively simple task, but whose results are extremely important to grant proper orientation and safety for foreign visitors that come to the region in increasing numbers.

Among other institutions, the initiative was planned and supported by the board of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Ambiental Expedições and Travessia Ecoturismo.

My first Month’s Gallery of 2009 brings a selection of the best images captured during these works with the students.

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" icon, located on the right-side column of Fotograma’s main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.

A cicada has its body covered by fungi at the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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Spiders in my Backyard: Part 3

2009-01-03T11:02:00.001-03:00

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.This spider uses its web to build a kind of tent under the leaf,
where it remains protected together with its egg sac.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

Parts 1 and 2 of this story took place some months ago at the Japi Mountains, where I was living until recently.

This time both scenes were registered on the same day at our new home in Bonito, one effectively in the backyard and the other inside the house. These are my first shots of 2009!

This one has just found dinner
in my living room!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009
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... And Two Potoo Too

2008-12-30T13:05:00.002-03:00

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. The image of a Common Potoo with its chick
was my best Christmas present!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

After leaving the Japi Mountains and driving for 15 hours, we arrived at our new home in Bonito early evening, right after sunset. Besides the heat, the first and most remarkable impression was the soundscape, dominated by the nearly deafening call of cicadas. Up on the tree by the porch, a tropical screech-owl was also welcoming us.

The next morning came to show that I had to find my cameras and lenses ASAP, among piles and more piles of cardboard boxes that brought our belongings in a truck. The bird songs, mainly jays, wake us up early. During the first day, at least three tegu lizards – one of them over three feet long – took calm strolls across our garden, not caring about our presence. More things came as the week went by, including a family of coatis in our backyard and a harmless vine snake who decided to check out our toilet bowl (!).

The present post brings two of the first photos that I took during this new phase, in the hope that much more will come. One of them (shiny cowbird) was taken from our porch; the other (potoo) at a friends’ house less than two miles away. I could only register the scene thanks to the kindness of these friends, who told me about the birds in their garden and opened the doors so that I could photograph. A great Christmas present!

If our porch at the Japi Mountains offered countless photo opportunities for my moments of lazy photographer, I bet that Bonito will be no different! :-)

Shiny cowbird feeding on a Marmelo fruit
by our porch, the first picture
that I took after arriving here.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008
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Twothousandandnine!

2008-12-09T08:11:00.004-03:00

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.(please click on the photo to enlarge it)

Just a quick stop by to give you my New Year's card. The blog's next post will be done directly from Bonito! Happy 2009!

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Go West!

2008-11-26T13:30:00.002-03:00

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.The Japi Mountains reflected on a water drop
hanging from the Agapanthus flower
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Almost two years have gone by since I left Bonito and came back to São Paulo to take a postgrad course in Science Journalism. I finished the studies a couple of months ago and now we opted for a change, a sort of “back to the past”.

So, before the end of this year we are leaving the Japi region and moving back to Bonito, where we lived for almost eight years. The projects, professional goals and works remain the same: photography, environment, ecotourism and education. But now, associated with a degree in Journalism!

I will soon post more news and images about this new stage in our lives.

Bonito is home to the Guavira,
one of the region’s most typical fruit
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008
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Learning to Watch

2008-10-16T13:56:00.002-04:00

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.Curious about the photographer, a Saffron Finch
takes a break at building its nest
for the upcoming Spring
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

After a short break, it’s time to go back to the Pantanal and Bonito. Once again, for nice reasons.

This weekend, just like last year, we will be making a presentation about birdwatching for the employees of MCR (a local mining company) in Corumbá, followed by a birding expedition through the wetlands. My main subject during the activities will be the natural soundscaspes. The activity will be done in partnership with BirdLife International.

Curious about the photographer, a group of
birdwatchers takes a break at their activity
just to look nice for the picture :-)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

From there we’ll follow on to Bonito, where we will teach a course about birding techniques for local guides. There were so many interested that we had to make a selection process! The course is being sponsored by more than 20 institutions from local, regional and national levels.

More soon!

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Biologists in the Field

2008-09-12T16:22:00.002-04:00

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.Six inches away from the caiman’s nose – how close is too close?!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

In Brazil we celebrate the Biologists’ Day on September 3rd. It’s been over a week now, but only today I managed to mention it here at PhotoInNatura blog.

The reason for such delay couldn’t be better: that day I was doing field work out in the woods, photographing colleague researchers on their scientific activities studying birds, mammals, bats, frogs, snakes, bugs, plants and such. The most appropriate way to celebrate “our” day!

Among hundreds of images, the highlight was a fantastic face-to-face encounter with a Dwarf Caiman underwater, whose picture illustrates this post.

I just got back in town last night and Sunday will hit the road again, bound for the Pantanal. More later!

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Big Animals!

2008-09-01T10:28:00.002-04:00

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Anaconda, up close and personal
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

This Month’s Gallery goes online today and is composed by animal pictures taken during my recent 23-day trip with Israeli photographer Amos Nachoum, who promotes expeditions worldwide in search for exclusive wildlife images through his company Big Animals.

Tomorrow I will hit the road again, this time on assignment for Fundação Neotrópica do Brasil, where I will be photographing researchers working on a reforestation project. Thereafter, a quick stop in Bonito for some underwater shots. See you soon!

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.
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A Dozen Anacondas

2008-08-08T18:47:00.002-04:00

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.We’ve seen this one and eleven more...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

The name says it all: saw-grass. Marshes here are teeming with this plant whose leaves have extremely sharp edges – a slight rub of your finger is enough to produce a cut that looks as it has been done by a razor blade. This is the favorite refuge for anacondas, the heaviest and one of the longest snakes in the world. It has been a week now since I first started searching for them in Bonito (Brazil) together with award-winning US-based Israeli photographer Amos Nachoum and his restless assistant/apprentice John.

In addition to the peculiar habit of hiding among sharp leaves, the most likely period to find them is during the hottest hours of day, when they lay down basking in the sun. Therefore, I have spent the past days going up and down streams and walking in muddy swamps under the baking sun (winter never showed up here this year). At the end of the day, the wrinkled white feet strikingly contrast with arms and hands full of inevitable small cuts. This vision of paradise is completed by the so-called “micuins” (tiny ticks that look more like walking grains of dust) and bloodthirsty flies. Our objective is to get never seen images of anacondas – preferably under water. Today is the seventh day of our expedition and we have already found twelve “sucuris” (as the snake is known in Brazil). But so far we still haven’t got the images we need.

The search goes on at night...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Despite these adversities, coming face to face with anacondas in a place with breathtaking landscapes – crystal clear water teeming with fishes and vegetation full of colorful birds – has been fascinating and compensates all efforts. Today we had the best encounter of the trip: we were stuck with our boat in a strong rapid, under a tree limb covered with spikes, when John looks back and calmly announces, with a “gringo” accent but in loud and clear Portuguese: “sucuri”...

There it was, majestic, with some unlucky victim (a capybara?) in its belly, staring at us without understanding what was the deal with those crazy folks wearing strange rubber clothes and breaking into its privacy with enormous cameras. When it swam calmly by our 6-meter (18-ft) long boat, Amos, buried in mud up to his waist and surrounded by thickets of saw-grass, made his calculations: “I could see the body along the whole boat, the rest of its tail was still behind and I could not see its head”. Now it’s your turn to estimate the critter’s length. As to the diameter, let’s say that – even if I went totally nuts and tried to hug it – I wouldn’t be able to get my arms around its body.

He who seeks finds
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Tomorrow our search continues and next week it’s time to leave Bonito towards the Pantanal looking for jaguars and piranhas, then finally to the Amazon where we plan to photograph pink river dolphins.

Yup, that’s a cool shot!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008.
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Lectures and Exhibits in the USA

2008-07-09T13:16:00.001-04:00

Exhibit at William and Ida Friday Institute for
Educational Innovation (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008.

Sometimes, a blog without many updates means a very busy author! It’s not a good excuse, but at least in this case it’s true...

I have just returned from the USA, where I spent 20 days on works (presenting lectures, making photo exhibits and participating in a workshop) and leisure tours. While the trip’s photos aren’t yet available, you can see the Month’s Gallery with the 20 pictures shown in my exhibits.

Exhibit at Lees-McRae College
(Banner Elk, North Carolina, USA)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008.

My trip to the lectures, exhibits and workshop was supported by NCSU Sci-Link, Ambiental Expedições, Instituto Sangari, Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata, Fazenda San Francisco, Pantanal Wildlife Center and Photo in Natura.

Photos were printed in 30x45 cm (12 x 18 in) and mounted on frames made with recycled paper provided by the Instituto Papel Solidário (São Paulo, Brazil).

