The Amazing Rainforest of Costa Rica

Workshop Dates: April 8-16, 2024

The Toucan in the image below was extremely cooperative, he posed for our group for twenty minutes in this same spot allowing the entire group to capture stunning images. You have to be quick though. As you can see the Squirrel monkey made a sudden leap for a different tree and I was lucky to get this shot. When you attend my workshops, you will have every opportunity to bring back amazing images. Our tour guides will put you in the middle of the action and you will see the results in the processing sessions. 

While at the resort, make sure you take time to walk around the grounds. Both images below were captured just steps from our rooms at the resort. You will be challenged in this workshop to know how to manipulate your camera settings quickly due to the wide variety of shooting conditions. No matter what your level of experience is, you will enjoy this workshop and receive great Photography and Digital Darkroom support and instruction. 

Many of the emails I receive ask me what will we see and be able to photograph. Below is a partial list of what I have personally photographed, but there is always the potential to see something new and amazing.

• Spider Monkeys

• White-Faced Monkeys

• Anteaters

• Howler Monkeys

• Sloths (two / three-toed both live in the area)

• Squirrel Monkeys

• Toucans

• Hummingbirds

• Scarlet Macaws (the largest population in Central America)

• Tree Frogs (various – but especially the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, possibly dart frogs as well)

• Lizards / Iguanas

• Parrots / Parakeets

• Snakes (professionally handled)

• Various Songbirds (Cherry, Golden-Hooded, and Blue-Grey Tanagers are right at the resort!)

You will have professional guides along to help locate wildlife. These guides are amazing and absolutely brilliant. They provide detailed information about all the animals you will see. Their ability to find wildlife borders on the supernatural ("I can personally attest to their uncanny ability to spot wildlife from a great distance" Greg). 

Imagine capturing this image after a long day in the rainforest. While this workshop is focused on wildlife, there will be a few opportunities to capture some great landscape images. While at the Resort, the area around the Docks also provides some great opportunities for sunset images.

I hope you will join Greg and his team along with other amazing photographers in this workshop. You will have this same opportunity to make lifelong friends and build your professional network. By attending one of Greg's workshops, you will have him as a resource long after the workshop ends. Just email him with your questions. Greg has said that we all learn something from others in these workshops. Everyone is encouraged to share their insight and experiences with the group as well.

Greg will provide instruction on Landscape, HDR, Panoramic, Wildlife, Timelapse, and Astro Photography time permitting. Additionally, he will work with you in the Digital Darkroom via Photoshop, Lightroom, ON1, Capture One, and Luminar.

Once the Workshop attendees are confirmed, we will send additional information via email concerning the agenda along with travel insights and specifics regarding transfers in San Jose. We will link you with our Resort coordinator who will process your Credit Cards and Offer additional travel assistance. The person will be your go-to person for travel and booking details. 

What’s Included in Your Workshop Fee?

All Photo Workshop On Location, Trips, and Guides Fees.

Every photo excursion, location fee, transportation, and your guides are included. If you choose to do something other than what we have on our itinerary, you’ll be responsible for any costs incurred. There are other activities available, should you choose to take a break do something different.

All-Inclusive Resort and Transfer Package:

You pay for your flight to and from San Jose, Costa Rico (SJO) airport. All of your transportation from that point forward is included in this package.

All-Inclusive 6 Nights at Crocodile Bay Botanika Resort

• Shuttle from San Jose airport to the Hilton San Jose La Sabana

• Two nights at the Hilton San Jose La Sabana in San Jose (includes premium breakfast buffet)

• Shuttle from Hilton San Jose La Sabana to San Jose Airport the next morning

• Roundtrip Airfare from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez on Sansa Air (includes 60lbs baggage weight allowance)

• Shuttle from Puerto Jimenez Airport to Crocodile Bay Botanika Resort

• Shuttle from Crocodile Bay Botanika Resort to Puerto Jimenez Airport

• Shuttle from San Jose airport to the Hilton San Jose La Sabana

• All activities on the workshop itinerary

• All Regular Menu Meals at Crocodile Bay Botanika and two glasses of wine at dinner

• Outings to the field include a packed lunch with fruits, chips, and drinks. 

