RPCV Gregory Basco's photgraphs of Costa Rica
About Gregory Basco
Greg is a contributing author to www.naturephotogallery.com Greg is an American political scientist currently studying the politics of ecotourism in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Greg first came to Costa Rica as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1990s. Since then he's studied politics and tropical ecology and conservation.
Website - If you wish to see more images and/or learn more about his research, visit www.deepgreenphotography.com. To contact Greg with comments about this article or to purchase photos (!), e-mail him at gmbasco@deepgreenphotography.com.
Political Science
As a political scientist, my research focuses on the politics of natural resource use and the environment in Latin America, particularly Costa Rica. Politics is not just the study of elections, but rather encompasses much of our everyday existence -- in the words of American political scientist Harold Lasswell "Who gets what, where, and when?" Thus, I'm interested in who defines the issues related to the natural environment, who gets blamed, and who benefits from the proposed solutions.
Photography
I try to achieve a natural look, blending flash and natural light to avoid the full flash nighttime look of much scientific and documentary rainforest photography. This means using a tripod whenever possible to allow for slower shutter speeds to register daylight and employing a combination of off-camera flash and reflectors.
Given the dangers of theft and humidity damage in Central America, my setup is relatively lightweight and inexpensive. Most of the pictures on this site were made with a Pentax Zx-5n camera and one of the following lenses: Pentax FA100mm f2.8 macro, Pentax A50mm f2, Pentax FA24-90mm f3.5-4.5 zoom, and the Sigma 135-400mm f4-5.6 zoom. The flashes I use for macro work are the Pentax FTZ330 with off-camera TTL cord and a Promax mini-softbox and a Phoenix 49S manual slave flash on a homemade bracket for textured lighting and the Phoenix RL359 ring flash to mimic or complement the bright, shadowless overcast lighting common in cloud forests. If wind is not a problem, I forego flash and use a Photoflex gold/silver reflector. For the occasional extreme macro shot, I couple the Pentax macro lens with extension tubes, Nikon 5 and 6T diopters, or a Tamron 2x teleconverter. For larger animals, I use the Sigma zoom with the Pentax flash and a Fresnel lens flash extender.
I often use a circular polarizer to reduce glare from wet forest leaves and flowers in plant and landscape pictures. I also occasionally use an 81b warming filter and various Kodak gel filters to enhance natural colors. Finally, I'll sometimes use a Cokin 2-stop graduated neutral density filter to bring bright skies more in line with foreground exposures in landscape photos and occasionally a Tobacco grad or Sunset grad to pump up the drama in late afternoon or early morning skies.