To see the images at the MONTH’S GALLERY, please click here.

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"Dont stay home without it"(new photo gallery!)

2008-03-06T15:06:00.002-04:00

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Don’t leave home without it – during a long time this was the slogan of a famous credit card company. I decided to adapt it to my reality as a nature photographer, hence the title of today’s story. “It”, in this case, is my photo camera, who is always with me when I’m away and also ready to work when I’m at home.

Last November I posted here at FotogramaBits a text telling how the photographable things of life may be closer than we imagine. Some months later, with more evidences that this is very true, came the idea.

So, the new Month’s Gallery at Fotograma comprises pictures done exclusively around my house, by the Japi Mountains. All pictures were done from my garden (some of them INSIDE my house!) and show beauties, serenity and environmental impacts.

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.
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Once in a Blue Moon

2008-02-18T09:46:00.002-04:00

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.”Moonshine after rain”
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

On more than one occasion I posted pictures here in FotogramaBits of striking moments that I captured from my porch, showing the Japi Mountains. The most recent one was the sunset that I shot last week after a rainy day. And when I thought that every possibility of capturing surprising images without having to leave home were gone, I came across another of these almost magic moments (which will be the theme for Fotograma’s next Month’s Gallery, coming in March).

It happened last Saturday, a sunny day that ended with a wind storm and 30 millimeters of rain in about half an hour – as if each 1 x 1 meter section (1 sq meter) had received 30 liters of water, nearly 1 liter per minute!

It was almost 7 PM when electricity went off and the phone line too. I had two DVDs to watch and decided to wait for the power to be reestablished, which only happened at around 11 PM... But it couldn’t be better: a bit later, at about 2 AM, I was prized by this moonshine illuminating the mist at the foothills. If it wasn’t for the power outage, I’d probably have missed the whole show...

Japi Mountains, 2:30 AM
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008.
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Cats!

2008-02-07T14:16:00.001-03:00

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."Satisfaction guaranteed!"
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Fotograma’s first Gallery in 2008 is specially dedicated to people who like these (almost) domesticated felines: a selection of 18 cat pictures.

While enjoying the photos, you can listen to the song “When Cats Take Over The World", by Jamie Anderson. Have fun!

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.
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"Photo in Natura" ?!?

2008-01-30T14:12:00.000-03:00

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Our new upcoming logo!
Concept and artwork: © Daniel De Granville | Tietta Pivatto, 2008

Many of you who are used to visiting Fotograma | Photography and Environment have been asking me what's this "Photo in Natura" story all about. Well, here's the explanation: my website is being totally re-created with a brand new design, a lot of unpublished pictures and many other online resources. As part of this new process of visual identification, the brand Fotograma will become Photo In Natura.

In the mean time, you are invited to keep on visiting the original versions of Fotograma and its equivalent blog, FotogramaBits, always with new contents. Be welcome, and please don't forget to bookmark us for future references!

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Spiders in my Backyard (again!)

2008-01-24T13:04:00.000-03:00

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.One little, two little, three little spiders...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

A couple of weeks ago I posted a story here in FotogramaBits about a Brazilian Wandering Spider who decided to take a stroll in our garden. Well, last night one of its relatives (a wolf spider of the genus Lycosa) dropped by for a visit – and this time with a bunch of babies on its back! I obviously registered the event with my camera, but despite the fact that this spider can be dangerous, I was more worried that it wouldn't drop a baby on the way than about getting bitten...

Now, changing subjects, I’d like to recommend a peculiar website that I came across (tailor-made for photographers and cat lovers): this German lady places automatic mini-cameras on her cats’ collars, who inadvertently register their walks through the neighborhood. The idea isn’t exactly new – the so called critter cams have been used by the National Geographic and other companies, but I never heard of them on house cats...

... a whole bunch of little spiders!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008
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Beautiful Ugliness

2008-01-08T09:10:00.000-03:00

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. Flowers on the banks of the more-than-polluted Tietê River
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

It seemed like a great photo program for the weekend, combining nature and history: to go around the Japi Mountains stopping by historical towns of great importance during Brazil’s colonial period, such as Santana de Parnaíba and Pirapora do Bom Jesus. Camera in hand, hit the road. No maps nor commitments, relying on surprises as proper fuel for a little adventure.

After several curves that unveiled beautiful mountain landscapes, all of a sudden we began seeing a dike with some stuff hanging from the waterside vegetation. The first impression we had was that they were egrets, but a closer look showed colors and the surprising conclusion: those were countless pieces of garbage – bottles, grocery store bags, torn clothes and other unidentifiable items (besides a handful of stubborn birds). “But we are arriving at such a small town, it seems quite unlikely that the population of this place can produce so much junk”, we thought.

But we soon found out. All of that was coming from the State capital São Paulo, through the Tietê River. The State’s most important waterway, which in the past carried the Bandeirantes explorers and granted great historical importance to these localities, now only brings trash and stench.

On the bridges over the river, in the towns’ squares, bars and restaurants around, life seemed to go on at its normal pace. Children were playing, a car’s loudspeakers announced the big dancing ball that would happen some hours later. The phenomenon that uglifies the town’s pretty architecture is rather recent, having become more intense in 2003. It’s impossible not trying to understand how can people live like this, how they gradually get used to this inconceivable reality?

Ultimately, the peculiar contrast between the dark water and the white foam – which resembled floating blocks of tropical ice – yielded some good images, even pretty if we neglect the sad truth.

Environmental pollution and visual pollution...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

READ MORE:
Polluted River Covers Brazilian Town with Foam

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The Year's Last Gallery!

2007-12-20T15:21:00.000-03:00

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The last Gallery of 2007 comprises 10 photos that I took this month at two State Parks in Sao Paulo, Brazil: Cardoso Island and Fazenda Intervales, where I researched bats until 1991 for my Bachelor's degree.

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.

Happy New Year!

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A great photographer has left us...

2007-12-17T13:02:00.000-03:00

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.Fritz Pölking (1936-2007) os assignment in the Pantanal
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 1997

Last week I received the sad news about the passing away of German nature photographer Fritz Pölking, with whom I had the great pleasure and privilege of working when I was taking my first steps into photography, ten years ago. In 1997, Pölking spent some days at Caiman Ecological Refuge (Pantanal of Brazil) producing images for his stock. I joined him as a guide and also had the chance of taking photos, some of which using his own lenses.

Caiman giving its babies a ride, image made
during my work with Fritz Pölking
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 1997

The time spent with Mr. Pölking has greatly influenced my professional choices and the way that I take photographs nowadays, so I’m very thankful to him and am sure that his talented legacy will be a reference in nature photography for years to come. Better than words, his images speak for themselves and can better explain what I mean.

A message from Mr. Pölking...
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From East to West and Further East again

2007-12-12T14:31:00.000-03:00

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. Flowering restinga at Cardoso Island (Brazil) with its
peaks covered by the Atlantic Rainforest in the background
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

I just got back from another season in the woods, after crossing Brazil from east to west and then further east again, finishing this year pretty much like I began: on the road!

Since our birds are in the mood with spring and upcoming summer, the past two months were a time for workshops about wildlife watching, photographing and sound recording. First we presented in Sao Paulo a free mini course named “Sound, Image and Biodiversity”, where participants learned how to choose and use equipment and techniques to appreciate natural environments. Next we went to Corumbá (Pantanal city on the border with Bolivia) for an activity with the employees of Rio Tinto Mining Co, which every year promotes a day trip to the Pantanal Park Road with the support from Birdlife International.

Flying back from borderland to the seashore, as if in an unlikely migratory route, I spent last week at Cardoso Island State Park with students from a school in Sao Paulo, helping them with their environmental studies and researches. Among so many interesting things, we found beautiful restinga landscapes and a family of Southern Lapwings that illustrate this post. The photo results were so outstanding that we’ll soon have this year’s last Month’s Gallery at Fotograma – wait for it!

Southern Lapwing chicks go for a stroll
under one of their parents’ wary eyes
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
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New Gallery: Ecos de Aruanda

2007-11-27T12:58:00.000-03:00

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.Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

There’s new stuff at Fotograma! The Nov/07 Month’s Gallery brings a sepia essay of pictures taken during the footage of our documentary "Ecos de Aruanda", about religion and environmental conservation.

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.

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Spiders in my Backyard

2007-11-02T10:24:00.000-03:00

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.A Brazilian Wandering Spider gets kind of angry
during a walk in my backyard...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

During some workshops about nature photography and wildlife watching that we have recently presented in Brazil, I always like to point out how the subjects which we want to photograph or see may be much closer than we think. This week I had two more practical experiences.

