It begins the moment you step into the highlands. A rush of emerald mist. The metallic hum of wings slicing through still mountain air. In Colombia – land of legends, altitude, & astonishing avifauna – you’ll find not just birds, but an orchestra of colour & movement so dazzling it borders on the surreal. This is no ordinary destination. It’s a place where photographers don’t just observe. They “witness”.
Endemics, Elevation & the Elusive – A Photographer’s Birding Dream
Colombia is unrivalled. Full stop. With more species than anywhere else on Earth, it offers a spectacle that borders on overwhelming. From the dew-laced paramos to rainforest canopies veined with golden light, every layer of this landscape is alive with birds found nowhere else. Hummingbirds dominate – neon darts flashing through cloudforest corridors – but they’re only the beginning.
You’ll frame the audacious silhouette of the Sword-billed Hummingbird, whose absurd, sabre-like beak defies proportion. Or the Booted Racket-tail, whose ridiculous feathered feet bounce comically as it hovers, light as thought. Hidden in emerald shade: the elusive Dusky Starfrontlet. Only here. Only for those who know where to look. The Long-tailed Sylph drapes violet ribbons through the mist, while the Velvet-purple Coronet – shimmering like molten amethyst – becomes your muse, again & again.
But it’s not just the hummingbirds. The Multicoloured Tanager, absurdly radiant, flits between branches like a sentient jewel. Antpittas appear, squat & suspicious. Helmetcrests – like something from an avian fantasy – perch against glacial winds. This trip is about craft. About anticipation. & about capturing that split-second when chaos aligns into art.
Photography in Motion – Locations, Light & Guided Expertise
This isn’t a tour. It’s a masterfully curated photographic journey, shaped with intention for those who see the world through a viewfinder. We’ve built a rhythm between immersive wild spaces & precision-access sites, so your portfolio fills with both intimacy & grandeur. You’ll be capturing images alongside David, whose knowledge, which is supplemented by local guides & experts, & photographer’s eye bring you straight to the magic. Not later. Not almost. Right there.
At carefully selected private reserves, you’ll have access to hides, feeders, gardens – spaces designed with the photographer in mind. You’ll shoot toucans as they descend on fruit trays bathed in golden morning light. Tanagers dripping colour. Hummingbirds suspended mid-hover, wings a blur of kinetic poetry. But it doesn’t end there.
Out in the wild – wetlands, cloud forests, high-altitude plateaus – you’ll learn fieldcraft that sharpens your instincts. Light angles. Movement prediction. Bird behaviour. These moments are raw, less predictable, often more rewarding. & for hummingbird specialists? You’ll photograph with multi-flash setups at three world-renowned locations, including Color de mi Revés, Finca La Florida, & Doña Dora. Each one brings a different cast of characters into your frame – from the quirky White-booted Racket-tail to the rarely seen Rufous-gaped Hillstar.
It’s this duality – controlled access & wild pursuit – that ensures your images aren’t just good. They’re breathtaking.
The Living Canvas of Colombia
This country is a marvel. Diverse beyond comprehension, every region we visit feels like its own storybook. In the Central Andes, cloud forest transitions into páramo – home of the endemic Buffy Helmetcrest & Brown-banded Antpitta. Morning mists cradle mountaintops, broken only by flashes of colour on the wing.
To the west, the Cauca Valley & Pacific Slope offer a different world. Rain-drenched forests, dense & dark, echo with the calls of the Black Solitaire. Here, the Multicoloured Tanager paints its own myth in flight, while the Toucan Barbet, with its painterly hues, emerges just long enough for one frame. Maybe two.
Then there’s the Eastern Andes. Bogotá’s highlands – windswept, elemental – bring rarities like Apolinar’s Wren & the Bogotá Rail into focus. In the open páramos, the Green-bearded Helmetcrest reigns. It’s brutal terrain for some, but for photographers with vision? It’s where portfolio-defining images are made.
Comfort in Wild Places
You’ll be moving, yes – but not roughing it. We stay in welcoming lodges & locally run eco-hotels, each chosen for its proximity to nature & photographic opportunity. Some are nestled in misty ridgelines. Others are tucked beside hummingbird gardens or forest trails. Rooms are comfortable, food is warm & plentiful, & the atmosphere is one of camaraderie – not crowds.
No extreme fitness is required, though a basic ability to handle uneven trails & some altitude will help you make the most of each shoot. Our pace is steady but never rushed. You’ll always have time to breathe, frame, shoot. Repeat.
Witness Colombia’s Spectacular Birds
If birds are your subject, this is your trip. If photography is your craft, this is your moment. With David guiding you through one of the most biodiverse & photographically rich countries on Earth, you’ll come home not just with images – but with stories. Surreal colours. Split-second wingbeats. Subjects that exist nowhere else on Earth, now forever captured in your portfolio.
Join David in September 2027 for this amazing 17 night photography holiday. Bring your camera. Bring your camera … Colombia will provide the rest.
Brown-breasted Parakeet, Silvery-throated Spinetail, Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Matorral Tapaculo, Golden-faced Whitestart, Coppery-bellied Puffleg, Black-billed Mountain Toucan, Sword-billed Hummingbird, Amethyst-throated Sunangel, Speckled Hummingbird, Great Sapphirewing, Mountain Velvetbreast, Tyrian Metaltail, Glowing Puffleg, Sparkling Violetear, Lesser Violetear, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Multicolored Tanager, Black-winged Saltator, Little Tinamou, White-naped Brushfinch, Golden-chested Tanager, White-throated Quail-Dove, Chestnut Wood Quail, Red-headed Barbet, Saffron-crowned Tanager, Bronzy Inca, Booted Racket-tail, Fawn-breasted Brilliant, Velvet-fronted Euphonia, Beryl-spangled Tanager, Golden-winged Manakin, Green Jay, Bearded Helmetcrest, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Andean Ruddy Duck, Andean Teal, Paramo Seedeater, Many-striped Canastero, Pale-naped Brushfinch, Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant, Masked Saltator, Hooded Mountain Tanager, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta, Bicolored Antpitta, Miller’s Antpitta, Crested Eagle, Baudó Guan, Horned Screamer, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Flame-faced Tanager, Blue-backed Conebill, Golden-bellied Starfrontlet, Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager, Black-tailed Trainbearer
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