This was a trip organized by Michael Reichmann as a workshop on a boat traveling on the Amazon River. We photographed a great deal from the boat and often went out in smaller crafts to explore areas where the large boat could not navigate.

The river was fascinating to all but particularly for me. I had never been in this kind of environment in my life and was overwhelmed by the exotic wilderness of the vegetation. We were specifically told to buy a “condom” to protect the camera from the rain. We all dutifully bought one. Unfortunately they were useless because the wind always resulted in horizontally driven rain, which meant the lens surface were under water…oh well.

Of course it was still the people who fascinated me–uninhibited, pleasant, curious, and friendly. Obviously photographers had not come too often.