At our garden we have some birds, such as this Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, who are gradually getting habituated to visiting the feeders that we placed at the porch. Day after day I notice how tolerant they are becoming to my careful approach, without being much concerned about my lenses as they did before. From here we can learn a first lesson: different from what one may imagine, in places where there are more people – near ranch houses, tourism trails, houses and lodges – it may be much easier to photograph birds and other animals than in remote locations. In other words, that special little place, where no one ever goes to, is not always the cleverest choice to photograph fauna, since critters tend to be more skittish.

The other learning comes from the Brazilian Wandering Spider who showed up at the same garden two days ago. Looking carefully for small details, even in a place where you pass by every day, is essential to find great photographic themes – besides helping you to avoid a painful bite in some cases…

A naughty Swallow-tailed Hummingbird
shows its tongue to the photographer
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
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Entering the Domains of Oxossi

2007-10-18T11:21:00.000-03:00

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.Concentration and Faith
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Religion, environmental education and conservation come together at the Japi Mountains, where we are carrying out a research work for our postgrad course in Science Journalism. We chose a subject that is very interesting for being controversial, apparently full of doubts and prejudice: the offerings left in the woods by followers of the Afro-Brazilian Umbanda in natural areas (forests, rivers and waterfalls).

The Rhythm of the Forest
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Last week, during two days we joined a local Umbanda group to gather information, images and testimonials. Within some weeks our task shall be accomplished, and the results will be posted here at FotogramaBits. Don’t miss it!

Devotion
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
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Teaming with Wildlife

2007-10-04T12:43:00.000-04:00

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.Researcher from the Hyacinth Macaw Project
analyses a 40-day old chick.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

I saw a Giant Anteater – I mean, three. And saw Giant Otters. And Howler Monkeys. Besides Yellow Armadillos, Crab-eating Foxes, South American Coatis, White-lipped and Collared Peccaries, Capuchin Monkeys, Agoutis, several deer, Capybaras, Tapirs, Brazilian Rabbits, fruit bats, Southern Tamandua… And it wasn’t in a zoo, but in Brazil’s best region to watch wild animals in their habitat.

I spent the last few days in the Pantanal with guests who are renowned for their international work in environmental conservation organizations. Just like nearly every visitor who comes to the region, they were fascinated by the diversity of fauna that we found. In less than three days, without doing any particular efforts, we say 18 species of mammals, over 100 species of birds and several hundred caimans. On a stopover in Bonito, we completed our list with the astonishing fishes of Rio da Prata.

The sun struggles to shine amidst the dense smoke
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Everything great, if it wasn’t for the fires… Been there before, but a long time had gone since I last saw such situation. The sun rises and sets resembling a weak fireball, hidden by a smoke curtain. Well, it ALMOST rises and sets, since it actually vanishes behind the haze of roasted biodiversity. It’s too bad to wake up in the middle of the night with the awful smell of smoke inside your bedroom!

But I’d like to finish up this post with an optimistic message, highlighting the great experience of visiting the headquarters of two conservation projects based at Caiman Ecological Refuge: The Hyacinth Macaw Project, in charge of researching the world’s largest parrot, and the Jaguar Conservation Fund, which studies our fauna’s most fascinating critter!

A family of White-lipped Peccaries searches
for the last remaining waterholes.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
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Back to My Roots

2007-09-13T14:36:00.000-04:00

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.A 1948 cover of Iris Magazine,
Brazil’s first periodical about photography

During a recent family visit I had the opportunity of talking about a subject that I kind of knew about, but had forgotten details. My grandfather Eudóxio Marques Manço, who died in 1978, dedicated a great deal of his life to professional photography, being the founder of one of Brazil’s oldest photo clubs.

Bringing my father along as his assistant, he’d photograph weddings and other events, besides producing landscape photos of which at least one received a prize (more details coming soon). Besides being a photographer, grandfather Eudóxio was an orchidist and musician (flute player) at our hometown’s symphonic orchestra.

In an old album filled with pictures from that time, besides images made by him (which I plan to scan in a near future), we found the manuscripts of a photo enlarger project and a 1948 issue of Iris – Brazilian Magazine of Photography, Cinema and Graphic Arts.

I guess this tells a lot about what I became…

Copy of grandpa’s original manuscripts,
presumably written in 1948,
with the project for a photo enlarger.
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Into the Devil’s Mouth!

2007-09-04T14:13:00.000-04:00

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. One of the cave's most beautiful galleries
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Last week I took a trip to Cardoso Island State Park and surroundings while guiding a group of high school students. This region, where Brazil was first explored after the arrival of the Portuguese back in the 16th century, is extremely important both historically and environmentally. It comprises the largest remnants of the Atlantic Rainforest in coastal Brazil, besides the country's highest concentration of limestone caves.

The trip was too short for so much to see, but we found some time to visit and photograph one of Brazil’s most famous and astonishing cave: “Caverna do Diabo” (“The Devil’s Cave”). No evidences of Lucifer in there, just incredible formations that unveil amazing sceneries!

Limestone ornaments that are formed in an
extremely slow pace by the dripping water
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007.
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Biking for 2800 Miles!

2007-08-28T11:52:00.000-04:00

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. Three crazy bikers arriving
at the dunes of Jericoacoara Beach
Photo: © Pantanal Vai à Praia Project, 1999

Exactly eight years ago my first “official” photo assignment and one of my life’s greatest adventure was ending. During four and a half months, from April to August 1999, my buddies Tietta Pivatto, Guto Bertagnolli and I traveled 4500 km (2800 mi) by bicycles along the coast of Brazil between Vitória (Espírito Santo State) and São Luís (Maranhão State). We carried an itinerant exhibit about the Pantanal with pictures, music and other typical items.

Our main objective was to promote cultural exchange between two regions located in opposite extremes of the country. As we traveled presenting material about the Pantanal, we collected photo and written records about Northeastern Brazil, which would then be used during the project’s second phase, when we planned to do the opposite: go biking throughout the Pantanal floodplains showing the culture from Northeast. Unfortunately this stage was never accomplished – or at least not so far...

Nova Tatajuba, one of the most
beautiful beaches that we cycled by
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 1999

By then, the internet - as well as digital photography - were virtually unknown down here, so that the great majority of our records were done on film, pencil and paper. We took approximately 3400 pictures, 250 of which using a Nikon Coolpix 100 camera with stunning 0.3 Megapixels (!) and 1 megabyte (!!) of storage capacity lent by one of the project’s 30 sponsors.

The trip lasted 145 days, during which we made 71 exhibits, 16 lectures and 15 environmental education activities in schools. We were interviewed 33 times by local TV and radio stations and had 21 printed articles published.

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Find more on our Trip Diary
In Portuguese only – you can just look at the pictures
or try out this online translator
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Our Logo!
Artwork © Ronald Rosa, 1999
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Pantanal: 2007 Gallery

2007-08-21T16:44:00.000-04:00

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. "Come visit us!"
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

This year’s first gallery with photos from the Pantanal is already online. The images were done in July and August, the peak of the dry season in that region, after we moved to São Paulo. Enjoy!

See the pictures
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Birds All Over

2007-08-09T12:22:00.000-04:00

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. Hyacinth Macaw is in for a winter banquet in the Pantanal
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Winter in the southern hemisphere is about to end - it’s time for all critters to start getting ready for another breeding season. Birds, mammals, reptiles, bugs – ultimately all those guys who were kind of hidden from the cold – start to show up again. From now and throughout next months we Brazilians will start seeing more animals in the woods, fields and cities.

Following this “collective awakening”, two articles published in Brazilian magazines during the past weeks (both using my photos) talk about fauna – more specifically about guide books and birds.

July’s issue of the Ciência e Cultura (“Science and Culture”) magazine, published by the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), brings an article about field guides, the books used for identifying fauna and flora in a given area. The text is written by my postgrad colleague Murilo Alves Pereira. Almost at the same time, the Globo Rural magazine (August) published a 10-page special about birdwatching, signed by journalist Sérgio Túlio Caldas.

Still on birds, I also cooperated with some publicity material, this time for Avistar 2008 (the upcoming third edition of the Brazilian Bird Fair). Next week, our friend and idealizer of Avistar, Guto Carvalho, will be in the UK participating in Birdfair 2007, the world's first and largest international birdwatching event! Long life to our birds…

"Whatcha looking at?!"
(Rufous-bellied Thrush in the Pantanal)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
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The 40-feet long Jaguar!

