Tuesday, 17th June 2008
Caiman Swamp
by Will & Matt B-L
We photographed this spectacled caiman in the north of the Brazilian Pantanal. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world - approximately 20 times the size of the Florida Everglades. The caiman was hidden away in a thick swampy area. To photograph it, we mounted the camera on a tripod with the legs fully extended. One of us held the tripod by its feet and directed the camera towards the caiman whilst the other trigged the shutter using a remote cord. This allowed us to get the camera on the same level as the caiman and about 1 foot away from the end of its nose!
Will & Matt B-L
We are brothers from the UK with a shared passion for wildlife photography.
Caiman Swamp by Will & Matt B-L was photo of the day on Tuesday, 17th June 2008. It is tagged Caiman, Crocodiles, Swamps, Wildlife. You can leave a comment below.
32 Comments
Lisa Atkins
This is so awesome!! Love the story, too! He looks like a log, floating in the water. Well, except for the eye that is looking straight at you. Wonderful shot!
Katherine Lee Strassburg
Down and dirty in the swamp! You guys are totally nuts, but I admire your ingenuity and determination to get a shot that takes us with you into the muck!
That’s a REAL nature photo–it makes a real statement. Great work.
Kirk Jordan
Whew… talk about primal. Gives me the wonder-woolies. (A sense of amazement and fear at the same time.) Question: What’s going on with the shallow deapth of field. It seems odd for bright light. Is it just that close?
Andreea Teodorescu
Excellent !
Malta Photography
wow what a wonderful shot, it is really camouflaged. I really like the closeup though and the blurred background
Anurag
I am speechless!! both at your wonderful work and at the amazing camouflage! If it were not for the eye all one could see would have been a piece of drifting log!!
Pauline Jones
Lovely shot; it’s nice to know that there are some wetlands still left in this world.
Matt Harvey
Fantastic up close and personal shot – the effort you went to really paid off – thanks for sharing
Thomas Blackmore
I really like the technique you used to get this great photo!
David Doe
An awesome capture. I love it.
Chris
ha.
do not let yourself get camoflagued!
Martin
Pretty colors.
Forgive me, but there’s too much going on here.
Thomas Vignaud
Superb shot.
Actually, I’m trying to figure out if I can be mad enought to go and do an underwater or under-over shot of that ^^
ChrisB
Where there is a Will there is a way! Great teamwork for a great shot.
Ahmed Sharif
that was a deadly catch!!……. bullseye!!
planet lover
Congratulations on your great team work! The results are simply amazing. What a great picture you’ve taken there!
Ellie
Amazing and truly an image that was executed with ingenuity! Great pick for POTD editors!
Marie Dunphy Harding
I’m glad that you pointed out the subject; he’s being cautious, but still curious.
Great teamwork, guys.
Renee
Wow! Great photo!
yasmin
AMAZING shot!!!
a.
He blends in so well! I almost didn’t notice him there!
Photo Buffet
Were you wearing a t-shirt with LUNCH printed on the front? He’s really giving you the eye.
Great shot! If not for his eye, I would have mistaken him for a log in the water.
Susan Gagnon
I didn’t even see him..I honestly did not see him. Well done.
Lakshmi
LOL@ Photo Buffet’s comment!
Cant marvel enough @ natural ability of some species to camouflage!
If I did manage to spot him, I think I would have ran and ran hard. And I don’t think I would even mind leaving my camera behind
Pieter -sAner- van der Horst
Excellent! Very unusual. I like the composition and the way the caiman is blending in perfectly with the surroundings is fantastic. How did you pull this off?
Pieter -sAner- van der Horst
Ah, I should have read the story first!
Now I know how you pulled this one off. 
Marvelous story and picture.
su
This is fantastic, what lengths you go to for the sake of your art and what a result.
mike
A lot of hiding places there for him.
Su
You have to look twice to see him
renee
Nice shot!
susolov
Clever shooting style and great photo. It makes me scared to look at it. LOL!
Rajib Singha
Picture extraordinary!