• Soft house drinks

• Gratuities (but, does not include gratuities for the spa or your Day 6 excursions Eco Guides)

• Conference Center use

• All taxes and fees

What Is NOT Included?

• Airfare from your hometown to/from San Jose

• Excess/Overweight Baggage Fees

• Airline Change Fees

• Alcoholic Beverages (other than wine included with dinner)

• Spa

• Other activities that are not included in the workshop itinerary.

What should I wear?

The weather in Costa Rica is hot and humid. It is like summer here in the Tennesse mountains, but worse. Our workshop is during the beginning of the dry season, but it could still rain and likely will.  So, I recommend avoiding anything cotton clothing – it just won’t dry and it will feel hot and sticky. On my last trip, I took dry-fit style shirts (I have some from REI and Duluth Trading that work well) and shorts (Columbia, REI, and Duluth make some nice options with their “Omni Wick” and “Quick Dry” water shorts). You can wear long pants if you like, however, make sure they are of the lightweight and fast-drying variety.

We recommend that you take the following:

• Shorts that wick water or do not hold moisture

• Short-Sleeve Dry-Fit style shirts

• Long Sleeve Dry Fit style shirts (for sun protection if we’re out on a sunny day – shirts with SPF protection are recommended)

• Non-cotton undergarments 

• Lightweight hat to help block the sun

• Two pairs of lightweight hiking shoes (preferably waterproof)

• Lightweight raincoat (may or may not need this)

• Long socks just in case

• Insect Repellant

Your 9-Day Itinerary

Day 1– Arrive in San Jose Costa Rica (April 8, 2024)

• Depart your home – Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)

• A shuttle will meet you at the airport and transport you to the Hilton San Jose La Sabana.

Day 2 – Arrive at Crocodile Bay Botanika Resort (April 9, 2024)

• Breakfast at the Hilton San Jose La Sabana 

• A shuttle will pick you up at the hotel and take you to the airport in San Jose (SJO)

• You will take a flight from San Jose (SJO) to Puerto Jimenez

• The shuttle will pick you up from Puerto Jimenez Airport and take you to Crocodile Bay Botanika Resort.

• Lunch

• Afternoon Photography 101 in the Rainforest and Photo-walk around the grounds. (This will help prepare you for the next few days of shooting).

• Classroom time –Get to know your gear and what settings to use for different shoots. I suggest you be very familiar with your camera settings as the environments we shoot in will be diverse and sometimes change rapidly. 

• Group dinner.

Day 3 – Full Day of Shooting at Carate (April 10, 2024)

• Breakfast at the Resort

• Today we’ll head out to the countryside and discover some incredible wildlife with our expert guides.

• Our Destination will be Carate. This area will provide an opportunity for landscape photography (Beach).

• We’ll enjoy traveling in a set of 4WD vehicles that can get us everywhere we need to go.

• Throughout the day, we’ll be driving through different locations and stopping along the way when we see interesting wildlife (some days, it’s so active we stop every 10 to 15 minutes).

• There’s no telling what we’ll see on a given day, but the diversity is incredible.

• Along the way, our guides will give a blow-by-blow of the forest and environment we’re driving through. We only ask that you keep your jaw off the floor of the truck

• Post-processing instruction back at the resort conference room

• Group Dinner

Day 4 – Reptile And Amphibian Day (afternoon and night tour) (April 11, 2024)

• Breakfast at the Resort

• Head out to photograph monkeys, birds, and other wildlife.

• Today we’re up bright and early again and off to one of my favorite locations where we’ll discover even more wildlife!

• You’ll have the opportunity to photograph a variety of snakes (wild snakes that are in the hands of a professional handler and released when we’re done).

• Various frogs (possibly even poison dart frogs), and a large variety of birds as well.

• It’s at the top of a mountain overlook and the variety will keep your shutter snapping the entire time.