2007-08-01T09:49:00.000-04:00

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. First draft of the panel created by Competence...
(Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007)

The Competence Agency (Brazil) has just created and installed a 12 x 7 meter (40 x 23 ft) billboard for Itaipu Binacional using one of my jaguar pictures done on assignment. The huge panel is part of the publicity material for Bela Vista Biological Refuge. So, if some day you happen to be driving by... Beware of "my" Jaguar!

... and the final result of the billboard
installed by an avenue in Iguassu Falls (Brazil)
(Photo © Maikel Silva / Competence, 2007)

(This made me think about the “battle for megapixels” brought up by digital camera advertisers. It seems kind of exaggerated to feel that your brand new 6, 8 or 10 megapixel camera becomes “obsolete” after a couple of months, as some will try to make you believe... Obviously, a higher resolution will allow larger prints with less interpolation and more possibilities of cropping your image, but how much money is this really worth?)

* The photo of this jaguar was taken with a Canon EOS 30D camera
and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens*

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The Early Bird

2007-06-28T10:59:00.000-04:00

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.Iguassu Falls National Park (Brazil)
The heavy clouds made for a much more dramatic scene
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

“The early bird catches the worm”, claims the popular saying. One of the fundamentals for those who deal with wildlife or landscape photography is the need of waking up and getting to the field very early. First, because the best natural light for such kinds of pictures happens when the sun is very close to the horizon, throwing an inclined and soft light that illuminates the subject evenly, without pronounced shadows or strong contrasts. In second place – and just as important – is the fact that animals are more active during these periods, specially in the first hours of morning.

But, different from what beginners tend to think, firsthand experiences and reading about photography have taught me that in many occasions an overcast day can be equal or better than a sunny day for photographing nature. Pictures taken inside the forest, in particular, come out much better when done on a sunless day. The thin layer of clouds acts as a giant natural hazy light, similar to the accessory used in studio photography to attenuate shadows. This way, the problem with the “hard” light in the middle of the day is gone (keeping in mind that in lower latitudes, as I said in a recent post, the “good” sunlight usually lasts very short).

With time our eyes get accustomed to perceiving when the natural illumination is at its best. As well as too much sun is bad, too many heavy clouds may turn the environment too dark and the colors become lifeless. Also, if you are shooting landscapes in which the skyline appears, a gloomy sky just won’t do. Then the only solution is to wait for the next day…

Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
The overcast sky made the light soft and even
Photo:© Daniel De Granville, 2007
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Home Sweet Home

2007-06-17T13:21:00.000-04:00

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.Japi Mountains
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Since about one month ago we left the region of the Pantanal and Bonito (State of Mato Grosso do Sul), where I lived and photographed for almost 13 years, starting a new project living by the Atlantic Rainforest in São Paulo State.

We are now at the Japi Mountains, an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest located 40 km (25 mi) north from the city of São Paulo, protected by various legal issues and by the environmental awareness of many of its inhabitants. The region’s bird list accounts for about 235 species, of which we already saw more than 50 without even leaving home!

This means a lot of projects coming up - a new environment, new landscapes and species from the fauna and the flora waiting to be observed and photographed!

Home, sweet home!
Photo:© Daniel De Granville, 2007
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At The Zoo

2007-06-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

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. "I just hate paparazzi!"
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

After some months without updates, Fotograma finally brings you the new Month’s Gallery with a selection of captive animal images done by me at Tierpark Hellabrunn (Munich Zoo), at Refúgio Bela Vista and Bird Park (Iguassu Falls) and at São Paulo Zoo (the latter done during a field trip as part of the bird photography course that I taught last week at Avistar 2007).

Check them out!

Despite offering no glamour or healthy challenges brought by wildlife photography in natural environments, photographing at zoos can be a quite interesting and fun experience. The fact that the animals are totally habituated to human presence and in urban areas which are quickly accessed makes the photographers’ work much easier in many aspects. In addition, the gathering of species from all continents in a single area offers an almost inexistent opportunity for the vast majority of nature photographers, of registering critters whose original home is located many miles, days and dollars away.

The difficulties include being able to compose an interesting scene of an animal inside an artificial enclosure and simultaneously eliminate from the photo objects that could give away the place where the creatures are, such as bars, glasses, sawn wood, mowed lawn, concrete walls and floors. The intense presence of the public also requires a lot of creativeness and patience from photographers used to the quietness of the forest.

No matter what the final results are, even if one is able to get a photo on a scenery that resembles very much a natural environment, it is ethically recommended to clearly state in the photo captions (or tell those interested in details) the fact that the image was produced in captivity.

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Two Suns in The Sunset

2007-05-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

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.“In my rear view mirror the sun is going down,
sinking behind bridges in the road” – Pink Floyd

Many times it’s hard for “non-photographers” to understand the professional needs and demands involved in making a good photographic work. Something that at a first glance might seem excessively finicky or exaggerated might end up making the difference between a fair, a good or a great shot. Specifically on nature photography, knowing how to use the best light – in the early morning and late afternoon – is by far the most important factor. So, when you depend on other people to reach the place to be photographed, a little delay or some other unforeseen event might spoil your shoot for good. And a fact like this is what inspired the opening picture of this text.

On a previous post I made comments about how I feel when I’m out in the field on assignment, of the anxiety caused by the need of getting good images day after day. The deadlines are short and you’ve got a lot to photograph out there. When something doesn’t work as planned and I find myself inside a car in the middle of the road, while the golden light is ending, a sort of affliction hits me. After all, at that exact moment I should be in some natural scenery that does justice to the light, and not seeing the sun go down between cars and asphalt. Then, when things are making me really desperate, I start looking for anything worth photographing so that the moment isn’t completely lost. Usually these pictures turn out to be pure rubbish, but sometimes something nice comes out. And that’s how I saw the reflection of the sun in the rear view mirror and the reflection of the reflection in the car’s side window...

PS.: It’s worth mentioning that in the Pantanal and most of the Brazilian regions this special light lasts very short, as opposed to places located at higher latitudes. I noticed this very clearly while photographing in Germany during the winter, where the sun’s inclination tricked me and I caught myself photographing landscapes at 11 AM – a time of day that, in Brazil, I’d never dare trying to make some good outdoors shot.

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Honorable Mention - Best Photo!

2007-05-04T17:54:00.000-04:00

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White-faced Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Honorable Mention Award as Best Photo
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Just got the good news and am forwarding it: this photo of mine, taken early this year in Belém (Northern Brazil), has received an Honorable Mention award in the “Best Photo” category at Avistar Itaú BBA “Brazilian Birds” photo contest, which had almost 5,000 submissions! A great way to start a happy weekend!

more info

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When the Hunter (almost) Becomes the Hunted

2007-04-27T00:27:00.000-04:00

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.If she did this to a poor bird just a few minutes afterwards,
what would have happened to me if she hadn't missed the strike?!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Do you remember one of last month’s post, where I talked about a mother caiman that I was trying to photograph? Well, today this stubborn photographer decided to take his chances again and go after the young caimans, this time “a bit closer”, to get details from one of them alone. But now, maybe due to the cold and rainy weather that is ruining my shooting days, the lady shown in the picture above was not nearly as tolerating as before… and decided to strike against me when I was lying by her swamp, about 2 feet away from the baby. But, c’mon you crocodilian dude, I’m the one who should be in a bad mood because of the lousy weather!

Luckily the years of experiences in the Pantanal taught me that I must always beware of these animals, so that nothing bad happened (except for the inevitable adrenalin discharge). So today the “image hunter” almost became the prey. Too bad that I didn’t have my camera pointed at her – I’m sure that those sharp teeth sticking out from a huge mouth coming towards my head would make some real cool shots.

An anaconda squishes a whistling-duck in Bonito (Brazil) –
scenes like this require a lot of patience, persistence,
knowledge and a great deal of luck for the photographer
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2005

FINAL REMARK:
One of FotogramBits’ frequent reader has just written me to comment that the current text seemed to contribute for increasing the fears that many people have regarding such animals. I agreed with her, and therefore found it important to mention that caimans, as well as other creatures stigmatized as ferocious beasts – anacondas, jaguars, bats, sharks – solely play their role in nature. No animal will attack humans just for fun, they do it upon feeling threatened or in rare cases of ecological changes caused by ourselves.

The caiman tried to scare me away because at that moment I was representing a lethal threat for its young. It’s always good to keep in mind that we must be ethical and respectful with our photo subjects at all times – and this is an issue for an upcoming post.

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A Day for our Indians

2007-04-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

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Guarani Indians from the “Tekoha-Añetete” (“promised land”)
Indigenous Reserve, in Southwestern Brazil.
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Today at FotogramaBits, just a short post in honor of our indigenous peoples on this April 19, when Brazil officially celebrates the “Indians’ Day”.

