Photo - South America

Photo Samples, South America 1

Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands

With the possible exception of Africa, South America must be the wildest continent on earth. From the Carribbean of Venezuela and Columbia to the barren and wind-swept lands of Patagonia and the Falklands, South America covers more different climatic zones than anywhere else, and any photographer would be happy to run around here, shooting lots of films. Regardless if you are after beautiful nature or colourful people, South America is just great. The northern part is found here, Peru and Bolivia in their own separate section, and the south in South America 2.

As usual, all photos are, of course © Claus Qvist Jessen, and none of them are to be used without my permission.

Steep street in the old parts of Ciudad Bolivar, central Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

The father of modern South America: Simon Bolivar. Born in Caracas in the late 18th Century, he led the armies which eventually pushed out the ailing Spanish Conquistadores. Even today, he's a national and international hero. Bolivia owes its name to Bolivar, and anything in Venezuela is named after him, too. No prize for guessing the origin of the name "Ciudad Bolivar"! © Claus Qvist Jessen

Street scene from the ramshackle and charming Ciudad Bolivar, definitely my favourite city of Venezuela. Just a pity that the crime level is alarmingly high. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Having a hair-cut at the market of Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela.
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Mangrove swamp; Laguna de Tacarigua; Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Floating around in the large and fertile Laguna de Tacarigua, northern Venezuela, one o the best places on earth to catch baby tarpon. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Nice baby tarpon from Laguna de Tacarigua, northern Venezuela. Caught on dead herring. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Brownish cascades close to Santa Elena, southern Venezuela.
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Giant moth landing on a cap; Santa Elena, southern Venezuela.
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Rain forest cascades a little north of Santa Elena, Venezuela.
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Santa Elena is a surprisingly pleasant mining town with lots of gold and diamond mines in the surrounding region. This is clearly reflected in the centre of town where half of the shops seem to be buying gold and precious stones. Southern Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Cheers! Local bar in Santa Elena, southern Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Shy girl; Santa Elena, southern Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

The beautiful and photogenic Rio Caura in central Venezuela. Half of the tributaries of Orinoco seem to be "black" (clear) rivers, while the other half are "white" (muddy). Caura is one of the clear-watered ones and great for fishing. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Baby caiman; Rio Caura Region, central Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Tame and curious red mackaw; Rio Caura Region, central Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Local woman sorting the garlic; village, Rio Caura Region, central Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Waiting for the sun. Fisherman displaying my rod in the Venezuelan sunset; Rio Caura Region, central Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Prime target of Rio Caura: The Dracula-toothed payara, a close relative to the piranha. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Colourful boats in the pleasant "weekend town" of Puerto Colombia, Venezuela north coast. To get there implies a drive through the inland mountains, home to about 7 % of all the bird species of the world. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Virgin Mary; street exhibition, Puerto Colombia, Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Baseball heroes; Puerto Colombia, Venezuela. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Happy granny; Georgetown, Guyana. Despite it's bad reputation, the ramshackle Georgetown remains one of my favourite South American cities. Just stay indoor after 7 pm. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Colourful, curious girl; Georgetown, Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Favourite past-times of Georgetown include cricket, football (soccer) and basketball. Every afternoon players gather on the central play-ground and enjoy their games. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Local bus crossing a rickety bridge; central Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Funny roots from a funny tree; Iwokrama nature reserve; central Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Happy girl floating in polystyrene box; Fairview Village, central Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Indian boy and mother/child from Fairview Village, central Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Hello! The school kids of Annai ar not used to seeing tourists; central Guyana. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Keeping the traditions alive is a vital part of Annai Village, central Guyana. Every week, the teenagers practice their traditional songs and dance, and their ambition is to get enough money to make a tour abroad. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Lorry driver stuck in a que close to the ferry in between Guyana and Suriname. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Duth style landscape and farm, western Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

Paramaribo, the ramshackle capital of Suriname (Dutch Guyana), is put on the UNESCO heritage list, mainly because of all wooden buildings. A walk in town is higly recommended. © Claus Qvist Jessen

The river-side of Paramaribo is just as ramshackle as the rest of the town. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Mobile disco, Paramaribo, Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

Very local transport in central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). the red clay is all over in the Amazon. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Unimpressive gas station; central Suriname (Dutch Guyana).
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Amazon clay after heavy rain; central Suriname (Dutch Guyana).
© Claus Qvist Jessen

Curious and hungry aguti (rodent) at night time; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

A slightly less pleasant visitor: the bird spider; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

Colourful plant; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

Giant frog; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). This beauty probably weighs 500 grams. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Micro-photo of colourful science-fiction-like caterpillar; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

One of several species of poison-frogs; Brownsberg National Park, central Suriname (Dutch Guyana). © Claus Qvist Jessen

Wooden bridge across the Rio Miranda; Pantenal (Pantanal), Brazil. The Pantenal is the largest swamp in the world, and despite not being an official national park, it's one of the best places on the continent to see wild-life. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Lazy capivar, the largest rodent of the world and the favourite diet of the jaguar; Rio Miranda, Pantenal, Brazil. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Local huts on stilts; Miranda, Pantenal, Brazil. The water level in Pantenal varies three or four metres each year, from the rainy season in September-January to the end of the dry season in August. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Highly poisonous snake, "suricoco do fogo" entering my boat while fishing for pacu; Pantenal, Brazil. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Father and son selling basket-ware; Saquesili Market, Ecuadorian Andes - 100 kms south of Quito, and once a virgin market with almost no tourists. This is hardly the case any more. © Claus Qvist Jessen

The absolute highlight of any visit to South America is the Galapagos Islands / Islas Galapagos of Ecuador. This lazy sea-lion is from Santa Fe Island. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Red-foot booby; Isla Genovesa (formerly Tower Island), Islas Galapagos / Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Male frigate bird trying hard to attract the females by exposing his red breast; Islas Galapagos / Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. © Claus Qvist Jessen

Galapagos albatros, the smallest of all type of albatros, from Isla Espaniola, south-eastern Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 95 % of all the pairs are nesting on this particular island. © Claus Qvist Jessen