Pantanal Photo Tour: First time photographing the Red and green macaw!

This is the second blog post from my recent trip to the Pantanal of Brazil. We were still in the south Pantanal, but had moved to our second location, with our ultimate goal to photograph the Red and green macaw.

We arrived at our second lodge in the late afternoon, which gave us a couple of hours of daylight to explore the area. 

Only minutes into our walk, our guide spotted this Pygmy owl peeking out of it's nest. What a fun and unexpected shot.

After our walk, everyone decided to head back to their rooms. I decided to walk a little more and was treated to a monkey sighting along the entry road to the lodge. Even though I have photographed monkeys MANY times in Costa Rica, I always love capturing different species. 

This was the first time I had ever seen (and photographed) a Tufted Capuchin monkey. 

The next day, we woke up and headed to the Buraco Das Araras Sinkhole. If you have never heard of this place, it is an amazing place to photograph the Red and green macaw. Many years ago, a cave collapsed leaving a 350 deep sinkhole, and now these amazing birds nest there all year long. There are two platforms (at opposite sides of the sinkhole) where you can view the birds flying from above.   

In the morning, we had sunlight on one side of the sinkhole (which made for a really bright background), and another side in shade (which was a perfect background for photos). I encouraged everyone to photograph the macaw against the darker background. For most of these photos, I was using the Canon R5 MKII camera and the RF 100-300mm lens with a 1.4 extender. 

There were many times when the birds would fly over and land in the trees only feet from us.

We turned on the pre-continuous setting on our cameras to capture the birds as they took off from those nearby branches. 

It was amazing to capture one of these beautiful birds in flight, but even better when they flew in groups! 

These were definitely some favorite images from the sinkhole!

It was a good challenge to capture the macaw with different wing positions. 

Here you can see 5 of the macaw perched along the walls of the sinkhole...

... and many more in the nearby trees.

During the middle of the day, we left and had a nice lunch. When we returned to the sinkhole in the afternoon, we continued taking many more photos of the Red and green macaw, mainly with shutter speeds around 1/3000 sec, After a while, I challenged everyone to try and motion pan these birds in flight. I changed my camera to shutter priority and set the shutter speed to 1/80th sec. Myself and the others took many photos that were not sharp, but also walked away with some nice images.

To say that everyone had a good time would be wrong. We all had a GREAT time and captured some really nice photos to put in our collections...and this was just the first half of our trip!

Next up - the North Pantanal, with monkeys, birds and JAGUARS!

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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Pantanal Photo Tour: Our first days in the South Pantanal

When planning my first photography tour to the Pantanal of Brazil, I had a big decision to make: Should I do the trip strictly to the north, or should I include both north and south? The north of Pantanal is known for the jaguars, but I decided to include both regions for my guests. Since we were traveling a long distance, I felt it was worth seeing more of the area. As it turns out, that was the right decision!

We spent 5 days in the south, photographing a wide variety of wildlife and some amazing birds. I am really excited to share some of these images with you all. 

At our first lodge, we arrived late in the afternoon and were welcomed by Blue and yellow macaw. I had seen these birds in Peru, but only from a mile away. Here, they were flying around the grounds and nesting just feet from the reception area. It was a photographic treasure trove of opportunity. I was using my Canon R5 MKII with the RF 100-300mm lens (with a RF 2x extender) and capturing some really fun images.

Unlike the macaw in Costa Rica, these macaw were less skittish around people, so we could all get really close to them.  

I mean...VERY close!

It was so nice to be able to photograph nice portraits of them, with clean backgrounds.

Not more than 10 minutes after we started photographing the Blue and yellow macaw, we had some Hyacinth macaw join us. Getting portraits of the birds is nice, but getting them in flight is so much better!

I turned on the pre-continuous shooting feature of the Canon R5 MKII and started capturing some Nanday parakeet that were in the area. These birds are endemic to the area, which made it even more special to get photos of them. I saw their pretty green exterior colors as they sat on nearby branches, but had no idea how truly colorful they were until I was reviewing the images on my MacBook Pro. When they spread their wings open, even more colors are visible. Just wow!

I was uncharacteristically up early the next morning and decided to go out to see if the birds were active. This Blue and yellow macaw was flying back towards it's nest and I caught this moment with the early morning sunlight lighting the wings of the macaw. Day two of the trip and I already had a favorite photo from this region! 

After an early breakfast, we went out for our first drive, looking for the Giant anteaters. It was not long before we came across one of them. We exited the vehicle and walked through the tall grass to grab images of this large animal. 

After getting back in the vehicle and driving for just a couple of minutes, we came across another Giant anteater, and this one was in really short grass. This was the PERFECT environment for a portrait! We all got down low to the grass for some really nice images.