(Next week I’m back in Iguassu Falls to conclude my photo assignment with Itaipu. More news soon!)

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All Over Brazil

2007-04-03T18:26:00.000-04:00

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.Inside (but almost out...) of a doorless helicopter
photographing the vicinities of Iguassu Falls National Park
(border between Brazil and Argentina)
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

April has just begun, but this year I have already roamed through 7 states of 4 Brazilian regions, photographing and doing other jobs on environment and ecotourism.

According to my accounts, during the past 3 months I traveled about 23.000 km (14,000 mi) by air, land and water, passing by places that I had already been and also knowing new regions with an amazing variety of animals, plants, people, climate, food, accents and problems. From the indigenous people that live by the Amazonian rivers to the German colonizers in the south; from the traditional fishermen at the seaside to the Pantanal cowboys on the Paraguayan border.

This incredible diversity makes of Brazil an extremely interesting and photographable country, that deserves to be known firsthand by us all – while this is not possible, I try to show you some of it through my photographs!

Follow the red dots and find the ways that I have roamed
since the beginning of this year (some stretches more than once)!
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Inside the World’s LargestHydroelectric Plant

2007-03-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

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. The worldwide famous Iguassu Falls
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

In front of me a group of Paraguayans eat, drink and wholeheartedly sing (I’m assuming that they are Paraguayans because Paraguay is right next door, but it’s impossible to tell by the way they dress since their outfit is all but typical, if you know what I mean). Behind their table, a musical group – actually a duo of a keyboarder and a singer – plays a medley with instrumental versions of all-time successes including “Only You”, “Solamente Una Vez” and “The Girl From Ipanema”... One of the gentlemen at that table makes a move like he’s getting up to sing along with the musicians. His friends tell him to go for it, but he gives up. I still haven’t decided whether I found it good or bad that he didn’t have the guts to go ahead.

It’s 11 PM and I’m having dinner at the hotel’s restaurant after an intense shooting day at the de Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant. This is the eighth day of assignment, from a total of 25. I’m just done transferring the photos to my laptop, editing the images, backing them up and transcribing my day’s field notes – a big day as usual, I must say.

Today I photographed a little bit of everything: animals such as caimans and a jaguar, plant nurseries, fat and thin people, rivers, landscapes. I also photographed the job of some folks who rescue fish that get trapped inside the plant’s structures.

Periodically, one of the 20 turbines from Itaipu are deactivated for maintenance, and that’s when a team of specialists come to capture and save fish that might have been stranded somewhere inside. This wasn’t in my original shoot list, but since I figured that it could render good pictures, here I go tucking myself through the ducts of the world’s largest hydroelectric plant.

Our walk starts at a long, narrow, humid, hot and irregularly lit concrete corridor that for some reason reminded me of Dachau in Germany (fortunately the similarities are solely structural). I’ve never been claustrophobic, but for a moment I felt something strange. And this was only the beginning...

From the first corridor we took an elevator and quickly went up some 25 meters until a second alleyway even narrower, which led to a yellow metal spiral staircase, which led to a tiny little room full of levers, controls and gauges, which led to a sort of hatchway, that finally led to a small ladder similar to those found in swimming pools, by which we descended in total darkness. Voila, there I was inside the duct. In front of me, no more Paraguayans eating and drinking and singing, but a steel wall full of huge rivets that holds all the backwater from Itaipu’s Lake – or almost all the water, since part of it is dripping down the wall and from the ceiling, leaving the floor extremely slippery. Five meters behind me is a 40-meter deep abyss that ends up at the turbin. I bravely refrain from the temptation of asking how many meters we are under the water surface – and what would happen if someone hypothetically forgot that we were inside and opened the floodgates. This time – as opposed to my doubts whether the Paraguayan folk should or should not sing – I’m sure that the best to do was to remain quiet and just listen to the instructions.

Inside the plant – two meters ahead, the abyss...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

The technician in charge of the fish rescue operation gives me strict orders not to get away from his side, under absolutely no circumstance. I guess that he got kind of scared with me this morning, when I walked a bit too close to a mommy caiman with its babies. To calm him down I tell him not to worry, since I really don’t fear animals that much, but am very respectful to things such as dark ducts and turbines and black abysses.

And there he goes underneath the big wall, fishing net, flashlight and bucket in his hands, trying to save some stranded fish. Search here, search there, but nothing – fortunately all of the area’s fishes seem to be safe and sound. I feel glad about them, but kind of frustrated for not being able to get a good picture of the rescue operation.

No problem, tomorrow we have another chance, they are going to take me to a “neater” spot (inside the turbine!) where the chances of rescuing fish trapped in the duct are higher...

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Bavaria’s Last Snows?

2007-03-17T09:45:00.000-04:00

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. A color picture or a black-and-white picture?!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Judith Schnaubelt, a journalist friend who lives in Munich, just loves Brazil and interviewed us during our project in Germany. Needless to say, one of the subjects that she brought up was global warming.

A view from the roadside at Bavaria
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

The forecast today says it will snow in Bavaria this weekend. We are already in mid March, but this is only the second time that it snows over there this winter! It’s hard to believe that at the same period, exactly 12 months ago, I was taking such pictures...

Sunrise at the Alps, border between Germany and Austria
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

I wonder if they will worth more in some years, not necessarily due to their artistic quality, but for being rare records? I guess that only time will tell...

(During the next two weeks I will be at Iguassu Falls on a photo assignment for Itaipu Binacional – if I have the time and internet, I’ll keep you posted!)

Tales from Germany, Part 3: Football!

2007-03-14T14:45:00.000-04:00

This week I am celebrating the anniversary of my assignments in Germany, and will continue telling some cool stories.

One of the reasons that took me there was the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Therefore, even though my photo work is essentially turned towards nature, I felt “obliged” to shoot some things related to football (or soccer, if you are in the USA) – which brought about an invitation for a second exhibit of my work at the Muffathalle.

This is how - thanks to acquaintances’ contacts and the essential support of friends such as Christopher and Arnold - I managed to get press credentials for two TSV 1860 München matches. For those of you who don’t know, the “Lions” (as their fans call them) are one of Munich’s pro football teams, along with worldwide known Bayern München. TSV is the #1 team of the masses, the unconditional “sufferers” who dream of their team returning to the first league of German football (their peak was in 1960, when they became champions of the major league).

Best of all? Both teams built Allianz Arena together – this is the world’s most modern football stadium, where the 2006 World Cup opening ceremonies took place. In other words, the “Löwen” matches would all happen there!

Match day, we got to the stadium by subway, everything extremely organized and civilized. At the entrance line, a thorough rummage by the security staff, I had my vest’s pockets full of lenses and other gear junk (and without being able to speak German to make myself understood...). But the guys were very polite and spoke English – showing them my press credential and the Brazilian team jersey that I was wearing underneath was enough! “Ok, you can go, enjoy the game!”. Vielen dank...

Now I had to get the official vest that gives full acsess to the football field. The guy in charge asks me for a journalist credential. I tell him I don’t have one, that I am a photographer participating in a cultural project sponsored by the city’s Department of Culture. He says that’s OK, “it can be some other document, I’ll give it back to you once you turn the vest back in”. I offer him my passport, he thinks it’s too much of a responsibility to keep such document. So I end up giving him the cheap plastic card that grants access to my town’s public recreation center. “Ah, this will do, just perfect!”.

At the playing field, after passing through the press room where there was a full banquet served, I meet several photographers lined up with their supertele lenses muuuuch more powerful than mine. A German lady photographer asks me: “in Brazil’s stadiums, do fans behave so badly as the ones from here”?? She must be kidding...

The match’s summary: TSV was desperately in need of a victory because they were in risk of falling to the THIRD league! They started out very well, scored 1 to 0, everything seemed to be heading towards a happy end. But suddenly, at the very last minute of the match some folks from the defense failed, the opponents tie the match… and I go back home with several cool images, including a shot of the electronic scoreboard showing TSV winning the match at half-time. “Congrats Daniel, this is the most rare scene you’ll ever be able to photograph in Germany!”, was the joke I heard from the always high spirited Löwen Fans...

"Daniel in the Lions’ Den"

(at the next match that I went to some weeks later, the “Löwen” won by 2 to 0 in a sensational game, and at least ensured their continuity in the second league – guess I brough them good luck...).

Back to School, back to São Paulo...

2007-03-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

In recent times, my work has naturally followed a path closely associated with communications – particularly talking about environmentally-related scientific subjects – be it in my duties as a photographer, biologist or naturalist guide.

