Macaws in Flight

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Story Behind the Photograph: Macaws in Flight

The serene “Golden Hour” of photography in the northern latitudes is more like a “15 Minute Blitz” in the tropics. Here in Belize, the sun rapidly sinks on a near vertical path leaving little time for spontaneity. Planning, patience and technique are most important when photographing wildlife at sunrises and sunsets.

From December to March every year, scarlet macaws from the western forests of the Chiquibul National Park fly east to the foothills of the Maya Mountains to feed on the rich fruits of the polewood tree, along with nuts, seeds and fruits from other trees, such as the wild annatto, prickly yellow, mountain trumpet, cramanthee, and symphonia.

To capture this, I need to arrive at the Maya village of Red Bank before sunrise. I follow my young Maya guide Rojelio, in the dark, up a jungle trail he has cut by machete, to a ridge top with a view of the valleys and steep banks where the polewood tree thrives. In the distance is the coastal plains and the Caribbean Sea. Throughout the day, formations of 20-30 scarlet macaws continually fly in from the west, loudly squawking their presence, descending on the fruiting polewood that dots the foothills around me.

The thing about tropical forests is that they are a chaos of green. The brilliant red plumage of the macaws stands out, but branches, leaves, lianas and vines usually block a clean view of the birds. I photograph bits of wings here, beaks there, long flowing tails yonder. But a clean shot of the whole bird is elusive all day.

As the sun begins its downward journey, the shadows of the hills begin to deepen, providing contrast between those trees still in sunlight and the shadows behind me. I’ve been watching macaws fly a specific route through the valley in front of me and up over the ridge all day. But the direct sunlight creates a harsh and intense scene where the birds are swallowed by a bright, glittering background.

The birds are beginning to cluster in pairs with full crops, readying for the flight back to the roosting sites in the Chiquibul. I focus between a lone tree still highlighted by the setting sun and the dark shadow of the hillside behind - focus, shutter speed and f-stop technique dialed in from years of experience - and I wait.

The sun races toward the tree line above as one pandemonium after another of macaws take flight over or above where I am focused. Patience. Patience is now king and requires my allegiance. I wait, feeling the daylight wane. Right where I had pre-focused, my fealty to patience pays off. A single pair takes flight, rotates their bodies and wings to climb up the hillside and out of the valley, exploding into an avian rainbow as they hit the sunlight against the dark shadows behind.

About Untamed Photographer

Untamed Photographer is an online art gallery that brings together wildlife photography and stories from a range of international environmental artists, both emerging and established.

Structured as an online marketplace, Untamed Photographer offers a selection of handpicked, limited-edition works of art, alongside the photographers’ compelling stories of what occurred in the wild to get the shot. The exclusive limited-edition pieces are printed in Miami and come with an artist-signed certificate of authenticity from their respective worldwide locations.

The Nature Trust of the Americas (NTOTA) was founded with the mission to give back. While building awareness for NTOTA’s causes, the founders met talented nature photographers who are passionate not only about photography, but also about saving the planet. Their life’s work and stories are inspiring, and their art, passion and stories deserve to be shared on a platform that benefits the environmental causes they are dedicated to.

Just as the photographers preserve the beauty of the planet in their art, Untamed Photographer is dedicated to preserving the planet for the future. All profits from photographs go to Untamed Photographer's two pillars: the artists and causes that protect the environment, ecosystems, and wildlife.

About the Photographer: Tony Rath

Tony Rath is a writer, photojournalist and commercial photographer based along the Caribbean Sea in the picturesque village of Dangriga, Belize.

Tony attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he flew gliders above the Rocky Mountains and trained with Navy SEALS in San Diego. After leaving the military he studied toward a marine biology degree, working as a technician, diver, and underwater photographer for Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Smithsonian Institution’s Marine Research Station in Belize.

At age 23, Tony took early retirement and for 7 years sailed as either first mate or captain across the Atlantic (twice), Mediterranean, North Sea and the Caribbean. While sailing, he visited over 35 countries, more than 250 ports of call, and sailed over 30,000 miles. Throughout his adventures, Tony always carried a camera, turning professional in the mid-1990s.

Tony's photography is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and featured in the Minnesota Science Museum’s award-winning traveling Maya exhibit. His images have been published in hundreds of magazines and books, such as BBC Wildlife, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, and Smithsonian Magazine. Tony's clients include the United Nations, Government of Belize, and many international environmental NGOs.

Living in Belize since 1988, he documents the natural environment and cultures of his adopted country, above and below water. He has published two photo books on Belize.

Tony volunteers his skills and imagery to countless educational and NGOs to promote culture and conservation. In 2015 he presented one of the first TEDx Talks in Belize.

While known for his natural history imagery, he also covers lifestyle, travel, portraits and culture throughout Belize and neighboring countries.