Image © Latafat Correa

Lat Correa, a long-time Photocreative customer sent in this image he shot in Mississauga recently. Snowy Owls & Great Grays are showing up much further south of their usual range due to lack of food up north he told me. Lat is an excellent nature and wildlife shooter, and an experienced avid bird shooter. For this image, he used his Canon EOS 40D and an EF400mm f5.6L USM lens. Exposure was 1/2000 sec. at f6.3 at ISO 400 and handheld with AI Servo focusing.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

One of the most important secrets improving your photography is to bring your camera with you everywhere! I carry a small camera with me most weekends as I run errands, even to the grocery store! Today was no different. I noticed how the hood of a red car reflected the trees above it, and I thought that it made a cool abstract image.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

I spotted this fungus and almost walked past it in the Costa Rican Rainforest reserve near Arenal. A Canon 580 EX Speedlite held above it, with an off-camera flash cord and an EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens did the trick, revealing the intricate details within it. Canon EOS 5D Mark II, ISO 100, Manual exposure.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

Here, the mighty Costa-Rican male Iguana emerges from the lava rock on Manuel Antonio’s beach #1. Canon Powershot G10, AV mode, f/4.5, 80 ISO.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

This female Iguana stood like royalty in the sun. Beneath her Volcanic throne was a goofy Canadian with a camera on holidays.(me) I liked how the sky was behind her in this composition, I shot with forced-flash fill on my Powershot G10 in AV Mode, f/4.5, ISO 80. The G10 is an awesome little camera and a great carry around with power and control to spare.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

At Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio Park, we wanted to find a wild Three-toed or Two-toed Sloth. (Sloth’s are called Parasoso or Parasosa according to gender in Spanish) Larger than the three-toed Sloth, the Two-toed Sloth pictured here rested about 60 feet above us, nestled in a tree branch overhanging the beach. It was about 11AM, but it still took 1600 ISO on the EOS 5D Mark II to get 1/250 sec. at f/4. I used a Canon EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM lens. Sloth’s sleep in trees for most of their lives as they are easy prey and cumbersome on the ground. In fact, the average Sloth sleeps from 15-18 hours daily. Pura Vida taken to extremes! A mystical creature, moves so slow that algae actually grows on their fur! It was awesome to see and photograph one on Costa Rica, and the 5D mark II did great with metering and at 1600 ISO.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

This lovely green fellow was sitting outside my room in Arenal, presumably attracted by the light nearby that lit the walkway at night. I noticed him / her after returning from a walk at night. So, I got out the EOS 5D Mark II and the EF 100mm Macro lens, and made this image of this insect. I held (+ sometimes Brenda helped) a Canon 580 EX Speedlite directly overhead with a Canon off-camera TTL flash cord attached to my hotshoe, and shot on Manual mode at f/16, 100 ISO. Not sure what species it is, looked to me to be a cross between a Grasshopper and a Preying Mantis. I liked the diagonal composition I achieved, the clean background and the lighting was simple but it worked well here I felt. Need help with your flash? Come in and I will try to help.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

Off to the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park, a jungle paradise with 4 beaches and wildlife galore! This is an image of a crab that I have always pictured in my mind, and now I finally got to make it! Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro lens.

Image © Jeff Chevrier

So, after almost 2 years without a full weeks holiday, we set off for Costa Rica at the end of January for 9 days, armed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a Canon Powershot G10. Man, it feels great to unwind! I should do this more often! Costa Rican’s do this every-day, it is in their very being, their souls, their culture! They call it, Pura Vida. Translated from Spanish to English, it means Pure Life, but to Costa Ricans, it is a way of life. Thank a Costa Rican for bringing you lunch in a restaurant, and they often say, Pura Vida...not gracias. To them, Pura Vida means, “no worries”, and they are among the most laid-back, relaxed people I have ever met for sure! Perhaps I can learn something from them! Here is a picture at sunrise, beside Arenal Volcano (not pictured) of the Costa Rican landscape in La Fortuna. Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f4L IS.