Some good examples are the photos and articles that I published in Magazines such as Atualidades Ornitológicas (Brazil), Toyota Magazin (Germany) and at National Geographic’s website, the scientific publications about birds and conservation of private reserves in which I participated as an author, the Bonito Field Guide and the field works with elementary and undergrad students from Brazil and the USA.

For such reasons, lately I was thinking of undertaking some studies on the journalistic field. Hence I applied and got approved for a postgrad course on Scientific Journalism at Unicamp, one of Brazil’s major public universities. The course lasts for one and a half years, a period during which I will have to move from Bonito and the Pantanal to the region of Campinas (São Paulo State).

Stay tuned for more info about this sudden and very positive change – coming soon!

Cabeceira do Prata Private Reserve (Jardim, MS, Brazil)
Photo published at Horizonte Geográfico Magazine (Brazil)
PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2005
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Tales from Germany, Part 2: Dogs

2007-02-25T11:49:00.000-04:00

Following on with the “Tales From Germany” series, today I’ll tell you some great stories about dogs and how influential they are in Munich’s society. Some local folks even told me that there are several scientific studies analyzing this close relation between humans and canids in Munich, and the main character of another highlight photo (the opening image of this post) from my exhibit in Germany is a… GERMAN Shepherd .

At least in that city, dogs have free access to shops and restaurants, get to ride in subway trains (but they’ve gotta pay for the ticket!), swim in the parks' lakes with the owner and ride convertible Mercedes-Benz... At the entrance of every urban park there are some dispensers from which dog owners must pick up a disposable bag with a built-in “poop scoop” and step-by-step instructions on how to collect the doggie’s excrements.

My firsthand experience with the subject was kind of hilarious. Every morning I’d go out before sunrise to photograph in a nearby natural area, Park Feldafing, almost always under below-freezing temperatures. One of these days I was shooting tree shadows with snow knee-high when I noticed an elderly lady shouting at her dog who had something in its mouth: "AUS! AUS! AUS!", she'd yell. In Brazil, "AU! AU!" is how dogs bark (like "WOOF! WOOF!" in English), but no, she was not trying to communicate directly with her four-legged buddy. The furball had just picked up something it wasn’t supposed to, and she was saying in proper German that he should put it out. So that was my first practice of "Learning German, Lesson 1": "AUS" = "OUT"...

*FYI: In German, dogs bark "wau wau" or "wuff wuff"...

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Tales From Germany, Part I: "München Mag Dich"

2007-02-21T09:27:00.000-03:00

As some of you know, last year I spent three months in Germany photographing and exhibiting my work by invitation of Munich’s Department of Culture. Since in a few days I will be celebrating the first anniversary of this event, the next posts of FotogramaBits will tell some behind the scenes stories about my adventures in Bavaria and the Villa Waldberta.

Among the 28 photos that made it to the final selection, the picture above was one of the most appreciated by visitors of my exhibition. Therefore, I found it interesting to tell details about how this image was accomplished, showing how persistent and creative a photographer must be when searching for a good photo situation.

At first I was determined to photograph a tree from above, in the early morning or late afternoon, with its shadow projecting on snow. I almost drove people crazy trying to get what I needed in order to achieve my goal: A helicopter? A hot air balloon? A crane? A church tower in the middle of nowhere? A flock of birds feeding under the tree, with its shadows also projecting on the ground? Or maybe some typical Bavarians herding cattle under the shade? Time was short, there were many uncertainties and costs involved, so that I ended up quitting on the original idea.

Some time later I was shooting in town with Juliana, a long-time friend who helped me as an assistant during some assignments. In the middle of the afternoon she wasn’t feeling so well, and didn’t want to join me on the last visit that we had planned for that day, to Olympiapark (where the 1972 Olympic Games were held). I was also about to give up, since I was pretty tired too and didn’t believe that any interesting shot could come from there, but ended up going on my own. I paid 4 Euros to get up on the tower that provides a panoramic view of Munich and the Alps, and was very surprised to get – almost entirely by chance – an image very similar to the one I wanted, of a tree seen from above. It was a very complicated shot, since there was a glass protection and its concrete frame sticking out right underneath, so I had to stand on my toe tips and stretch my neck in order to get a proper shooting position.

Besides the visual beauty, this photo was successful for showing a couple holding hands and forming the letter “M” as in “Munich” (the city’s motto for the 2006 Soccer World Cup was MÜNCHEN MAG DICH – “Munich Loves You”)…

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Heading Down South

2007-02-13T10:27:00.000-03:00

After spending most of January photographing nature in Northern Brazil, now it’s time to head South and shoot some artwork. I’ll soon head to Dois Irmãos (Rio Grande do Sul State), where I’m going to photograph paintings made by artist Flávio Scholles, who I met in Germany and whose main subject is the life of German immigrants in South Brazil. See you next week!

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Atlantic Forest, Twenty Years Later...

2007-02-09T19:16:00.000-03:00

Atlantic Forest. The world’s second most threatened tropical forest, that used to live where nowadays 70% of the Brazilians live, from which only about 7% of the original area is left, that has a deforestation rate 2,5 times more intense than the Amazon, that bears one of the globe’s highest biodiversity, and that… is still beautiful!

To me, the last part of the trip through Brazilian ecosystems had a very special taste. After all, it was due to a visit to the caves of PETAR back in 1986, organized by a teacher at the school where I studied, that I decided to turn into a biologist, became fond of working as a naturalist guide and took my first attempts towards the world of nature photography. Yes, today I can say that the whole story of my professional career – and much of my personal interests – arose after that trip. Until 1991, the last time when I had been there, I traveled to PETAR about four times per year organizing itineraries and guiding groups through my good ol’ tour operator Caiguá Turismo Alternativo. And it was in this same region – at Fazenda Intervales – that I developed researches on bats for my Bachelor’s degree.

But leaving good memories aside and coming back to January 2007, on our itinerary we visited the Cardoso Island State Park and PETAR, which together with other conservation units – including Fazenda Intervales – form one of the most significant continuous stretches of Atlantic Forest protected in conservation units, with approximately 120,000 hectares (297,000 acres) and some hundreds of limestone caves.

This was the only part of our whole trip when the rain decided to fall nonstop, messing up some of our activities (and photo opportunities...) but, at the same time, telling us firsthand the meaning of the expression “rain forest”!

Cerrado: The Jalapão

2007-02-03T14:48:00.000-03:00

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. Mauritia palms (“buriti”) grow mainly in humid areas,
forming the so called "veredas"
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

Following on with the sequence of stories about the trip through Brazilian ecosystems that I did in January, today I’ll talk about the region known as the Jalapão, which is turning out to be one of the country’s most promising ecotourism destinations and, surely, a place much sought after by nature photographers.

Located east of the State of Tocantins, on the border with Bahia, Piauí and Maranhão States, the Jalapão has an area of approximately 53,000 km² (20,500 sq mi) covered by typical Cerrado vegetation, with plants such as the “buriti” (Mauritia palm), the “lixeira” (Curatella rough-leafed tree) and the renowned “capim-dourado” (Syngonanthus golden grass) – from which the region’s most typical handicraft is made.

Beyond doubt, the coolest way to know the Jalapão is by staying at Korubo’s safari camp. The whole staff and operation are prepared in such a way that visitors feel entirely at ease and see the region’s highlights, without leaving the environmental awareness behind.

For nature photographers, maybe because the time of year was not the best, I didn’t feel any special potential for wildlife photography (but please keep in mind that I might be spoiled by living near the Pantanal!). The best shooting opportunities were the beautiful landscapes with rivers, waterfalls, mountains, tablelands and dunes.

Velha (“old lady”) Waterfall, whose impressive volume of water
highly contrasts with the desert-like landscape that surrounds it
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

The only con is that, pretty much like it has been happening with the Amazon and other parts of the Cerrado, the huge soy bean crops – without proper environmental care – pose a serious threat to this ecosystem. The hope now lies in the creation of more conservation units, such as the Jalapão State Park, which can control potentially impacting activities and ensure the maintenance of singular environments found in the region.

The First Gallery of 2007!

2007-01-31T15:37:00.000-03:00

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This year’s first gallery in Fotograma brings you a selection of the best shots that I took during a recent trip through the Brazilian Amazon, Cerrado and Atlantic Rainforest.

click to see the photo gallery ...

... and when you have some spare time, I suggest that you watch this hilarious clip in which Pink Panther has a first-hand experience about what it takes to be a nature photographer!