We hit a heatwave, and it was REALLY hot, so we went back to the lodge for a break and some lunch. Late in the afternoon, we went out for another drive to see what we could find. Our guide spotted a Burrowing owl on a stump. We raised our cameras to take some photos, and seconds later, a second owl appeared! It was a long ways away, but we all had long lenses and were able to capture nice photos of these two. I took this photo with the Canon R6 MKIII with the RF 100-500mm lens, zoomed all the way out to 500mm. Another favorite!

On the way back to the lodge, we spotted a couple of Crab-eating fox in the fields. 

We were capturing photos of the two of them as they walked through the fields, and then they came right towards our vehicle. This one came especially close and wanted to check us out.

The next morning, I encouraged everyone to wake up early, to catch the early morning sunlight on the birds. Everyone was having a blast capturing the birds in flight, which made me really happy.

They were so close to us that it made it easier to catch images like these.

Once again, I was using the pre-continuous shooting feature of the Canon camera to capture images of the birds as they took off from the branches. For those that had this feature on their cameras, I helped set that up for them.

Pre-continuous shooting allowed me to capture this photo as the Nanday parakeet took off from a nearby branch. 

This beautiful Toco toucan came and landed right in front of us. This is the largest species of toucan in the world.

After taking off, I quickly reframed and caught the toucan as it flew away.

There were other birds as well. This Buff-necked Ibis flew by in that same morning light.

There were plenty of Yellow armadillo in the area. We even had one that would visit us at breakfast time each morning.

The Pantanal has a species of bird called the Greater rhea. It looks a lot like an ostrich, but it is not. It is actually the largest flightless bird native to South America.

Throughout the trip, we saw countless Capybara. It was a 100 degree day, so they were smart enough to stay cool in the water.

I took this last shot just feet from my room. I heard these two Hyacinth macaw in the tree above me, and had to capture them in conversation.

Again, this was just the first 2 days of our trip, and we were all blown away with the images we had captured.

On the next trip to the Pantanal (most likely in 2028), I will likely include both regions and one other location for even more variety. BTW, I have already started a list of people who are interested in joining me on the next trip to the Pantanal. Let me know if you want me to add your name to that list. I expect it to sell out very quickly.

More to come from this awesome trip in the next couple of blog posts.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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Two new videos from B&H Event Space in New York!

As you may have seen from a previous blog post, I was back in New York City three weeks ago, making my first in-person presentations since the pandemic. It was so great to be back at my favorite camera store to see the updated Event Space, and to visit my friends there.

Neither of these presentations were live-streamed, but I had MANY of you asking if they would be recorded. Sure enough, the good folks at B&H recorded them, and they did me a favor by editing them and posting them faster than normal.  

In the first presentation, I share my images and stories from the Winter Olympics in Milan. The second presentation is all about lens selection, and is packed full of visual examples of why I choose a specific lens for each subject.  

Without further ado...here are the two new videos: 

Photographing the Winter Olympics in Milan

Click on the image above to watch the video

How To Choose the Best Lens for Each Subject Matter

Click on the image above to watch the video

I hope that you enjoy them and learn a few things!

Oh, one more thing! I will be back in NYC in May of 2027 for the next BILD Expo. If you have not been to this show, you have to go. I believe that it is now the largest photo show in the world, and it is amazing. 

I hope to see you there.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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And Then There Were Two!

I was looking at the availability for my upcoming photo tours and noticed something kind of funny.

For some strange reason, I have exactly TWO spots left on almost every one of my photo tours over the next two years!

I have two spots left for the following:

* San Francisco - October 2026
* Iceland - December 2026
* Tanzania - January 2027
* Tanzania - February 2027
* Costa Rica - June 2027
* Galapagos - June 2027
* Peru - July 2027
* Morocco - March 2028

I have no idea how that happened, but I figured it was worth sharing. Maybe those two spots are waiting for you and a friend, spouse, significant other…or maybe just two people who have always wanted to travel somewhere incredible with a camera in hand.

As many of you know, I have been leading photo tours around the world for many years, and they have become one of my favorite parts of what I do. I get to take small groups of people to some truly amazing places, help them improve their photography, and most importantly, make sure we have a great time doing it.

These aren't trips where you need to be a professional photographer—or even close to one. I have guests ranging from beginners to very experienced photographers. Some people come with the latest camera gear, while others are still figuring out what all those buttons do. That's part of the fun.

Non-photographer spouses and significant others are absolutely welcome too!

I intentionally keep each photo tour to a small number of guests. That means I can spend time with everyone, whether we're working on camera settings, composition, trying a new technique, or simply figuring out how to get the best shot in front of us.

