Reymon de Real PhotographySA-FAUX-RI
Posted on December 1, 2020
I have always dreamed of going on a safari tour in Africa and photograph as many animals as I can possibly see. Unfortunately, that opportunity hasn’t come yet although that didn’t stop me from trying something close, or maybe not, to an African safari experience. A few years ago while visiting my sister and her family in Dallas, Texas, they took me to a wildlife center called Fossil Rim near Glen Rose, Texas. The facility is a conservation and research center focused on species in peril in an environment almost similar to an African safari. Visitors drive around in their own vehicles and some animals are even friendly enough to come up to your car. They sell feeds at the ticket center and visitors can feed the animals…something you probably will never be able to do in an actual safari experience. These are some of the photographs I took during our visit. Below is a link to the park’s website in case you’re interested in visiting it in the future: https://fossilrim.org
THE BIRD MAN
Posted on November 29, 2020
Two days ago, I was walking along the beach for my morning walk when I noticed a flock of seagulls swirling around a specific section of the beach. They would fly to the water then soar back to the beach then over the street before swarming back to the beach again as if anticipating for something big to happen. Suddenly I noticed this man walking towards the beach with a plastic bag and realized he was there to feed the gulls. It also seemed like this wasn’t his first time feeding them as the gulls seem to recognize him and were very excited to see him again. It was fascinating to watch the interaction between the man and the seagulls, which expressed their utmost appreciation for the free meal by making loud squawks. Thankfully, I had my phone with me and was able to capture the moment, except for the feeding part as I was too mesmerized and forgot to take more photos. It is truly amazing how humans and the rest of the animal kingdom can actually bond together…via food.
THE GUANACOS OF PATAGONIA
Posted on November 19, 2020
We were on our way to Peninsula Valdes, a nature reserve in Argentina listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, to see a colony of Magellanic penguins, sea lions and seals when our tour guide started pointing at these llama looking animals with the face of a camel. We were driving through the grasslands of the Patagonia so there was barely any obstruction to our view of these beautiful creatures. They’re called guanacos and they are close relatives to the camels, vicunas, llamas and alpacas. Unfortunately, we were on a scheduled tour so the bus didn’t stop to allow us to take photographs. All these photos were taken from inside a moving tour bus. I had to adjust the settings on my DSLR for sharper images. Thankfully, I had my zoom lens on my camera which allowed me to photograph them from a distance.
THE RESIDENTS OF MAGDALENA ISLAND
Posted on November 9, 2020
THE HONG KONG PARK
Posted on September 28, 2020
THE LIONS OF THE BEAGLE
Posted on August 23, 2020
We took an excursion that sailed around these islands and one of the stops was at a sea lion colony. The water was rough that day and our small tour boat was rocking like crazy I had to cling on the rails for dear life. Despite nature tossing me around I was able to capture a good number of photos although there were also a lot of blurry shots. It was amazing to see all these sea lions in their natural habitat as I’ve only seen them before in zoos. Here are some of the photographs I took and I hope you all enjoy looking at these lovely creatures in such a wild yet magnificent environment. If by any chance you decide to go somewhere wild and exciting, I highly recommend going down to the southern tip of Argentina.
PUERTO DE PUNTA DEL ESTE
Posted on July 16, 2020
TO CATCH A DRAGON FLY
Posted on April 10, 2020
ON THE WINGS OF LOVE
Posted on March 14, 2020
MARCH OF THE WATER BUFFALOS
Posted on December 13, 2019
These photos were taken in Siem Reap, Cambodia from inside a moving van on my way to one of the many temples outside the city. I was playing with super fast shutter speed and was amazed to have captured clear photos despite the speed of the van. I thought they looked cute marching down the street like they exactly know where they were headed. These animals are commonly used for farming around Asia and in the Philippines, we call them “carabao” and make white cheese out of their milk.
