Day Five Hundred and Twenty Three - Lightning at Kaiteur

A dramatic image to end the blog with! This is pretty much the last photo I took in Guyana, and I've not really taken any since (I'm having a break, and most of my gear is being fixed or cleaned). I'm now back in the UK and the blog is finished. I'll not be continuing the photo-a-day project in the UK (at least, I don't think so!)... I'm not sure what the next step is. There are some decisions to be made... maybe some plans to put in place... Watch it all unfurl at my new blog: www.jmbphotoblog.blogspot.com

As for my Guyana photos... Well, if you want to see any of them on a better quality website, or even buy good quality prints, go to www.jmbroscombe.deviantart.com. There might even be some pictures there which didn't make it on the blog - for a start, there are a whole load of pictures of Kaiteur in this folder!

Day Five Hundred and Twenty Two - Kaiteur Falls at Night

Continuing the search for an alternative view of Kaiteur, I spent a few hours in the dark at Johnson's View with the camera on a tripod, my 50mm lens set wide open, and my D700 taking long exposures waiting for lightning.

After a while some lightning crept up behind me - so I had the fear of being eaten by a jaguar replaced by the fear of being hit by lightning! Then it started raining so I quit for the night!

Day Five Hundred and Twenty One - Hawk at Kaiteur

I really wanted to get some different pictures of Kaiteur. It must be the most photographed site in Guyana. It is the largest single drop waterfall in the world but still wonderfully unspoilt and photogenic. A really great place to spend a few days. I was lucky to get this hawk flying in front of the waterfall. I'd spotted it flying around and was hoping that it would drop down in front of the falls, but I was also suffering from equipment problems - another Nikon Lens has died on me with an autofocus failure on my 70-300mm zoom. Still, I just managed to get this in focus in time!

Day Five Hundred and Twenty - Looking down the Potaro Valley

Flying straight into Georgetown, and then the next day out to Kaituer Falls for a few days. Something I really wanted to see before leaving Guyana. This is the view from the falls looking down river.

PS - Sorry the wrong photo went up earlier today!

Day Five Hundred and Nineteen - Leaving the Rupununi

This is my last day in the Rupununi. I'm flying to Georgetown, and then after a few more days I'll be leaving Guyana.

Day Five Hundred and Eighteen - Bringing the Sugar Cane Home

A Wai Wai family returning from the farm, bringing home a crop of Sugar Cane.

Day Five Hundred and Seventeen - Masakenari Village Benab

The large meeting house in Masakenari - a remote WaiWai village in Guyana. There is a dim rainbow in the background, but it's only just visible in the picture.

Day Five Hundred and Sixteen - Shooting Rapids

All this day I was trying to get photos of an Amazonian Kingfisher in flight, which was proving hard work. I thought I'd got the perfect one (here as a runner-up) but when I finally got it onto my computer I was disappointed to see that the kingfisher wingtip was covering its face. Shame as it was carrying a fish too. Oh well, I liked this one of Fergus shooting some rapids on the upper Essequibo.

Day Five Hundred and Fifteen - Hummingbird Feeding Chick

A few versions of this one - but I had real difficulty getting focus right, as the branch was swaying in the wind... Alternatives are here.

Day Five Hundred and Fourteen - Big Mosquito

I think this is some kind of huge mosquito... Looks like it means business to me!

Day Five Hundred and Thirteen - Lurking Caiman

Day Five Hundred and Twelve - Traditional Wai Wai Boat

A traditional dug out boat, made from a single tree hollowed out.

Day Five Hundred and Eleven - Macaw

Day Five Hundred and Ten - Basking Tree

Most of my pictures I think are viewed better full size, but just for a change, I think this one works much better as a thumbnail! Maybe something to do with the focus not being crisp enough.

Day Five Hundred and Nine - Wild Deer

Day Five Hundred and Eight - Butterflies

I still don't understand how butterflies fly - with such crazy oversize wings they should be out of control, but they seem to have incredible speed and agility.