Because Canon sponsors me, you can borrow cameras and lenses for any of the trips. It's a great opportunity to try a different camera or one of those big lenses you've always wanted to use—without having to buy or rent it.

But these trips aren't just about photography.

They are about experiencing incredible places, seeing wildlife and scenery that you may have dreamed about photographing, meeting new people, laughing a lot, eating some great food, and coming home with photographs and memories that will last forever. 

Check out the photo tour page and let me know if you want to take any of those 2 available spots.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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Is the iPhone Duo a great phone for photographers and photo enthusiasts?

I have been using Apple products for more than 30 years and really love their computers, phones, watches and AirPods, but that does not mean that I automatically upgrade every time they announce new products. That can drain the bank account pretty quickly and not every product is a "must have" for me.

Yesterday morning, I had time while editing images, and tuned in for the big product announcement. Every time I have seen Apple announce new phones, I hear them boast about faster processors and better cameras. Sure, it is nice to have a faster phone, but my phone is already pretty fast. The camera is rarely a reason for me to upgrade, since I plan on using my Canon cameras and lenses for any serious photography. I do use the camera on my phone for those times when I don't have my Canon cameras with me and for those general grab shots we encounter all day long.

With that said, yesterday's announcement was really interesting to me. I had heard rumors about Apple coming out with a foldable phone and this had me thinking about how that would benefit me. Now that I have seen the announcement of the iPhone Duo, I can see many instances where this would benefit professional photographers and photo enthusiasts.

When unfolding the iPhone Duo, the user is presented with a 7.6" screen with very little seem in the middle. The phone basically opens up to the size of an iPad mini (8.7 inches), which would be awesome for sharing our favorite photos with others and watching movies on an airplane (where I spend way too much time).

There are some other features of this phone which I think are really cool, like the ability to FaceTime with both the front and back cameras active, and having multiple apps open side-by-side, but it is the large screen which intrigues me the most. I had a guest on one of my photo tours who had an Android phone which unfolded to a larger screen and I was pretty impressed with that.

I am still using my iPhone 16 Pro and have not decided if I am going to upgrade to the iPhone Duo. I really want to visit an Apple Store, to get one of these in my hands, to see how it feels. I am definitely intrigued!

Now comes the big question...Do you see yourself spending the $2k to have this new tool in your hands?

 __________________________________________________________

• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

_________________________________________________________________ 

My favorite and most used lenses - and why they are!

When I was presenting at B&H Photo this week, I did one presentation on "The Best Lenses for Different Subjects". During that presentation and my Olympic presentation, I had numerous people ask me what my favorite lenses were, and that lead me to write this blog post.

You will notice that most of my lenses are zooms and not primes. That is because I have always been partial to zooms, and the quality of zoom lenses has increased dramatically over the years, now being on par with prime lenses. I am partial to zoom lenses because I am constantly zooming in and out and reframing my shots before hitting the shutter button.

I am going to list out the lenses I use almost every time I pick up a camera, with explanations of why I rely on those for either the focal length, aperture or both. I am also going to order them by how much I use that particular lens. 

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8

This has been my go-to lens for more than 20 years. It all started with the EF version and I have upgraded to newer models along the way, but the 70-200mm focal length and the wide aperture of 2.8 has made this my favorite of all time. I use the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for most of my individual and family portraits. It is tack sharp from 70mm all the way to 200mm and provides amazing bokeh (quality of blur) behind my subjects.

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8

When I am photographing receptions and parties, I use three lenses to cover the event. I do use the RF 70-200 lens for all my tight shots, but most of the time I use wider zoom lenses. The Canon RF 15-35mm 2.8 is probably my most used lens at parties, since I am usually walking around the event and close to my subjects. It is wide enough to show them and some of the surrounding scenery, and tack sharp from edge to edge. I find that the wide shots are really popular with my clients, since they show so many of the people who have joined them for their big day. When shooting at 15mm, there is some distortion at the edges of the frame (making those at the edge look wider), but in my opinion, that is acceptable when viewing a very wide shot. Even though I do not photograph a lot of landscapes, this is my favorite lens for landscape photography.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8

The third lens which I rely on for those same events, is the Canon RF 24-70mm 2.8. This lens gives me a fairly wide view around me, but allows me to zoom in a little more and capture portraits of people with little distortion on the edges of the frame. This is also my second most used lens for portraits, in spaces where the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 is too much lens or I want to take a wider shot to show more of the environment.

Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8

I originally got the Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8 lens for my sports photography, primarily for the longer reach and the ability to capture 300mm images at f/2.8. I also love that this lens, which is VERY sharp, is wicked fast in focusing. 