LES ECLAIREURS LIGHTHOUSE
Posted on September 29, 2019
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on a rocky island in The Beagle Channel, in the Tierra del Fuego Region of Patagonia, Argentina. The lighthouse is more famously known as The Lighthouse at the End of the World. I visited it on an excursion during my South American cruise last December of 2018. I was initially worried when I saw the small boat for our excursion knowing the seas were a little rough that day. With my personal history of motion sickness, I was readying myself for some projectile moments. I don’t know if it was the excitement of being in a faraway land or the thrill of taking photos on a boat that was swaying like crazy that I survived the whole experience taking hundreds of photographs. My only worry at that time was that the photos would turn out blurry due to the extreme motions. I’m glad they all turned out great. Resting on and flying around the tiny island is a colony of Antarctic Shags also known as Antarctic Cormorants, which are very common in that part of the world. Below are other photos I took of the lighthouse.
A HAPPY FEET ENCOUNTER
Posted on April 29, 2019
I have never seen a penguin in person, not even in a zoo…so imagine my excitement when my cruise to South America took me to Puerto Madryn, Argentina where a colony of Magellanic penguins live. These cute and adorable animals have been the subject of many Hollywood movies and my personal favorite is Happy Feet. During my excursion I was hoping the penguins would perform a dance routine but all I got was a waddle. LOL! Anyway, I went wild taking photos of these lovely creatures imagining myself as some National Geographic photographer. Some playfully posed while the others were a bit shy and hid inside their burrows. My favorite photo is the one above of a parent and child sharing a tender moment of connection when their beaks touched. Penguins are supposedly great parents…they even starve for weeks just to protect their chicks while the other parent go hunting for food. It was such an exhilarating experience standing close to these beautiful creatures. By the way, I kept my distance and zoomed my lens in order to capture these photos. I visited two penguin colonies and will feature the other colony in another post.
PENINSULA VALDES
Posted on April 21, 2019
In the northeast region of the Chubut Province in Argentina is a peninsula extending out to the Atlantic Ocean hosting diverse ecosystems unique to that part of the world. The Peninsula Valdes is home to the guanacos, rheas and maras while it’s shorelines are littered with sea lions, seals and the adorable Magellanic penguins. The land meanwhile varies from rocky cliffs and beaches to mudflats, sand dunes and expansive grasslands. This dynamic ecosystem was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1999 and was one of the places to explore when my cruise docked at the nearby town of Puerto Madryn. I took hundreds of photographs of the interesting flora and fauna and will feature them in groups on succeeding posts. The photographs in this post were taken at one of the lookout points for elephant seals and whales and I thought the flat and arid terrain was really interesting especially for someone who lived around palm trees all his life. I love the colors of the grasses and shrubs, a beautiful combination of brown, yellow and green, carpeting the flat terrain as far as my eyes can see. Argentina is such a beautiful country that I wish I had more time to explore and photograph it. Maybe someday fate will allow me for another visit.
SWAN LAKE
Posted on April 12, 2018
When I think of swans the words that come to mind are elegance, grace and beauty. Swans are such beautiful and mystical creatures that they are oftentimes written as strong characters in poetry and literature. In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was concieved by the union of Queen Leda of Sparta and the god Zeus who disguised himself as a swan. Today I had the chance to photograph these beautiful creatures although it was quite a challenge as this one wasn’t very friendly. I have read stories of people getting attacked by swans so I kept my distance as I had no plans of becoming the next character in that story. Fortunately there was a bridge on the narrowest part of the lake so I was able to keep my distance while photographing this graceful creature. The photo above is my favorite as I managed to capture the water dropping off the swan’s beak after it dunked its head underwater. Below are two more photos that I like as well as the dark and murky water created a nice contrast to the white swan.