Day Five Hundred and Seven - Big Moth

Day Five Hundred and Six - Hiding Lizard

Not sure it is a lizard actually - anyone know any better?

Day Five Hundred and Five - Traditional Boating

This traditional Wai Wai boat is being used at Parabara, the end of the road going South and the start of the river journey. I'm not sure if the boatsman is Wai Wai or Wapishana, but to me he has a definate Wapishana look!

Day Five Hundred and Four - Setting off to Masakanari

Today is the start of a long river journey to Masakanari, the remote Wai Wai village in the Deep South of Guyana. It's not a fast journey, taking between four days and three weeks, depending on river conditions, rapids, and blockages due to fallen trees.

To get to the river we travelled south from Aishalton to Parabara, through savannah, muddy holes, creeks and forest. At this stick up, Sandy de Freitas of Dadanawa Ranch has the right idea: sit in the vehicle, light up a cigarette, and wait for someone else to do the pushing!

Some alternative pictures are here in the runner up folder on Picasa.

Day Five Hundred and Three - Keeping Cool

In the heat of the savannah, surrounded by Kaboura flies, there's one place to be that's cool and fresh... Down in the creek!

Day Five Hundred and Two - Project Trust

During all our time in Aishalton my blog has ignored the presence of other foreigners living and working in the area. But there is a steady stream of volunteers arriving and leaving. Just as we were leaving the two new Project Trust volunteers arrived from the UK. They will teach in Aishalton Secondary School for a year. In this photo one of them (Dave) is joining in with the tradition of preserving the rock carvings at Aishalton with a bit of chalk taken from the school.

Day Five Hundred and One - Amerindian Portrait

Today I did a second set of Amerindian Portraits. It will take me a while to sort through all these and get them online, but sometime they'll be up at my DeviantArt account: www.jmbroscombe.deviantart.com. In the meantime there is a quick preview of a couple more portraits in my runner up folder on Picasa.

Day Five Hundred - Last dance for me...

My last chance to see a traditional Amerindian dance, at the end of Heritage Month 2010. I'm getting ready to leave Aishalton to return home.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety Nine - Off Road

It can be a rough journey on the rainforest trail from Georgetown to Lethem. For this truck it was a bit too rough. Passing a fallen tree the trailer went too close to the edge and started to slide in the mud. With a full load, including drums of petrol, the whole truck rolled right off the road. Both driver and passenger survived without any serious injury.

Intermission - Twenty Two

Intermission - Twenty One

Intermission - Twenty

Intermission - Nineteen

Intermission - Eighteen

Intermission - Seventeen

Intermission - Sixteen

Intermission - Fifteen

Intermission - Fourteen

Intermission - Thirteen

Intermission - Twelve

Intermission - Eleven

Intermission - Ten

Intermission - Nine

Intermission - Eight

Intermission - Seven

Intermission - Six

Intermission - Five

Intermission - Four

Intermission - Three

Intermission - Two

Intermission - One

For the next few weeks I'll be out of touch... but here are some of the portraits I took for Amerindian Heritage Month in September. During October I'll be travelling through some of the most remote areas of Guyana, and I'll still be taking Photo of the Day. These will then start coming up on the blog at the end of October, when I get back to my computer!

Meanwhile, the winners of Environmental Photographer of the Year have just been announced. One of my images - featured on the blog last year - was Highly Commended in this competition and will be part of the exhibition in London later this month. Some of the winners are here, and they are well worth a look!

Day Four Hundred and Ninety Eight - Home Sweet Home

A few to pick from - but I couldn't resist the colour on this one. One of the alternatives (here) is almost the opposite - a natural black and white!

Day Four Hundred and Ninety Seven - Another One Bites the Dust

Maybe a motorbike repair business underneath your wooden house is asking for trouble? There goes another Georgetown wooden building.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety Six - Playing the Square

Went up the lighthouse again, this time with Georgetown photographers Nikhil, Michael and Andre. Had a couple of shots from the lighthouse, but couldn't resist the one of this construction worker taking a break on the back of a pick-up, playing his variation on the triangle.