An aerial shot of one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica on the Central Pacific coast.

I used lens flare creatively to render the sun as it set over the rainforest canopy in the Peruvian Amazon. A climb to the top of a 50 meter high lookout tower gave me this spectacular vantage point.

When I first visited this little-known waterfall in eastern Ecuador, I was blown away. The dramatic setting and the sheer power of the cascade told me immediately the story of how the Amazon River is born, off highland cloud forested cliffs just like these. Unfortunately, the San Rafael waterfall in is threatened by a hydroelectric dam project. I was fortunate to be able to photograph it before its mighty power is reduced to a mere trickle.

Declared a national park in 1972, Manuel Antonio on the central Pacific coast is one of Costa Rica's first and perhaps its most famous national park. Its most striking feature is the tombolo - a land bridge created by the historical build up of sand - that connects the mainland to Cathedral Point, which used to be an island. For my coffee table book on Costa Rica's natural wonders, I wanted an iconic shot of this park that hopefully captured the essence of this protected jewel in one shot. I decided that an aerial photo was the way to go, and I envisioned a photo that would tell a little story but have an interesting graphic/geometric composition as well. So, I went up in an ultralight plane an hour before sunset to ensure soft light and had my pilot make a few passes over the park, tilting the plane sideways so I could shoot straight down, until I got the shot I wanted. Shooting on a Monday, the one day a week the park is closed, meant I had no people in my frame, just glorious unspoiled nature!

Cloud forest are characterized by epiphytes, which are plants that grow on other plants. Nowhere is the abundance and diversity of epiphytes more apparent than in Costa Rica's famed Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. I searched high and low for an orderly composition to show this phenomenon before I finally found this scene just off one of the hanging canopy bridges in the reserve.

I was struck by the repeating triangles as the sun backlit this beach south of Costa Rica's Manuel Antonio National Park.

The rainforests of Costa Rica's Central Pacific Coast have a number of decidous trees that shed their leaves in the dry season

River and mangrove habitat in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula.

Surf, sand, and mangroves near Drake Bay on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet

Abstract of breaking waves near Drake Bay on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet

Brown pelicans soar over the ocean near Costa Rica's famed Manuel Antonio National Park

Aerial abstract of Costa Rica's Ballena National Marine Park

Aerial abstract of Costa Rica's Ballena National Marine Park

Forest fires smolder in the tropical dry forested hills in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province. Though forest fires occur naturally in tropical dry forests, most recent fires are caused by humans and further threaten one of Central America's most fragile habitats.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Decades of deforestation have left many areas of Costa Rica's Guanacaste in a semi-desert state

artistic take on denuded land in Guanacaste province, taken from a small gyro plane

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Tropical dry forest meets the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Tropical dry forest meets the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Aerial view of the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province. Tropical dry forests are one of the most threatened habitats in Central America.

The wetlands of Costa Rica's Palo Verde National Park provide important wintering habitat for many migratory waterfall species, including the handsome black-bellied whistling duck.

The wetlands of Costa Rica's Palo Verde National Park provide important wintering habitat for many migratory waterfall species, including the handsome black-bellied whistling duck.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Deforestation for cattle ranching and agriculture is an ongoing threat to the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica's Guanacaste province.

Aerial view of rainforest in Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park