ORANGE BEAUTY
Posted on April 5, 2018
I found myself standing in front of an orange flamingo with a dilemna on how to photograph such a lofty animal. I didn’t want to photograph the entire bird from head to foot and look like the poor bird’s yearbook photo so I tried squeezing my creative juices to capture the beautiful bird in a different way. My first few shots failed to give justice to the majestic animal before me until the flamingo started twisting its neck to pluck on its feathers at times burying it’s head out of my view. I immediately focused my lens to the flamingo’s body capturing more details from the symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns of the feathers, the elegant curves of the neck to the fading colors from rich orange to ivory white. These close-ups allowed me to capture the flamingo’s private moment without intruding into it’s personal space.
WINGS OF LOVE
Posted on March 20, 2018
I’ve always wanted to photograph butterflies while on mid flight but I didn’t anticipate how difficult it was to capture something that was constantly moving in different directions. I was at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory this morning and was overwhelmed by the number of butterflies flying all around the confined space. After multiple failed attempts, I decided to focus my camera on those resting on the leaves, branches and rocks around the conservatory. Thankfully, a lot of them gamely posed and proudly spread their magnificent wings for my camera. During my search for bigger butterflies I stumbled upon a mating couple on top of a mossy rock. I’ve never seen two butterflies mate before and I thought it was amazing how their intertwined wings formed the shape of a heart. I took multiple photos adjusting my settings constantly but the photo above turned out to be my favorite. I also took a gazillion photos while at the conservatory and I’m featuring some of them below…I hope you guys like them all!
EMERALD FOREST
Posted on February 27, 2018
Green is supposedly the most relaxing and calming color as it is the color of nature and it evokes a sense of comfort and peace helping reduce stress and anxiety. During my cruise in Alaska last summer, the ship sailed through straits and inlets flanked by islands of lush forest of pines so it was a glorious feast of green for my eyes. It was truly relaxing and calming sitting on my stateroom balcony while watching an endless parade of nature across the water from where I was seated. The view also provided me a lot of photography opportunities and I specially liked how the trees were reflected on the water creating a beautiful mirror effect like the photo above.
FEATHERED FLORIDIANS
Posted on February 6, 2018
I have this collection of random photographs of birds most of which I took in the past few years while living in South Florida. I’ve been struggling to feature them individually on this page so today I decided to feature them together as the Feathered Floridians so I wouldn’t have to take the time to identify and research on each bird. I love to photograph birds in motion, however, my ability to press my camera button at a lightning speed is at amateur level so most of the photos below are of birds just standing still. The photograph above was taken during one of my few lucky days having captured the American White Ibis while in the process of landing on a rock. There’s so much wildlife to photograph in South Florida so I’m gonna work on my speed to focus and shoot so I can come up with better quality photos in the future. For now, please bear with my bird photography attempts for the past few years.
CAMERA SHY
Posted on January 14, 2018
Yesterday I attended a photography workshop to learn basic photography techniques from setting the camera correctly in manual mode to photo editing using Photoshop. The class will run for four (4) Saturdays and started yesterday with a discussion on the appropriate f-stop, aperture and shutter speed settings to use in various light conditions. The session included walks around the historic and picturesque Sailboat Bend neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where we got to play with our cameras in both sunny and shady environments. The activity allowed us to switch on both settings while working on our individual photography styles. Our instructor took us to this wooded area beside the river and instructed us to photograph whatever caught our attention. As my classmates went about with their photography business, I noticed a squirrel quietly nibbling on a tree trunk just a few feet in front of me. None of my classmates noticed the squirrel and I didn’t want to call everyone’s attention then scare it away so I quietly adjusted my camera settings and started clicking on my cute litle subject. The squirrel eventually noticed my presence and it went leaping from one branch to another fleeing farther away from me. Before it eventually made its final dash, it hid behind a branch before looking straight back at me with just one eye and only half of it’s face exposed. I didn’t know if it was telling me to go away or it was just posing peek-a-boo for me one last time. Overall it was a productive day spent with fellow photography enthusiasts and a very knowledgeable instructor. However, the best part of the entire exercise was the opportunity I got to make a camera shy squirrel to pose for me and my camera.