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Amazon: Health and Happiness

2007-01-24T17:42:00.000-03:00

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. Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
at Tapajós National Forest

I spent the past three weeks traveling for Ambiental Expedições with undergraduate students from Austin College (Texas), developing field activities for the “Brazilian Ecosystems” Jan Term, offered as an optional program by this institution. During these days we traveled through three of the country’s major ecosystems: the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Rainforest, so that the next posts of FotogramaBits will tell some things about what we experienced. Our first stop was in the Amazon.

“Health is the happiness of the body, happiness is the health of the soul”. This is the motto of “Projeto Saúde e Alegria” (Health and Happiness Project), which since 1987 develops an extraordinary work with the riverine communities of Tapajós River, State of Pará. Currently, the Project supports 143 localities and benefits approximately 29,000 people. As the name suggests, “Health and Happiness” offers free medical assistance and supports community-based sustainable development processes managed by the population, besides ludic and leisure activities with social and environmental approach.

Processing of manioc flour
in the community of Piquiatuba, Tapajós River, Amazon

During the seven great days spent with the Project’s team cruising the Tapajós River, we had the chance to experience the daily routines of six communities who develop works integrally aimed at the sustainable use of the forest’s resources – in this case, the Tapajós National Forest.

If I had to express my impressions about Health and Happiness’ work in a single phrase, I’d choose a quote from pop-singer Ben Harper which was written on some of the student’s t-shirts: “I can change the world with my own two hands”. It’s just a matter of will and dedication – just as HHP does in a brilliant way...

Late afternoon at Jaraguari Beach,
Tapajós River, Amazon

Beginning of a Great Adventure

2007-01-03T17:45:00.000-03:00

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.A nest of Yellow-lored Tody-flycatchers (Todirostrum poliocephalum)
that I found in Minas Gerais while on vacation...
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Back from short vacations and hitting the road again! After leaving Bonito about 10 days ago, I did a quick rest break in Minas Gerais State and am now typing from São Paulo, from where I’ll leave tomorrow for a three-week assignment passing through three distinct Brazilian ecosystems: the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Rainforest.

This means that you’ll probably find no news in FotogramaBits ‘till early February, unless I come across some place with internet connection and find the time to keep you updated about what’s going on.

See ya next month!

Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus) photographed today
at Butantan Institute in São Paulo

THIS YEAR'S VERY FIRST PHOTO!

For a Happy New Year!

2006-12-22T10:30:00.001-03:00

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(click to enlarge).
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Support Giant Otters
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Hear Giant Otter sounds!
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learn more
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"On Cloud Nine"

2006-12-18T19:41:00.000-03:00

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!

2006-12-15T16:21:00.000-03:00

"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

2006-12-11T16:39:00.000-03:00

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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!).

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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).

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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

2006-12-08T16:13:00.000-03:00

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.

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.

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...

* 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.

Working for the National Geographic, Part 3: Hummingbirds

2006-12-01T11:46:00.000-03:00

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.

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.

Working for the National Geographic, Part 2

2006-11-28T10:05:00.000-03:00

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( Read Part 1 of this story)
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The guy who did all the damage probably looks pretty much like this… PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Following on with the stories about my trips with the Nat Geo, there’s a nice one about the day when we did the photo which was chosen to open the article in the magazine (an underwater shot of a caiman with fish around).

This is how it worked: I had to stand up in a rapid which was crowded with caimans (reeeeally crowded!), with water waist high, holding the underwater camera with the help of a handle which we adapted from a painters’ pole. Joel Sartore would stay on the outside, about 30 feet away, watching the whole scene through a monitor and remotely firing the camera whenever he saw the opportunity for a good shot. I had to follow his instructions: “go closer”, “lower”, “horizon is crooked”, “try to get the caiman in profile”, “tilt up”, and so on. All of this was done with the equipment about 10 inches away from the critters’ mouths, since we were using a 24 mm wide angle lens.

It took us three full days to get “ The Shot”, the one in which the photographer clicks and feels sure that it was worth all efforts. And, in our case, the efforts included the most peculiar moment of the whole story: I was fully at ease, doing my job, when I felt a sort of a thud on the camera’s pole. I thought it was a rock coming down with the current, but just to make sure I decided to check it out. I took the camera out and noticed that the underwater housing’s glass dome had some water inside. I called Joel, we analyzed the equipment and noticed some scratches plus three holes through the dome, the result of a bite that some caiman in a bad mood decided to take at our gear. Luckily I took the camera out of the water in time, before it got wet, and the glass didn’t shatter, which could have caused some wound in our crocodilian buddy (even though I am not sure if some smithereens of glass would do any harm to folks who are used to crushing live piranhas...).

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Once More, The Pantanal...

2006-11-21T16:40:00.000-03:00

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. A cousin of the dude above was the one who almost bit off
a chunk of my toe last Sunday...
PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2006

The full week without any posts in FotogramaBits was due to a couple of short trips that I’ve taken through the Pantanal lately. One of them was particularly outstanding, as I was guiding British photographer Mark Hannaford, who is also the founding director of Across the Divide, a UK-based charity and corporate challenge company.

Besides a piranha bite in my toe, during these trips I got some nice shots which can be checked out in my website's Month Gallery (Nov.2006). Enjoy!

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Creatures of the Night

2006-11-13T15:37:00.001-03:00

A neat challenge for wildlife photographers is to get good images of nocturnal animals. Among the difficulties, I emphasize the inherent search for critters in the dark, the need to provide supplementary light in order to make the photos and the quest for a framing or background which adds creativeness to the image.

In the Pantanal, there is a popular tourism activity called “spotlighting”, in which visitors go on roads or rivers at night with strong light beams. It is by far the best way to find animals such as foxes, ocelots, owls, nightjars, caimans and many others. Besides helping on the search, the light can be useful to help on framing, focusing and lighting up the subject.

Long-tongued bat (Phyllostomidae/Glossophaginae) making use
of a hummingbird feeder at the Atlantic Forest
PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2005

Speaking of light, using a flash (which I assume as a “necessary evil”) will be almost always mandatory, unless the animal is very close, the light beam is very good, your lens has a wide aperture and the ISO is at its highest settings.

A more creative image can be obtained by “playing around” with shutter speed to make use of the ambient light, or using some of the flash’s special features, or by using peculiar techniques such as “light painting”. It is important to highlight that, since these photos show critters who are less known by the general public (since they are nocturnal), this kind of photography might delight the observer more easily than a daytime shot.

Last, but just as important: the seek for animals at night must follow certain criteria to avoid excessive disturbance on them. A strong light source, used persistently during a critical period, can disturb feeding and breeding of a nocturnal animal, or make it more vulnerable to predators. If the animal has diurnal habits and is found at rest, the use of such means shall be strictly avoided.

Striped Owl (Rhinoptynx clamator), a species that prefers
open areas and whose diet includes vampire bats
PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2006
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Working for the National Geographic, Part I

2006-11-03T20:10:00.000-04:00

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Setting up the camera with a remote trigger
by a Jabiru Stork’s nest 60 feet up high!
(photo: Joel Sartore - Joel Sartore Photography)

Three years ago this week, my last field trip with the National Geographic for the Pantanal story, for which I worked in several stages, was getting to an end. Doubtlessly this job became a cornerstone in my professional career and my personal life – that’s when I decided to put photography in first place on my list of priorities.

During some 4 months (besides several weeks spent on pre-production), in 2003, I traveled all over the Pantanal working as a field assistant and guide for photographer Joel Sartore, author of the images that illustrate the article. Those were extremely busy and sometimes tense days, but at the same time (as always) very rewarding. The list of funny and absurd stories might deserve a blog of its own, maybe some day I’ll dedicate myself to it...

It includes from walking in a river full of sting rays, piranhas and caimans to place the remote camera at the best angle, to the unusual strike of an anaconda who missed us by a few inches, when we were in waist-high water. Or the plane in which I had to push a button on the outside of the cabin so that the flaps would work. Or the day when we got stuck with Vavá’s (great driver and friend!) pickup truck late in the afternoon, and after walking a couple of miles in a swamp carrying cases with film rolls and gear, ended up spending the night at a ranch’s stable, lying down on horse blankets that had been intensively used the morning before. Or the time when I had to be hauled into town by plane due to a mysterious health problem, which not even the doctor was able to diagnose – at the end it was just a botfly’s maggot in my scalp...