• This location is one of my favorite spots!

• Post Processing – Instruction at the resort conference room.

• Group Dinner

Day 5 – Full Day of Shooting (Bring Extra Cards) (April 12, 2024)

• Breakfast at the resort.

• Today we will be spending the morning on the property and Miramar.

• Post Processing time back at the resort time permitting.

• Group Dinner

Day 6 – Sierpe River Boat Tour with lots and lots of opportunities to shoot. (April 13, 2024)

• On our last full day of shooting, we will take a 3-hour boat tour on the Sierpe River. We embark on a pair of pontoon boats and slowly glide down the river, constantly stopping for the wildlife we discover along the way. There will be opportunities to get very close to the wildlife as well. The shoreline is loaded with a variety of wildlife so be prepared. 

• The wildlife along the river is accustomed to the boat traffic and often allows an incredibly close approach. You’ll want extra memory cards for this day!

Day 7 – Sloth Tour and Image Review at the Conference Center (April 14, 2024)

• Sloth Tour – We will be looking for sloths today.

• Image review and closing thoughts

• Group Dinner

Day 8 – Domestic Flight to San Jose (April 15, 2024)

• Departure (you’re not going to want to leave) 

• Shuttle to Puerto Jimenez airport

• Flight from Puerto Jimenez to San Jose

• If you choose to stay overnight, you will stay at the Hilton San Jose La Sabana.

• I do suggest staying in San Jose just to give you time to plan the return flight. (Not required of course)

Day 9 – Depart Costa Rica (April 16, 2024)

** If you choose to stay an additional night, this will be an additional charge, but the resort can work that out for you**

Contact Greg Johnson with additional questions. Click Here.

Workshop Fee and Discounts

This includes everything mentioned above. 

Cost (early bird): Before January 8th, 2024 with a 50% deposit due upon registration.

The final payment is due by February 23, 2024.  

Single Occupancy: $6,176.55 USD Per Attendee

Double Occupancy: $5,579.42 USD Per Attendee

*** Tag Along $2,133.34 USD per person (Does not include photography outings)

Cost after January 8th, 2024 with 50% deposit due upon registration.

The final payment is due by February 23, 2024.  

Single Occupancy: $6,476.55 USD Per Attendee

Double Occupancy: $5,879.42 USD Per Attendee

*** Tag Along $2,133.34 USD per person (Does not include photography outings)

*** Additional Tag Along non-workshop companion: $2,133.34 (this is for a spouse, friend, or family member to share a room with you. They are welcome to eat meals with us and join in classroom time. It INCLUDES room, meals, and transfer packages, EXCLUDES excursions, and gratuities for excursions.)

Cancellation Policy

Due to the nature of the workshop and Resort Pricing, we are unable to accommodate cancellations after you have made your deposit. However, this workshop will sell out, and I do keep a waitlist. If you do need to cancel we will make every effort to fill your spot. If I can fill your spot, I will get you a refund, but I CAN NOT guarantee it.

""We recommend trip insurance whenever possible.""

NOTE: The Workshop is limited to "Twelve Photographers" who will be traveling each day into the rainforest, but that does not mean you can't bring a spouse or friend. The resort does have a pool and other activities including world-class fishing and access to the local community. Small as it is, there are some great places to see. 

FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS:

1. What is the required experience level for this workshop?

Well, I will put it like this. In past workshops, our experience level has ranged from novice to professional. All of our attendees have said that we understood the value of the workshop. Even our professional shooters said that the challenges the environment presented were some of the most challenging they have encountered. This is why it is very important that you know how to manage your camera settings and be able to change Shutter Speed, Aperture, Exposure, etc. very rapidly. The key takeaway is that there will be opportunities for everyone to learn something new to help improve their photography.

2. What Kind of gear will I need?

You can of course bring the camera of your choosing and any camera will do. My suggestion is that you bring a camera and a telephoto lens. At least 200mm, but 100-400mm would be ideal. A longer lens would be great if you want to lug that along. It would certainly provide you with superior results. If you do not own one of the lenses, then I would suggest that you consider renting a longer lens for this workshop. Again I would suggest a 400mm lens.  