Below are the other photos I took during the class:
FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS
Posted on October 14, 2017
I always envy how birds can just soar freely into the horizon and visit exciting destinations without worrying about pricey plane tickets, uncomfortable seats, lost luggages or nasty flight attendants. I on the other hand had to work around my limited vacation days at work and patiently await for dollar-saving deals before I can start packing my bags. How I wish I was a bird so I’d be able to explore distant places to as far as my wings can take me. Just like the Albatross in my photo above, it was instantly headed towards its next adventure by just a flap of its wings. The most I could do was enviously photograph it as it soared towards me with its gaze focused on my camera as if reminding me how I was unfortunately stuck in my stateroom’s balcony. What a cocky bird (uhm!)!
BEAUTIFULLY RUGGED
Posted on September 3, 2017
Having lived my entire life in a tropical climate, the Alaskan wilderness was quite a significant change of scenery for me, add to that a major change in temperature as well. From tree lined rocky shores and rugged mountain ranges to snow capped peaks and majestic glaciers, it felt like I was in another planet…an enchanting and magical planet. The Alaskan terrain also drew out a deep sense of adventure in me…I found myself trekking alone inside a rain forest just to see a glacier. I did realize much later what a stupid thing I did, I could have encountered a bear and that could have been the end of me. Anyway, I never saw any bear, moose or deer until the last day of my trip when my ride to the airport dropped by an animal conservation center. So yes, I was in Alaska for 8 days and only saw wildlife inside a mini-zoo.
PLACID
Posted on August 28, 2017
It was a calm afternoon at sea and my cruise ship was sailing steadily towards our first port of call…Ketchikan, Alaska. The air was a bit chilly but that didn’t deter me from stepping out to my stateroom’s balcony to check the view. It was foggy earlier in the day so I was excited to see the fog finally lifted and the islands visibly clear from where I was standing. From a distance, I saw this tiny boat slowly glide towards us while staying close to the island obviously trying to maintain a safe distance from the behemoth of a ship it was encountering. As both vessels got closer, I noticed how still the waters were creating a mirror effect of the boat and the island so I immediately got my camera busy to capture as much as I can of the magical scene. It was such a treat to photograph the boat as it carefully sliced through the silent waters and gently stirred up the serene reflection of the lush Alaskan forest in the distance.
ASIAN GIANTS
Posted on December 31, 2015
This will be my last photo post for 2015 as my next post will be on 2016 😬. These Asian elephants are known for their high level of intelligence and impeccable memory. These friendly giants have been on the limelight due to the increasing threat to their very existence. This year was also filled with controversies with regards to wildlife protection following public outcry on a dentists’ hunting photo with a dead lion. I believe that if you want to shoot an animal, just shoot it with your camera like what I did with this elephant. We owe it to future generations to protect these beautiful creatures as they deserve to see and get to know them as well.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Posted on November 4, 2015
The Everglades is home to Floridas countless variety of wildlife species with the strongest and fiercest ones staying on top of the food chain. I was lucky enough to capture this photo of two birds fighting for territorial dominance with the bigger bird winning the duel. In such a wild environment, everyday is a fight for survival for these animals. Surprisingly, this scenario is not quite far in comparison to us humans where life in itself is also about the survival of the fittest.
STRIPES
Posted on October 21, 2015
No, I didn’t have to use a telephoto lens to take this picture. In fact, my subject is just two feet in front of me curiously staring into my camera lens. This friendly zebra is one of the more than 1,000 animal residents at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Dallas, Texas. The park is a 1,800-acre center where animals roam freely and visitors drive their own vehicles through rolling hills and grasslands. As my brother-in-law drove us through the preserve, this zebra came up to my side of the vehicle, gamely posed for the camera then stuck its head inside the car. My sister and nephews went wild petting the zebra while feeding it with food bought at the park’s ticket center. This park reminds me of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Safari, except here you get to drive your own car, roam at your own pace and feed the animals.