As it turns out, I now rely on this lens for so much more than sports. I use this long, fast zoom lens any time I am shooting a wedding or bar mitzvah from the back of a church or temple. It allows me to zoom in nice and close to my subjects from a distance and, at f/2.8, do so in low light without having to increase my ISO to levels above what I want. 

Even though this lens is big and heavier than the rest of my lenses, I have been taking it on more and more of my photo tours where we are focusing on wildlife. For most of those times, I will bring extenders with me (but more on those in a minute).

Canon RF 7-14mm fisheye

Most people would think of a fisheye lens as a novelty lens and one not used very often, but I find myself reaching for this lens quite often. It is actually my fourth most-used lens at those same parties I described earlier. I really like capturing super wide shots, especially when I am on a stage, just above the dance floor, shooting down over the crowd. It allows me to capture really nice photos, even in tight spaces, and show so much of the environment. Even though I can correct much of the fisheye distortion in Adobe Photoshop, I usually choose not to do that, as I really like the fisheye look.

This same lens was invaluable at the most recent Olympic Games, when I used the Canon RF 7-14mm fisheye for photographing ice hockey and unique views around the city of Milan.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4

Even though the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 lens is not towards the top of this blog post, this particular lens does get a lot of use. I do not use it at events, since I rely on the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for those times, but I LOVE this lens as my "walk around" lens. Whenever I travel (and I do often), I take this lens with me. I find that the focal range from 24mm all the way to 105mm is ideal for most street photography. I know that Canon also makes an RF 24-105mm f/2.8 lens, but I actually prefer the size and weight of the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 lens for when I am walking around.

Canon RF 100-500mm

This is not a lens I use for photographing events, but I use this lens for most of my other photography, including wildlife, sports and even long lens portraiture when I am traveling. There are numerous things that I love about this lens:

1.  The focal range from 100-500mm is perfect for sports and wildlife photography, when you don't know how close you will be to the subjects.

2. It is relatively small and light (compared to my Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8) and easy to handhold. There are times when I use this lens for more than 10 hours at a time, and it is very manageable for me. I also like that I can lift it quickly to catch fast action, which is not the case with my larger zoom lens. This lens goes on almost every photo tour with me, since I need to keep my carry on size and weight to a minimum. 

3. It is a very sharp lens all the way from 100mm to 500mm.

4. This lens lets me focus so close to my subject that, when combining this fact with the 500mm reach, allows me to photograph even the smallest critters and make it look like I used a macro lens.

I don't love the fact that the Canon RF 100-500mm ends at f/7.1, but for the previous reasons I have given, I put that aside and rely on the lens quite often.

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 

I consider this lens my "specialty lens" and only break it out when I want to shoot images at a really wide aperture, like f1/.2. The final results are really beautiful with incredible bokeh and narrow depth of field, while keeping my subject tack sharp. I use it sporadically, and love the final results. There are many times when 85mm is too much reach and I may switch this out for an RF 50mm f/1.2 lens in the near future. Regardless of the focal length, I do love having an f/1.2 lens in my bag. 

Canon Extender RF 1.4x and Canon Extender RF 2x

 

For most of my photography career I have not been a big proponent of using extenders, but that has changed since getting the Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8 lens. As I mentioned before, I love this big lens, with the ability to shoot at f/2.8 all the way from 100mm to 300mm, but there are many times when I need more than 300mm reach. For those times, I grab either the Canon Extender RF 1.4x or the Canon Extender RF 2x to give me greater focal length. With the 1.4x on the big lens, I am able to shoot from 140mm to 420mm at f/4, and with the 2x I can shoot from 200mm to 600mm at f/5.6. This has yielded some really beautiful photos in Costa Rica and I look forward to using it in the Pantanal of Brazil in 3 weeks and in Tanzania on Safari in Jan / Feb 2027.

Canon RF 100mm macro lens

Last, but not least, is my Canon RF 100mm macro lens. This is the least used lens in my arsenal, but not because of a lack of quality or functionality. This lens is used mainly for weddings, when I am capturing images of the rings and other small details, and also for my trip to Costa Rica when we are photographing the small tree frogs and insects. As I mentioned with the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, I am now using that lens for a majority of my close-up photography in Costa Rica, which lessens the need to bring this macro lens with me. A little less weight in my bag. 

There you go...now you know my most used lenses and how I use them. I hope that this will help you decide what might work best for you in each photo scenario that you might encounter.

I mentioned that many of these lenses are used on my photography tours. Check out the photo tours page on my website to see the exciting locations where I will be teaching in the future. Remember, you can try any of these lenses at no cost (thanks to Canon) when you join me on a trip.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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