A wide-angle lens 16-35mm for landscapes will be plenty, as we won’t be doing much landscape photography, but two trips we make to the beaches in the evening would give you an opportunity for some amazing sunset images. When we do the reptile day, you may want to consider a Macro Lens of 100mm (Frogs that is...I am not getting anywhere close to the snakes. Whenever we do close-ups, there will also be lots of wildlife opportunities as well. 

All that said, after you sign up we’ll have online meetings before the trip and go over exactly what gear to bring and what you should leave home (hint: you’ll leave most of it at home with the exception of the 3 lenses I mentioned above). Once we get the group confirmed I will set up a Zoom meeting to go over other details and answer your questions. 

3. How strenuous is this trip (will I need to hike or climb)?

You will need to get in and out of a passenger van unassisted.

This trip is not very intense when it comes to hiking and climbing. We will mostly be on flat ground and very little hiking is involved. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being difficult), I’d give this a 4. We will usually never stray more than a few hundred yards away from the vehicles (at most), so you won’t be walking a lot. However, some of the days are long, so keep that in mind. We often leave in the morning and don’t return until mid-afternoon. There will be a fair amount of sitting as we drive out to the various destinations. As the guides see wildlife, they will stop and you will exit the van to spend time shooting. But if we see a lot of wildlife, we’ll often stop 10 or more times during an outing so that means getting in and out 10 times. This is truly a drive through the jungles and you never know what will pop up. 

We will be walking on the sand and volcanic rocks at times when we are at the beaches. There are a lot of ruts and holes in the road you’ll have to watch out for – but I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous – it’s just unpaved roads.

Finally and just as important… you will need to be able to get in and out of a van-styled vehicle (with a raised 24-inch step) easily and without assistance.

4. What will we mostly be photographing?

This is 90% wildlife photography. It is not a landscape trip, although we’ll have a couple of opportunities to photograph landscapes when we visit the beaches. There may be a few opportunities for other landscape images when we are in the mountains. 

5. Can I bring a spouse, family member, or friend?

Prices are quoted based on single-occupancy rooms. You can bring along someone else and the price is $2,133.34 if you book early. They will receive everything listed in the “What’s Included” section except for the photography trips and tours. However, they’re welcome to join in on our classroom time, eat meals with us, and walk around the grounds. And there are more than enough excursions to keep them busy. This is a wonderful experience if you have someone to share it with and we’re constantly told by those that bring someone that they also have a wonderful time. 

6. What is the classroom time about?

Once a day we’ll meet in the classroom to edit photos. Think of it more as “lab” time or the Digital Darkroom time. I may do some personal editing with a projector so you can see my work or I may just walk around and help you personally as others work on their images. 

As for the software needed. I personally use Lightroom, Photoshop, On One, Capture One, and Luminar. However; if you have other software you’re free to bring it and I’m happy to help you with that as well.  

7. Do I need to speak Spanish?

Not at all. I know a little Spanish and I got along just fine. Everyone you will deal with speaks English.

8. Is it safe there?

Absolutely. Everyone is super friendly and never once did we feel “unsafe” in any way.

9. What type of non-photography gear should I take?

You’ll want your laptop/card reader for sure – we take a TON of photos and you’ll want to offload them at night. I’d also recommend an additional backup device, such as an external hard drive or large memory card (I use a large SD card for backup and keep it on my person at all times).

You’ll also want:

• A flashlight/headlamp

• Bug spray (the bugs really aren’t bad at all – most of the time you won’t need it, but doesn’t hurt to have it)

• Knee pads (optional)

• Small reflector (optional)

• Sunscreen (High SPF – the sun can be brutal)

10. How many participants are in the workshop?

In order to give you the best experience possible, we’re limiting the number of participants to just 12.  Booking will be done on a first-come, first-served basis – nothing is held unless a deposit has been placed.