I was recently asked by the Fundacion Fauna de la Amazonia, a conservation project located near the tropical Llanganates National Park in Ecuador, to volunteer my services as a wildlife photographer. Being an amateur, this was my first "official" photography position, and I was delighted!
For two weeks, I happily traipsed around the jungle searching for anything that moved and photographing it, or more
appropriately as the case may have been,
trying
to photograph it. I volunteered to document the animal life present at the
“finca” of the Fundacion Fauna de la Amazonia, as it is a newly-purchased plot
of land and it’s important to know what kind of life is present before
conservation work begins.
I spent my days getting up before dawn and walking for two
to three hours to see what I could spot. I watched the sun rise from my
favorite bird hotspots and watched it glint off the spectacular blue and green feathers
of Paradise Tanagers. As hawks preened quietly in the nearby trees, and
butterflies flitted lazily in the morning sunshine, I photographed
hummingbirds, parrot flocks flying overhead, kites circling high, and the many
songbirds that wake up on those forested slopes.
During the day I either sat in the middle of the forest and
quietly listened for life, or walked up the only rocky road leading through the
project area to look for animals which venture into more open habitat. At night
I took walks to look for frogs, and found them in abundance. I photographed
five species of frog, two of them unknown, an unknown lizard, and discovered
three species of birds not previously documented on the land. I also witnessed
a land crab carrying away a giant millipede at least as big as its own body, a
clutch of lizard eggs that hatched shortly after being discovered, and two
juvenile hawks newly fledged from the nest . Much to my chagrin, I also found
myself photographing lots of giant spiders. Colorful and sometimes
amusingly-patterned insects abound in the area, and when they are not busy
biting you or sucking your blood, they do make for a great picture. My favorite
was a small beetle that looked like a piece of gold sitting right atop a leaf,
reflecting the sun like a bright piece of metal.
For two weeks, I happily traipsed around the jungle searching for anything that moved and photographing it, or more
appropriately as the case may have been, trying
to photograph it. I volunteered to document the animal life present at the
“finca” of the Fundacion Fauna de la Amazonia, as it is a newly-purchased plot
of land and it’s important to know what kind of life is present before
conservation work begins. 
I spent my days getting up before dawn and walking for two
to three hours to see what I could spot. I watched the sun rise from my
favorite bird hotspots and watched it glint off the spectacular blue and green feathers
of Paradise Tanagers. As hawks preened quietly in the nearby trees, and
butterflies flitted lazily in the morning sunshine, I photographed
hummingbirds, parrot flocks flying overhead, kites circling high, and the many
songbirds that wake up on those forested slopes. 
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