I recently spent two weeks in Brazil.  What an adventure! Probably the most amazing adventure of my life.  Invited by one of the most amazing photographers on the planet who also happens to be a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, Greg Gibson from the USA.  We were also accompanied by one of the great National Geographic photographers, Izan Petterle from Brazil to photograph the Pantanal region of Brazil.

During the experience I got the chance to push myself photographically and personally.   Not one for photographing animals up close I found myself wading through alligator infested swamps, rounding up cattle and staring down wild brumbies, all in the name of a great shot.    Of course my favourite subjects were still the characters of the cowboys on the ranch.

The San Antonio ranch is so remote that these guys haven’t had any visitors in over 20 years and the only way to access the ranch is by either an 8 hour horse ride from the closest neighbors or via a (scary) light aircraft flight.  We took the latter option and are happy to be alive to relive the tale.

It was one of the most beautiful places on earth and also one of the most remote at the same time.  Pretty much they had everything that could kill you from Alligators / crocodiles, scorpions, rattle snakes and not to mention Jaguars.  So for the first time in a long time I was very much out of my comfort zone and as a result experienced a whole lot more than I had ever expected.

The hospitality was amazing and their way of life humbling.   I have to say a huge thank you to Ricardo, a ranch owner that helped us to get to the San Antonio ranch, after the week he gave me an incredible gesture and handed me his personal lasso, something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I also have to say a huge thank you to Greg & Izan for a trip to remember!

There will be many more stories to share, but first I wanted to share some of my favourite images.  The majority of them where taken on the Nikon D3x, which I was very impressed with.  I was also using mainly the 24-70mm f2.8 lens and the 70-200mm lens with a 2x tele-convertor on the Nikon D700.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we lead a photography workshop next year in Pantanal.  It was a great place to learn the art of photography.

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