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Costa Rica photos
I spent a month travelling Costa Rica in 2005. I initially started my travels in San Jose (the capital city) and then made my way anti clockwise to Monteverde, Arenal, Samara, Manuel Antonio, Puerto Viejo and finally Cahuita.
Although at times I found Costa Rica to be rather too developed for my liking there were areas that had spectacular wildlife and dramatic landscapes which made for fantastic photographic opportunities. If you are nature enthusiast who is into jungle, beaches, volcanoes etc then Costa Rica should be high up on your priority list.
Following Costa Rica I headed onto South America however I will certainly go back to Central America and explore the other countries surrounding Costa Rica.
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Costa Rica photography:
Catch up on my blog for Costa Rica and South American travels .
Tips and advice on taking photos of Costa Rica.
Additional information on Costa Rica and Cost Rica photography
Top 5 photos from Costa Rica. Let me know what you think
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Costa Rica images:
Black sands
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica |
Rock outcrop
Samara, Costa Rica
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Costa Rica coastline
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica |
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Palm trees
Samara, Costa Rica |
Idyllic cove
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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Secret falls
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
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Cloud forest
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
Shake Joes
Samara, Costa Rica
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Evening boats
Manuel Antoio, Costa Rica |
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Active Arenal
Arenal, Costa Rica |
Having a nap
San Jose, Costa Rica
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Lonely boat
Samara, Costa Rica |
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Costa Rica trees
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica |
Beach head
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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Stormy jungle
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
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Bike horns
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica |
Reflective ocean
Samara, Costa Rica
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Incoming storm
Arenal, Costa Rica |
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Costa Rica pictures
Hill top tree
Arenal, Costa Rica |
Drive by volcanoe
Arenal, Costa Rica
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Arenal tree
Arenal, Costa Rica |
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Green stream
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
Surf boards
Samara, Costa Rica
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Waterfall
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
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Two trees
Samara, Costa Rica |
Hedge creation
San Jose, Costa Rica
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Jungle house
Samara, Costa Rica |
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Arenal and tree
Arenal, Costa Rica |
Rastaman
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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Jungle stream
Monteverde, Costa Rica |
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Taking photos around Costa Rica
The following are tips on sites, places, areas of interest that make great opportunities for photography around India (in order of the towns I visited). Of course in the end you should not force a photograph, let it find you.
San Jose
Monteverde
Arenal
Samara
Manuel Antonio
Puerto Viejo
San Jose photos
San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica and of the more ‘grimy’ capitals I’ve visited over my travels. There aren’t many photography highlights in this city but there are quite a few interesting museums to visit. I would use San Jose as a central base from where you would go on to more entertaining towns.
Monteverde photos
From San Jose I made my North towards the forest region of Monteverde. Monteverde made for some interesting photos as its located in a cloud forest and thus in one moment you can see a clear shot of the valley and in the next you cant see more than a few metres in front.
This sort of lighting and weather effects can make your photos look eerie and subjects appear as if they are in a Tim Burton film. Make sure you spend time walking around some of the nature reserves there, they can be spectacular including the Monteverde and Santa Elena reserves. There is also a great waterfall to photograph … although it’s a proper trek in the humidity.
Whilst taking shots hanging by a wire 1000’s ft above a jungle is probably a bit tricky I would certainly recommend the ‘zip wire’ activity. Its great fun and will certainly help you get over any vertigo.
Arenal photos
Arenal was a fascinating town reminiscent of ‘Pompeii’ in that is lay underneath an imposing active volcanoe. There is of course a safety line where you should not venture due to obvious dangers but you can take some really interesting photos. I found the contrast between the grey volcanic ash and lush green jungle and appealing subject to photograph.
I can also recommend checking out the natural spas underneath the volcanoe. There’s nothing like dipping yourself in a hot pool with a cocktail in one hand and the tip of the Arenal volcanoe glowing through the tree canopy.
Samara photos
From Arenal I headed West to the quiet beach town of Samara. Although it may not be the prettiest beach around there were still some cool coastline shots to take. There were also a number of fishing boats to take and I took a few action shots of the fishermen at work.
Manuel Antonio photos
After Samara I went to the more renowned reserve of Manuel Antonio. This area has been made a reserve due to the fantastic nature on offer. Pristine and idyllic white beaches are boarded by frothy surf one end and dense green forest on the other. On top of this there there are mangrove swamps and lagoons.
If you enjoy taking photos of animals and nature then make sure you pack your zoom lenses as there is an assortment of creatures including monkeys, iguanas, huge array of birds etc. I ‘luckily’ encountered two huge snakes, unfortunately I was not carrying the camera but it just shows the wealth of nature on tap.
Puerto Viejo photos
Finally I headed to the Caribbean coast town of Puerto Viejo. Personally I preferred the Pacific coast to the Caribbean however there were a couple of highlights to photograph. including the rather odd ‘black sand’ beach and also the Finca La Isla Botanical Garden
All photographs appearing on this site
are the exclusive property of James Cooper and are
protected under International Copyright laws. The
photographs may not be reproduced, copied, stored
or manipulated in any way without the written permission
of James Cooper.
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