The Hidden Wonders of the Amazon

Photographer Nicky Bay headed to the Amazon’s tropical rainforests, but he wasn’t after the jaguars, anacondas, sloths or piranhas the region is so famous for.

Instead, being a macro photography, Nicky set out to document the creatures so small they are often overlooked or disregarded.

If you like creepy-crawlies you will love these photos. If you don’t, you’ll probably remove the Amazon rainforest from your travel wishlist.

“Many tourists, explorers and researchers visit the Amazon’s unspoilt tropical rainforests in hope of spotting exotic mammals and birds,” Nicky wrote on his blog. “What most visitors miss out, are the most bizarre alien-like life right under their noses”.

Nicky told DIYP that during the week he stayed there, he spent 4 hours each morning and another 4 hour each evening taking photos. The afternoons were used to rest, go over his photos and share them with the others at the lodge.

Despite his subjects differing from those of most travelers, it seems that being a tourist on an arthropod-safari isn’t all that different than being on your typical African safari:

“Speaking to the other visitors over meals and finding out what they saw in the day gave me a heads up on the locations of some subjects. Share what you find with others as well, and you might stir enough interest in others to join you in your walks to provide extra pairs of eyes.”

We’ve seen some of Nicky fluorescent arthropods in the past, and I was pleased to see he took more of these photos in South America.

The majority of the 4000 or so photos Nicky captured were taken with a Nikon D800, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 lens and Raxynox DCR-150, illuminated with two Nikon SB-R200 macro flash units and softboxes.

Having the right gear, though, doesn’t mean you’ll have an easy time shooting in the Amazon.

Nicky listed for us a few of the challenges he encountered in the rainforest:

• The weather is extremely humid, so we have to make extra effort to keep our equipment dry
• Most of the paths were wet and muddy but we had knee-high boots to deal with that
• Electricity was available only for a few hours a day in public areas, so charging of batteries has to be carefully planned in advance
• The mosquitoes in some areas were merciless. I had to use 100% DEET repellent at times
• As there were more potentially venomous creatures hiding out there, we have to be careful with where we step and touch

These photos are just part of a list of 50 tiny creatures Nicky posted, so make sure you check out the full blog post for the rest of the photos. You can also see more photos on Nicky’s Facebook page.

---