Travelling from Quito in ecuador to the small town of Coca on the banks of the Paca River we travelled by motorized canoe for two and half hours to the Amazon forest. A mile walk through the jungle serenaded by the almost deafening noise of crickets and frogs we arrive with our two guides at the entrance of a beautiful lake. A further canoe trip across the lake brings us to the La Salva Lodge. Here we begin our Amazon experience.

Far more challenging than expected, most of the bird life is to be found high up in the tree canopy which in the Amazon extends some 140 feet up. Shot taken from below this presents a poor backlit shot. The challenge was not only to locate the many thousands of species of birds but to somehow get eye level with them to photograph and with sufficient light to properly expose.    

The Amazon is full of plants, insects and animals that want to either eat, sting or bite you. Great care must be taken when exploring the forest as medical treatment is several hours boat ride away.

The flip-side is the abundant, often strange and unusual wildlife, a representation of which Mark has captured below. Some of the humming bird images were captured during a brief visit to the cloud forest in the Andes.