#punta cana photographer

[coresfilms]

Kukua Beach Club Punta Cana Wedding Catherine + David Highlights Trailer

[hennycordones]

Como hacer una sesion de quinceañera en 2024

[keepingupwith-al]

night seven spent by the ocean 🌊

[xtruss]

A wild flamingo population gathers on Los Corbanitos beach in Sabana Buey, a town in the Dominican Republic. The birds are not threatened, though anecdotal evidence suggest their numbers are declining in the country. Photographs ByFernando Faciole

‘Selfie’ Flamingos In Caribbean Resorts Are Being Returned To The Wild

Up to a hundred Caribbean flamingos live in resorts, where they form a backdrop of tourists’ social media posts. Now, bird lovers are stepping in to remove them.

— ByJessica Taylor Price | March 06, 2024

At several resorts in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, flamingos wander the grounds, wading through artificial ponds and foraging any bits of food dropped by tourists.

Visitors post photos and videos of themselves getting close to the birds on social media, attracted to the exoticism of the pink, leggy animals against the backdrop of a tropical beach vacation.

But behind the charming social media posts, things are less rosy for the flamingos.

Top: In the town of Monte Cristi, a mural by artist Kilia Llano highlights the issue of flamingos being captured from the wild. Bottom: Three flamingos walk through a resort in the Bávaro region. Tourists often feed the birds and take photos with them, especially around the pool.

Though the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Caribbean—also known as the American—flamingo as “of least concern,” anecdotal evidence suggests the population is declining on the Caribbean island, says Maria Milagros Paulino, director of the Dominican nonprofit Grupo Accion Ecologica.

“When you see flamingos, you see them in groups, so it gives the appearance that they are numerous,” Paulino says through a translator.

Map

The phenomenon of flamingos living at resorts had been trending upward for years, especially in the Bávaro region of Punta Cana, says Eladio Fernandez, a Dominican conservationist and photographer. In 2020, he conducted an informal census of how many birds lived in Bávaro resorts by scrolling through TripAdvisor photos. It’s not known exactly how the flamingos arrived at the various resorts and who is involved in bringing the birds there.

According to Fernandez, personnel from the hotels themselves don’t know where the flamingos came from, in some cases they’ve been there a long time and personnel rotate in and out.

In 2020, he counted 163 flamingos in 41 hotels. Anywhere between a thousand and 3,000 Caribbean Flamingos live in the Dominican Republic. Since those birds don’t breed, they’re not replenishing the population, Fernandez says.

So, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Zoo in Santo Domingo, and Grupo Accion Ecologica, he spent three years coordinating and fundraising to launch a nonprofit called Rescate Rosado, which translates to “pink rescue” in Spanish.

Ministry employees pick up the flamingos, then transfer them to Rescate Rosado and zoo employees, who eventually release them back into the wild, Fernandez says. So far, the nonprofit has removed 66 birds from resorts in the Dominican Republic—and they say they’re just getting started.

Nelson García Marcano, the Dominican Republic's director of the Department of Biodiversity and Wildlife of the Ministry of Environment, removes a flamingo from a Bávaro resort. This animal is part of the Rescate Rosado's first-ever rescue.

Because of the efforts to remove the flamingos, there should be fewer than a hundred living at Bávaro resorts—but it’s difficult to know for sure, Fernandez says.

Death Traps

On the other side of the country, at Monte Cristi National Park, the pristine resort environment is nowhere to be found. Instead, there are salty lagoons and muddy mangrove swamps accessible only by motorcycle.

This is the natural habitat for Caribbean flamingos; it's also a popular trapping site. And it is here that Paulino, a collaborator with Rescate Rosado, works to remove the traps, which are made of wooden stakes attached to two lassos of fishing wire.

Paulino's group first noticed the traps in 2009 and has been reporting them to the authorities ever since, but the practice hasn’t stopped, and is expected to pick up again this winter and spring, Fernandez says. Once, Paulino says, she spotted a trapper carrying nine flamingos in a bag. On a trip early in 2023, Grupo Ecologico took 706 traps from three locations.

The crude method of trapping can also harm, or even kill, the birds, which Fernandez has seen firsthand in the field. A flamingo could be walking around and "all of a sudden their leg falls in the lasso and when they pull, they're caught," says Fernandez. They could be trapped by a knee or an ankle, and struggle to break free, which exhausts them, especially as the water bogs down their wings.

