Photoshoot — Casa de Tranquilidad

Even though I’m a nature photographer, I do the occasional photoshoot to help pay the bills and keep buying all of that fancy camera equipment that we all need Of course, it’s the most fun when the client wants something more than just the standard shots so I was happy when Dave Lando called about having me do a photoshoot for his luxury villa, Casa de Tranquilidad, in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica.

Located only 90 minutes from San Jose, the house is beautiful, and it backs right up to the Tirmbina rainforest reserve. The view from the back deck is magnificent, a great place to spend a whole day relaxing and listening to the birds. Ah yes, the birds — I saw keel-billed toucans and collared aracaris come to some banana bunches that Dave hangs in the trees outside the house. When Dave told me that they come in every day, I immediately started talking with him about putting up some feeders that would be perfect for photography. Since the deck is elevated, I am envisioning toucan shots at eye level and with the forest, over 100 meters away, as a nice soft background.  I will report back on the progress for this project around May but it could be really interesting for photographers. Besides the toucan photos, the house is located in a great place to combine a family and photography visit as there are numerous day trips within one to two hours of the house.

But, back to the photoshoot — what got me really excited was when Dave told me that he wanted some wide angle shots at dusk and even at night to show off the house and the surroundings. Luckily, the weather cooperated, and I was able to get some really nice images with a 3/4 moon and stars. Of course, we also did some interior shots and even those were fun because the architecture of the house and the decorating details made for some interesting images. I did some HDR for good measure but I like the straight shots in-camera better. You can see a gallery of some of these straight out of the camera images here (EXIF data included):

http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/casadetranquilidad/index.html

And if you’re interested in visiting, check out Dave’s website (soon to be updated with the new pictures from the shoot) here: http://www.casadetranquilidad.com

Cheers,

Greg