We also had the “swamp cam” (a fancy name that we chose just to impress people, according to Sartore), probably one of the best stories: it was placed in the middle of the swamp, about an inch above the water surface. One morning a catfish got tangled in the camouflaged cloth that involved the equipment, and a wood stork came after it. The bird kept on persistently pulling the cloth until the camera sunk in the mud, while we watched the whole scene through the remote wireless monitor, 100 yards away. What followed was surreal. We were in the middle of the Pantanal, with our feet in the same water where the “swamp cam” had dived, using our satellite phone to call the Nat Geo technicians in the US and ask what we should do: “Shall we let the film dry or keep it wet?”. “Can it be recovered? Shall we ship them to you right away or try to get it processed immediately at the nearest photo lab?”. “The camera is not a problem, we have many others, but this roll of film has some killer shots!”. Since no one knew the exact answer, the solution was easy: call Fuji Japan directly and ask! The answer was that we had to keep the film moist and ship it to the USA ASAP, so that we had to set up a real rescue operation, rushing to Cuiabá (the nearest capital) in time to find FedEx’s office open.

Next Episode (coming soon): "The Day When a Caiman Bit a Hole Through our Underwater Housing's Glass Dome"

Go behind the scenes with Joel Sartore On Assignment!
OR
Read More: parts of the story and some photos in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Turkish or Hungarian!

Joel Sartore and Daniel De Granville leaving for
another hard working day in the Pantanal
(photo: Andre Thuronyi - Araras Eco Lodge)
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"The Right Place"

2006-10-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

My wife Tietta found this text on a book that she read some time ago, when accomplishing her Masters’ degree. She found that it had “a lot to do with nature photography”, read it aloud to me and I decided to share it with Fotograma Bits’ readers.

Indeed, its author Edward O. Wilson (one of the world’s most outstanding living naturalists) was able to express a lot of what I feel when out in the field photographing. He talks about persistence, patience, attention, concentration, creativeness and even a bit of luck – virtually everything that I consider necessary when “hunting” for a good nature photography. I hope you enjoy your reading!

"The Right Place"

The naturalist is a civilized hunter. He goes alone into a field or woodland and closes his mind to everything but that time and place, so that life around him presses in on all the senses and small details grow in significance. He begins the scanning search for which cognition was engineered. His mind becomes unfocused, it focuses on everything, no longer directed toward any ordinary task or social pleasantry. He measures the antic darting of midges in a conical mating swarm, the slant of sunlight by which they are best seen, the precise molding of mosses and lichens on the tree trunk on which they spasmodically alight. His eye travels up the trunk to the first branch and out to a spray of twigs and leaves and back, searching for some irregularity of shape or movement of a few millimeters that might betray an animal in hiding. He listens for any sound that breaks the lengthy spells of silence. From time to time he translates his running impressions of the smell of soil and vegetation into rational thought: the ancient olfactory brain speaks to the modern cortex. The hunter-in-naturalist knows that he does not know what is going to happen. He is required, as Ortega y Gasset expressed it, to prepare an attention of a different and superior kind, “an attention that does not consist in riveting itself to the presumed but consists precisely in not presuming anything and avoiding inattentiveness”.

Edward O. Wilson, in “Biophilia, The human bond with other species” (p. 103).

Hit the Road, Jack!

2006-10-13T21:11:00.000-04:00

This week I will be out in the Pantanal guiding a group of Dutch ecotourists – therefore, FotogramaBits will get no updates for awhile...

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some of the pictures that I took today at the must-see Buraco das Araras, one of the largest sinkholes in the Americas, which is about 37 miles away from my home.

See you soon!

Macgyvering Photo Gear

2006-10-09T09:50:00.000-04:00

Before you ask, the title of this article comes from the 1980’s TV character MacGyver, who was very inventive and could fix a space shuttle’s engine using a rubber band and a broken toothpick. The Brazilian word which could better describe the act of macgyvering things is “gambiarra”. By what I have searched and asked, there is no real or official equivalent of “gambiarra” in English – maybe “improvising” could be it, but the concept behind that specific term goes beyond this.

All of the above is just an introduction to today’s subject: photo equipment is extremely expensive and sometimes very hard to find in Brazil, as well as in other countries. If you want some specific device you must import it, which means an extra 70% (at least) in taxes. In other words, a photographer buying any equipment in Brazil will pay about twice the average US street price.

Considering the average income down here, usually the only viable solution for us is the famous DIY (do-it-yourself) approach – in other words, being creative. I have been doing a lot of this for nature recording equipment, one of my hobbies during my spare time, and now I am planning to work on a new remote shooting device to capture images similar to the one which illustrates this article (and is the cover for this month’s issue of Brazil’s main publication about birds).

During my assignments with the National Geographic as a field assistant (posts about this coming soon!), every now and then we created things with what we had in the middle of nowhere, so in those moments my macgyvering (or “gambiarra, if you prefer) skills were extremely helpful! I guess this is very much what nature photography is about.

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Death on the Road

2006-10-06T13:53:00.000-04:00

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Female Black Howler (Alouatta caraya) with its young
near the Transpantaneira Road
PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2003

This week, more precisely on October 4th, we celebrate the World Animal Day, which – not by chance – overlaps the day of St. Francis of Assisi, considered as the Patron of Animals.

For a long time I’ve been thinking about setting up an itinerant exhibition on this date, with photos and information, aimed to bring up drivers’ awareness about the problem of wildlife kills in our roads – specially those which cross more preserved natural environments, such as the Pantanal. Since 1999 I have systematically collected photo records of animal road kills, and unfortunately it has not been a difficult task to find the subjects I must photograph.

While the exhibition doesn’t come true, this subject gradually brought up the media’s interest, and in August 2005 I was invited by the National Geographic to publish an article about the theme on their website, simultaneously with the Pantanal story that came out in the same edition.

The main inspiration for my work came from the research carried out between 1996 and 1997 by Brazilian biologist Wagner Fisher, where he registered the death of 1,400 animals in one year of studies along the Federal Road 262, that crosses the South Pantanal. Among the victims are 88 species – many of which endangered – including caimans, capybara, foxes, anteaters, armadillos, several birds (such as hawks and seriemas) and even jaguars.

This subject is food for thought during your next road trip, since animals might not be the only victims of such accidents.

A young Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya) run over
at Transpantaneira Road

This photo was finalist in a Brazilian Nature Photo contest last July

PHOTO © Daniel De Granville, 2003
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About the Joys and Distresses of a Nature Photographer

2006-10-05T13:45:00.000-04:00

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Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) lands on its nest under rain at
Serra da Bodoquena National Park, Bonito, Brazil
PHOTO: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

Biology became part of my professional life prior to photography, but my connections with nature come from much longer ago, since I was a kid and didn’t even have to think about a career. I still remember my mom’s reaction on the day she went into my bedroom and found the walls covered with hairy caterpillars, which I had brought home in a shoebox and wanted to “care for ‘till they turned into butterflies”.

Due to this strong bond with wildlife since my childhood, associating these two activities – photography plus biology – and making a profession out of them has been, more than a planned objective, a natural tendency. To know animals both in theory and with hands on, and to like them a lot, is crucial to get the images that I’m looking for.

But despite all of the glamour associated with nature photography, it is not an easy career. One day you find yourself waking up extremely early in places such as the Pantanal, having to walk in the dark through swamps full of caimans and surrounded by clouds of mosquitoes, before the rising of a sun that will soon make temperatures go over 100 oF. Next week you might be freezing your ears and fingers on the edge of a cliff, at the top of some mountain in the Bavarian Alps, waiting for the best light. Not only you suffer, but also does the photo gear, which is extremely expensive and delicate. A minor failure and all of your work may be lost… This keeps me constantly tense when I’m out in the field, until the photos are finally saved into my computer, printed on paper or delivered to the client.

The photos which illustrate this text, for example, took a total of over 40 hours of “stand by” under adverse and risky conditions, in exchange for a few good shooting moments – maybe no more than 5 minutes…

At the same time, however, it is an incredibly gratifying life. Each time that I spend hours observing scenes that very few people in our planet will ever have a chance of seeing, such as a rare species of hawk bringing prey to feed its young at the first morning light, I feel privileged and realized.

Ornate Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) takes care of its young in the nest – Maracaju Mountain Range, Brazil
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2006

People will frequently ask me if I’m not afraid of spending hours or days alone in remote areas full of animals and other “perils of nature”. Maybe I really should be more careful about certain risks, but whenever I’m photographing in a natural area I feel totally integrated with everything that surrounds me. Moreover, I must concentrate a lot in order to do my job, and here such worries which could disturb me simply don’t fit in.

To me, the most important of all in this job, besides persistence, patience, concern with minimum details and a restless personality, is to adopt an ethical attitude towards natural environments. Firstly, I never accept to cause an excessive disturbance in a certain place just to get the image that I want. Second, I always feel obliged to reward nature for every good thing that it has provided me with until today.

Showing my photos is one of the means that I have to reach this objective. If people become thrilled upon seeing these images and raise their awareness and admiration about nature, I consider that my mission is accomplished.

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