Top: A rescued flamingo, one of many whose feathers have been clipped to prevent escape from hotels and resorts, enters rehabilitation at the National Zoological Park of the Dominican Republic. Bottom: Trappers use a crude system of wooden stakes attached to fishing wire to ensnare the birds.

The trappers, meanwhile, might not come back for days, leaving the birds—or any other animals caught in the device—in a precarious position. "It's a death trap for the flamingo if they don't get pulled out soon," Fernandez says.

The first time Fernandez went to Monte Cristi National Park to look for traps with Paulino, they found a dead flamingo still in a trap. It had likely been there for months.

Birds In Trouble

"Some [resort flamingos] are well taken care of, and others aren't," Fernandez says.

Some of these flamingos have their secondary feathers cut, which thwarts flight, as Fernandez has observed. Others have a bone surgically removed from their wings, he says. This grounds the bird for life, which can be up to 60 years, says Fernandez. It is not known who cuts the feathers or removes the bones.

Flamingos await release at Monte Cristi National Park.

Several resorts housing flamingos declined to be interviewed for this article.

Fernandez has also witnessed flamingos being given pet food, which eventually fades the vibrant pink color that comes from eating their native diet of shrimp and other small crustaceans. The birds change behaviorally as well, becoming used to people and soliciting them for food, as Fernandez has seen.

But there's at least one trait the flamingos perhaps haven’t lost. Fernandez has seen one instance in which flamingos, which form tight social bonds, stayed by the side of a captive wing-clipped companion.

Two former flamingo hunters are working with the project, sharing their knowledge of trapping. And people are calling out influencers on social media who post photos of the resort flamingos.

On a bigger scale, Fernandez will participate in a formal flamingo census in 2024, which he hopes may lead to the species being listed as endangered in the Dominican Republic.

"This is something we can fix. We can right a wrong," Fernandez said.

An aerial view shows the lagoon where the flamingos will be released in Monte Cristi National Park.

A member of the National Zoo carefully holds a Flamingo. All animals need to be massaged so that blood circulates properly to their feet.

An Emotional Release

In February 2023, guests watched as eight flamingos were removed from a Bávaro resort that cooperated with the rescue. The birds, wrapped in pantyhose to keep them immobilized, were transported in a pickup truck to the national zoo, where they were examined.

The conditions of the birds varied, says Tatiana Carreño Pinto, a zoo veterinarian. Some were underweight, whereas some are too heavy to fly, but all were generally healthy.

Tatiana Carreño, a Veterinarian at the National Zoo of the Dominican Republic, is moved and cries when she sees the newly released flamingos flying.

Once vets examine the birds, they’re put in an isolated corral for two to three months, and, in this controlled setting, deliberately frightened to regain their natural fear of people.

One morning later that month, scientists loaded 12 flamingos into a truck and drove them to Monte Cristi National Park. Once there, veterinarians massaged their legs to promote circulation.

Then, a boat transported the birds to the lagoon, where another corral awaited them under black mangrove trees. They opened their wings and walked in the confined space, where the flamingos would adjust to their new environment.

The newly released animals explore their new home.

The next morning, it was go time. The 12 flamingos, seven of which were from resorts, flew or walked away into the lagoon as the rescue team watched, Fernandez says.

"It was very emotional," Pinto says in Spanish. "It was inevitable to cry.”

[kkeidawrites]

Perfect Picture

Welcome to Day 7 of Blacktober!

The trees are full of beautiful plants and fruit as they blow softly in the wind.

Beaches stretched for miles towards the coast and the clear blue waters seemed untouched, it was almost forbidden to go into it.

The waves pushed and pulled from the shore as people walked on the beach, their toes getting wet with each step.

Geto Suguru pushed his shades to sit on his head and took in the fresh breeze of tropical life. He finally got a vacation after so long, working for months and barely having any time for himself.

Geto took in the scenery as he walked the streets of Punta Cana, Pueblo de los Pescadores, taking pictures with his digital camera. The street vendors, performers, musicians even the historic buildings.

His brown eye looked through the lenses of the camera, trying to focus on the Christopher Columbus (fuck that guy) statue. Finally fixing the focus on the camera, his eyes landed on someone who was in his shot.

A pretty smile is what his camera had focused on, as the woman posed with a hand on her hip and her head tilted.

He blushes at how beautiful she was, she wore a blue halter neck dress and clear open toed kitten heels. Suguru takes the picture of her off guard, then looks down to press the previous button.

