The very name awakens the inner Indiana Jones and peaks a sense of adventure. Come join us deep in the jungle at the newly renovated La Selva Eco Lodge & Retreat. Located within Ecuador’s Yasuní Biosphere Reserve and on the borders of the famous Yasuní National Park — one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet — La Selva Amazon Eco Lodge & Retreat was among the first Amazon rainforest lodges in Ecuador and today is still regarded as the premier eco lodge in the area.
La Selva Amazon Eco Lodge & Retreat is also a pioneer in sustainable travel, and we are thrilled to announce that we have booked the entire lodge just for us! This will enable us to slow down and find the rhythm of the jungle and all of her inhabitants and we’ll spend five nights sleeping to the soundtrack of the forest. We will encounter exotic wildlife on our early morning hikes and sunset shoots with trained guides and naturalists. Our daily trips on the waterways will take us to parrot clay licks, visits to the local Kitchwa community and sanctuaries filled with the calls of wild birds.
We’ll start our adventure in Quito, the first city to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With her cobblestoned streets and Spanish-style architecture, she remains the crown jewel of Ecuador’s colonial legacy. We’ll also explore the colorful markets of Octavalo, overflowing with beautiful wares created by master artisans. A huge exporter of roses, we’ll visit one of the largest and most beautiful gardens in Ecuador. Dinners at the finest restaurants in town, voyages 13,000 feet up on the Teleferico, and an opportunity to straddle the equator will make this a workshop not to be missed.
Acclaimed, award-winning photographer Joe McNally is known worldwide as the quintessential “pro’s pro;” an extremely versatile, deeply experienced assignment photographer whose jobs have brought him to over 70 countries and counting. McNally is often described as: Authentic, empathetic and articulate, an exceptionally skilled technical photographer who pairs extraordinary camera know-how with a vivid imagination and an ongoing, vibrant creativity.
Always curious, always adapting to the conditions at hand and the relentless advances in camera technology, he has photographed FIVE cover stories for the National Geographic (amongst an overall FIFTEEN coverages), and SEVEN covers of LIFE Magazine. He photographed the very first all-digital coverage for National Geographic, which was considered such a significant, watershed moment in the history of that venerable publication that the entire coverage has been incorporated into the archives of the U.S Library of Congress. In addition to inspiring editorial work, McNally has covered FOUR Olympics (with number FIVE looming in Paris in 2024) for such diverse clients as ABC Television, Sports Illustrated and TIME magazine. McNally is known for his penchant to get his camera in “a different place” and has twice climbed the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, in addition to climbing the Empire State Building four times.
He is that rare photographer who has successfully made the bridge between the commercial world and the editorial world, and is highly regarded by clients for his versatility, and willingness to be a team player. Joe McNally, a proud Nikon Ambassador, has an extraordinary ability to photograph simple assignments with intimacy and grace, as well as master movie-scale productions with large crews, tremendous pressure and countless moving parts.
Tamara Lackey is a renowned professional photographer, Nikon USA Ambassador, author and show host. She speaks at a wide range of programs and conventions on the power of photography, presenting at Google, Disney, CES, Photo Plus Expo, Harvard Law School and more. She has shot a series of commercial photography campaigns for Nikon and was also selected to present her work on stage as part of the Nikon Global Launch Event in Tokyo, helping to introduce a new line of ground-breaking mirrorless camera systems.
Tamara has co-produced and hosted multiple live broadcasts for creativeLIVE and other livecast media, and she hosted her popular web series, The reDefine Show, for seven years. Her newest TV show, Chasing Frames with Tamara Lackey, focuses on capturing experiences and adventures through photography and is broadcast on PBS North Carolina and on PBS.org.
Tamara leads photography adventure workshops around the world and is the author of nine books, Her latest is The Posing Playbook. In addition to being a Nikon Ambassador, Tamara also has the distinction of being recognized as a Legend of Light by Profoto, an ON1 Guru and she is also part of the Think Tank Pro Team.
Tamara is the Executive Director of Beautiful Together, a non-profit she co-founded in 2014 that is focused on a mission she cares about deeply: Connecting animals in need of refuge with children living in underserved communities. Beautiful Together is currently building out 83 acres of property in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to house an animal sanctuary and host local youth programs, while still continuing ongoing work in Ethiopia, as well.
