“I had always liked photography, but it wasn’t until Ashley and I bought a DSLR before beginning our trip that either of us really took up the hobby beyond the point-and-shoot stage,” says Moreno. “Knowing we would be seeing amazing things on our trip, we wanted to be as creative as possible with our photography.”

Their journey began in April 2008—they’ve been on the road for just over two years. “Our trip began with the idea of driving to Baja Mexico for a few months of relaxing,” explains Moreno. “It then grew to include all of Central and South America. Our goal was to drive through every country in Latin America and the Guianas. Our turn-around point was Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, literally the end of the road and as far south as one can drive in the world. So far we’ve been to every country in the Americas (20 in total so far) south of the USA except Belize, where we’re heading next.”

On their photographic pilgrimage, the couple have encountered some of the most exotic wildlife in the world, including anacondas, capybaras (the largest rodents in the world), howler monkeys, rattlesnakes, crocodiles, swamp deer, swamp wolves, elephant seals, Southern right whales, sea lions, Magellanic and Galapagos penguins, Patagonian foxes, vicuñas, guanacos, vizcachas, Galapagos land and marine iguanas, lava lizards, giant Galapagos tortoises, giant spiders, and many birds (including quetzals, Andean condors, magnificent frigatebirds, and blue-/red-footed and masked boobies.

To capture the colorful indigenous species of the Galapagos, one of their recent destinations, Ashley and Moreno used the Tamron 18-270mm VC, 60mm f/2 macro, and 10-24mm wide-angle lenses. “Since so much of the wildlife here is very approachable, you don’t have to come with a superfast long lens,” says Moreno. “The 18-270 is a great travel lens—if we could only take one lens on a trip, it would be this one. With the aperture set to wide open, the 18-270 is great at really isolating out a subject. The focus is very precise, and the blur effect makes for creative shots. Plus, you can’t use a tripod in the Galapagos without special permission, so the Vibration Compensation (VC) feature on the 18-270mm, as well as the speed of the macro 60mm, came in very handy. The 60mm macro is a very fast lens, great for stopping motion or shooting in low-light conditions. The wide-angle 10-24mm is just a fun lens to have.”

Be prepared to get intimate with the creatures of the Galapagos, says Moreno. “The Galapagos is a very easy wildlife shoot,” he explains. “It’s simple to take advantage of the wildlife’s docile and curious nature to get very close to and spend a lot of time with an animal on a shoot. It makes getting great photos much easier than in other natural environments. We frequently spent up to half an hour with a single animal without disturbing it whatsoever. Shooting birds in flight still poses some challenges, though.”

Seamlessly merging with your environment is critical to putting the animals at ease so you can get the shots you’re looking for. “Whether it’s the tamer Galapagos species or skittish jungle varieties, we try to blend in and move slowly so we don’t disturb any of the wildlife,” explains Moreno. “Ideally, the animal never even knows we were there.”

Ashley and Moreno typically began their days photographing in the Galapagos with an early wakeup call, when they’d load up all the gear they needed for the day. “We prefer early in the morning and late in the day for most of our shots,” he says. “Sometimes shadows can make a shot that much better. On our cameras we don’t have bracketing, but as a habit, we usually underexposed by one to two stops for bright days. However, sometimes when shooting a dark animal, it can be necessary to overexpose to capture the details that would otherwise appear too dark, even on a bright day. We don’t have a speed flash and rarely use the built-in flash.”

Before taking each shot, the two would decide what they wanted to accomplish with the photo and what would make the photo most compelling. “We both like texture, detail, behavior, and eyes when shooting wildlife,” says Moreno. “Some animals have great surface texture that can be best captured and isolated using a macro lens; other details like a claw, teeth, fur and interesting eyes can also make for a great shot.”

Changing up your perspective is important to avoid getting into a rut with your wildlife shots. “Don’t always shoot standing upright: Kneel down, even lie down to get a totally different view of an animal,” says Moreno. “Perhaps try to shoot an animal from its perspective. Don’t be afraid to be creative and try new things: Isolate your subject, for example, with a blur effect, or capture a larger scene, such as a whole group of animals, with a wide-angle lens.”

The vibrant hues of the wildlife and background scenery proved astonishing. “We were blown away by how colorful the wildlife is in the Galapagos,” says Moreno. “Many of the marine iguanas range from faded black to reds and turquoise; the land iguanas were a variety of browns, yellows and oranges. The boobies come with oddly bright blue or red feet, and the masked booby has the whitest plumage of any marine bird. The scenery also provided many opportunities to place an animal in a shot with great color in the background: Blue and green waters, black lava rocks, lush green rainforests and dry grasses all added to the Galapagos color spectrum.”

Even though many of the creatures are more than willing to pose for your camera, it pays to be ready to capture a little action. “To photograph an animal on the move, have the camera set to an ideal shutter speed—the Vibration Compensation on the 18-270 lens is equipped so that when you do see an animal in motion, you can quickly follow the movement and shoot with minimal blur from that motion,” says Moreno. “Although sometimes a bit of background motion blur can bring life to a moving animal.”

In the end, by simply keeping an ecologically conscious mindset and a relaxed perspective, you can bring home eye-catching imagery of some of the world’s most fascinating wild specimens. “Just have fun and try not to bother the animals—after all, it’s nature, not a zoo,” says Moreno.

For more of Ashley and Moreno’s work and the complete story of their adventure of a lifetime (including everything they did to prepare, their itinerary, and their bios), go to www.southboundexplorers.com.