Explore the Amazon with Joe McNally & Ari Espay

THE AMAZON!

The very name awakens my inner Indiana Jones and peaks my sense of adventure. Come join us deep in the jungle at the newly renovated La Selva Eco Lodge & Retreat. Located within Ecuador’s Yasuní Biosphere Reserve and on the borders of the famous Yasuní National Park — one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet — La Selva Amazon Eco Lodge & Retreat was among the first Amazon rainforest lodges in Ecuador and today is still regarded as the premier eco lodge in the area. La Selva Amazon Eco Lodge & Retreat is also pioneer in sustainable travel and we are thrilled to announce that we have booked the entire lodge just for us! This will enable us to slow down and find the rhythm of the jungle and all of her inhabitants and we’ll spend 5 nights sleeping to the soundtrack of the forest. We will encounter exotic wildlife on our early morning hikes and sunset shoots with trained guides and naturalists. Our daily trips on the waterways will take us to parrot clay licks, visits to the local Kitchwa community, and sanctuaries filled with the calls of wild birds.

We’ll start our adventure in Quito, the first city to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With her cobblestoned streets and Spanish-style architecture, she remains the crown jewel of Ecuador’s colonial legacy. We’ll also explore the colorful markets of Otavalo, overflowing with beautiful wares created by master artisans. A huge exporter of roses, we’ll visit one of the largest and most beautiful gardens in Ecuador. Dinners at the finest restaurants in town, voyages 13,000 feet up on the Teleferico, and an opportunity to straddle the equator will make this a workshop not to be missed.

Photography Workshop

DATES | 10 DAYS: January 31 - February 9, 2025 2 SPOTS LEFT
PRICE: Participate Rate: $9945 - There is no (dreaded) single supplement for solo travelers

Companion Fee: $6975 (staying in the same room)

*Companions are welcome (and encouraged!)
WHAT'S INCLUDED?: All accommodations in 5 star hotels

On location classes, demos, and assistance in the field

There is a 6 to 1 ratio for participants to instructor

5 Classes/edit & critique sessions

7 Dinners

6 Lunches

9 Breakfasts

Roundtrip airfare from Quito to Coca

Internal transportation to and from locations

Travel, landscape, architecture, and people photography
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED?: Round trip airfare to and from Quito, Ecuador

Transportation to and from airports

Additional nights before or after the start and finish of the Workshop

Travel Insurance
OUR LOCATIONS: The Amazon Jungle

Guided walks through the forest

Daily canoe and boat rides up the river and the Garza Cocha

The Parrot Claylicks

A Day with the Kitchwa community

The Otavalo Market, one of the largest in South America

Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Quitsato, Museo Solar, marks the actual 0'0 Latitude on the equator

The Old Town of Quito

Casa Museo Guayasamin
HOTELS: While in the Amazon, we will be staying at the newly renovated and beautifully appointed, La Selva Eco-Lodge & Spa. We have rented out the entire lodge and will have exclusive access to the grounds and many of the surrounding areas. The lodge is located deep in the Amazon on the north bank of the Napo River, which eventually flows eastward and joins the mighty Amazon on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. It takes about five hours to travel from our hotel in Quito to our jungle suites at La Selva, by plane, motorized canoe, by foot, and arriving in a silent paddle canoe.

In Quito, we will be staying in luxury at the 5 Star The JW Marriott Boasting modern accommodations, an on-site spa, resort-style pool, city views, ideal location and 5 restaurants, the JW Marriott is the premier hotel to celebrate the vibrant city center.
WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP RIGHT FOR?: Beginning, amateur and semi-pro photographers

Photographers with an interest in learning in landscape, wildlife and cultural photography

DSLR, mirrorless, compact camera users
TRAVEL INSURANCE: We strongly suggest you purchase travel insurance for your trip.Aside from medical care, travel insurance can protect you in the case of lost or stolen luggage, equipment, and personal effects, trip cancellation, personal liability, funeral expenses (we don't mean to sound morbid, but dying overseas can be very, very expensive), emergency dental treatment and evacuation back to your country of residence. All that being said, please read the policy carefully (especially the exclusions) to make sure that it covers what you will need, especially trip cancellation.
HOW DO I REGISTER?: We provide personalized service and you can sign up for a workshop by emailing us directly at liza@lizapoliti.com

The Team

Joe McNally

Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer whose prolific career includes assignments in 70 countries. McNally won the first Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Journalistic Impact for a LIFE coverage titled, “The Panorama of War.” He has been honored numerous times by Communication Arts, PDN, Graphis, American Photo, POY, and The World Press Photo Foundation. A contributor to National Geographic magazine for more than two decades, Joe has published numerous cover stories, including "The Future of Flying" (December 2003). His assignments have taken him from the heart of India's Diwali celebrations to the deserts of the Middle East to China's Great Wall. He regularly writes a popular, occasionally irreverent blog (joemcnally.com/blog) about the travails, tribulations, oddities and high moments of being a photographer.

More about Joe

Ari Espay & Liza Politi

Fancy Girl Street Boy Productions (FGSB) launched in December 2004. We have shot documentary pieces, campaigns and editorial essays for magazines in the US and all over Latin America, as well as portraits for internationally known actors, Emmy Award winning directors, Broadway performers, Presidents, politicians and high profile business people. We have also produced films for PBS. In addition to shooting, for more than a decade, we produced workshops for Santa Fe and photography expeditions for National Geographic. Since then, we have run more than 100 workshops in 22 countries around the globe.

More about Ari & Liza

Additional Information

WEATHER | SUNRISE/SUNSET: February in the Amazon - Temps 85/75 and very humid

February in Quito – Temps 49/66 F

Sunrise 6:00am | Sunset 6:30pm
AIRPORT & TRAVEL INFO: Airport: Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO)

Transfer time is about an hour to downtown Quito, depending on traffic
FUN FACTS: The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 2.5 million square miles, it spans across 9 countries including; spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

The Amazon has an incredibly rich ecosystem – there are around 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 430 mammals and a whopping 2.5 million different insects.

Some 21 million people call the Amazon home, including an estimated 50 remote tribes who have not yet made contact with modern civilization.

Sadly, a depressing 1.5 acres of the Amazon vanishes every single second and with it an average of 137 species become extinct each day. Deforestation in the Amazon alone accounts for 30% of global carbon emission, and if things continue the way they are, there won’t be anything left in 40 years. Most of the destruction is to make room for pastures to raise cattle.

Quito, a UNECSO World Heritage Site since 1978, is the closest capital city to the equator. The central square of Quito is located about 16 miles south of the equator. At an elevation of 9,350 ft above sea level, it is the second-highest official capital city in the world, after La Paz.

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THE AMAZON SAFARI