March 2021

Today a new snake species was described, it was named “Inger’s Slug-eating Snake” (Asthenodipsas ingeri). Its habitat are the cool and wet mountain rainforests of Borneo and it feeds likely exclusively on snails.
The exciting part of this story is, that I was able to see and photograph this snake last year in the Kinabalu National Park, while I was exploring the jungle of Borneo on a trip with Chien C. Lee.
At that time we did not know that this was a new species, so it was a surprise when I learned today from Chien, that it was indeed a new species. You can find more photos here.

The new species: Inger’s Slug-eating snake (Asthenodipsas ingeri), Borneo

December 2020

To have two total solar eclipses within a bit over one year in the same country does not occur very often. In July 2019 there was a total eclipse in the north Chile with excellent conditions (see my blog below).
In December 2020 the second total eclipse was due. This time in the south of Chile with a much lower chance of good visibility. And Covid19 and the related travel restrictions made planning complicated. After rescheduling locations, reservations and travel dates 3 times and nearly giving up entirely, we actually made it there.
Weather forecast was good for the day before the eclipse and the day after. But for the actual eclipse day it was horrible, clouds and rain all day.
Around mid day before totality rain turned to drizzle and some small patches of thin clouds allowed short glimpses of the partially eclipsed sun. Till the last minute we did not know, if we would see totality. Then at the right moment it opened up a little bit, just enough to see the corona and beautiful solar prominence through very thin clouds!!!
Had to wipe of some small rain drops off the camera lens though.

The moment of totality

Very rainy day for watching a solar eclipse

November 2020

My new book “Tambopata – a rainforest experience” is now finished. It shows a selection of photos that I took during an expedition to the Tambopata Reserve in the tropical rain forest of Peru. Tambopata is one of the most bio diverse locations of South America and has an abundance of wildlife.
You can preview the entire book here:
Tambopata – a rainforest experience, view book
It is also available as eBook.
I hope you will enjoy the travel experience to the jungle of the Amazon Basin.

November 2020

More than half a year has passed since I made it back from Antarctica with difficulties. Due to the lock down I was not able to travel since then. Now finally in October I had the opportunity to visit the northern Tarapacá Region of Chile to photograph ancient desert art. During 8 days we visited several sites with geoglyphs, petroglyphs and ancient ruins of settlements and prehispanic agricultural fields. One of the most impressive site is the Giant of Tarapacá, a more that 90 meter long anthropomorphic figure on a small hill in the middle of the Atacama. These figures date from 900 – 1400 AD and were landmarks and probably also ceremonial sites for the ancient lama caravans that crossed the desert between the Andes and the cost. The regional government of Tarapacá and the Chilean national park administration CONAF is now applying to UNESCO to declare some important sites (Cerros Pintados) a UNESCO World Heritage site.

You can see images of these amazing places and ancient desert art here and on Instagram @atacamaphoto

Geoglifos Cerro Mono

November/December 2019

Last November I traveled for over 2 weeks to the tropical rainforest of Sarawak and Sabah in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Our group of 4 was guided by the very knowledgeable jungle and photography experts Chien C. Lee and Frank Pichardo. We visited many different locations from coastal mangrove forests at Bako National Park to higher elevation cooler rain forests at Kinabalu and finally to river wetlands at Kinabatang Wetland Reserve. We were very lucky and had many incredible wildlife sightings. Please have a look at the new Borneo photo gallery, where I will still add more photos in the next days.

There are also new photos that I took on recent trips to Patagonia and the Altiplano of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Here are the links to the galleries of Patagonia Landscape, Patagonia Wildlife and the Altiplano of Chile Argentina and Bolivia.

I am also regularly posting photos on my Instagram account @atacamaphoto

Me during a jungle hike at Bako National Park, Borneo. Photo by Chien C. Lee

August 2019

On July 2nd there was a total solar eclipse in the Atacama Region of Chile. For me it was the first total eclipse to see and photograph. I did some thorough preparation and found a good spot near the small town of Condoriaco. The photos can be seen on the website and a short video on my Youtube Channel.

March 2019

I am very happy about the publication of my photo of the Very Large Telescope with the 4 laser guide star beams in the March edition of the National Geographic magazine. The photo appears as part of the feature article about the search for extraterrestrial life “Who’s Out There”.

September 2018

In July I visited Costa Rica for the first time. The trip included four National Parks: Tortuguero at the Caribbean coast, Braulio Carrillio National Park and Yatama private reserve, Savegre cloud forest and the wild Ossa Peninsula. To see and photograph tropical rain forests and its wildlife Costa Rica is one of the best places to go.
Visit the new gallery, showing colorful frogs, snakes, monkeys, interesting insects, views of the dense rain forest and the emblematic resplendent Quetzal, one of the most beautiful birds.

April 2018

April is the time to go far south to Patagonia. Autumn is arriving and the trees are starting to change their colors to yellow and red. The Lenga and Ñire trees are those that contribute most to the show. The new images from this recent trip to the Carretera Austral are now online. I had an encounter with the rare and endangered Andean Huemul, the Chucao, a small curious bird and other interesting wildlife. Click on the links to see photos in the Patagonia page and the Patagonia Wildlife page.

In the photo archive searching for NEW you will find more photos, and on Instagram there are reglular updates.

A partial black and white photo, showing beautiful red Lenga trees (Nothofagus pumilio) at Cerro Castillo National Park, Chile