The photo was perfectly captured and it showed how her Afro had cushioned her round face and her smile lit up her brown skin.

“Gorgeous.” He whispers, then shakes his head at what he had just done. This was considered stalking, this wasn’t right, he needed to delete it.

His thumb hovered over the button to delete the photo but, he looked at the image once more. How the picture was taken exposed how close she looked like an angel.

Suguru was so focused on the photo that he heard giggling walk past him. Looking up, he saw the woman with whom he assumed were her three friends walk past him.

He couldn’t help but stare, her figure was curved and dipped at the hips and she looked like she smelled good all the time.

Prior to his staring, she had just so happened to look back at him as well and smile shyly at him and wave. Suguru smiled in a daze and waved back, earning another giggle at him.

However, the sun hat that she was now wearing had flew off with the wind. The woman gasps in shock and tries to catch it but, it was already too late and flew over to where the dazed man was standing. It landed just a few inches in front of Suguru and he carefully picked it up by the rim, holding it close as another gust of wind blew through.

The woman comes rushing over and stands in front of him.

“Thank you!” She says grateful and Suguru hands back her hat.

“I’m Suguru.” He introduces himself holding his hand out to shake. She takes his hand and shakes it.

“Y/n, how long are you here for?” She asked.

“Just the week, I go back to work next Monday.” Suguru says.

“Oh really? I’ll be back in the states by Monday too. A short trip, huh?” He chuckles and nods.

“It’s better than worrying about going to work tomorrow.”

“Yes, that is true.” She giggles.

“Hey, we were going to the bar later this evening. Want to join?” She asked.

“Uh, sure. I didn’t have any plans later.” Y/n smiles and hands him her phone.

“Put in your number, I’ll let you know the details later.” She tells him and Suguru is all too eager to put in his digits, saving it for her.

Handing back her phone, Y/n places her hat back on her head and gives him a smile as she poses playfully with it.

“Oh wait hold on,” he fumbles with his camera attached to his wrist and turns it on.

“Let me take your picture.” He offers and Y/n nods. Posing, Suguru snaps a few shots and when he’s finished, shows her the pictures.

Y/n gasps and awes at the pictures.

“These are so cute! Are you a photographer?” Y/n asks, Sugura laughs embarrassingly.

“Ah no, I just like to take pictures from time to time.” He says.

“I think you have a great talent, Suguru. These are beautiful.” Y/n watches as he goes red in the face then turns when she hears her friends calling to her.

“I’ll see you later then?” Y/n asks as she begins to walk but still turned to talk to him.

“Yeah, definitely.” He responds all to eager. Y/n laughs and waves to him.

Suguru watches her leave and sighs dreamily then looks over the photos he took of her again.

“Perfect.” He mutters.

[hannahs2cents]

Photographer's Eye

I decided to explore a nature theme with the collection of photos on my phone. Nature can be an overlooked part of life for most people. However, it’s important to value the gift of nature because it can facilitate many positive emotions for people. With the many responsibilities people face in their day-to-day lives, they forget to take a moment to appreciate their surroundings. People, including myself, tend to worry about the small inconveniences in life, but we must understand that the world around us is much greater than our every day worries.

This photo was taken in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Before visiting the Dominican Republic, I had no appreciation for the nature surrounding me. However, after visiting a beautiful place like Punta Cana, I learned to appreciate my surroundings.

This photo was taken at the La Fortuna Waterfall in Costa Rica. Although the hike to arrive at the waterfall was challenging, it was worth it to experience a creation as great as this waterfall. The cascading water and the surrounding green environment filled me with a sense of gratitude and calmness.

This photo was taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After moving to Florida two years ago, I learned to appreciate my hometown more. Although it is not as warm or lush as Florida, it still possesses certain qualities that are not found down south.

This photo was taken at Lake Minocqua, Wisconsin. I have always appreciated being surrounded by water because it creates serenity and tranquility. Bodies of water, like lakes, allow people to experience the calming effects of nature.

This photo was taken in Naples, Florida. After a stressful day at work, I went to the beach to watch the sunset with a coworker. My stress and tension immediately disappeared after spending an hour in nature. I realized that being surrounded by nature eliminates all of my small worries.

Overall, nature can have a large impact on people. Whether it’s in Punta Cana, Costa Rica, Wisconsin, or Florida nature elicits positive emotions. When people take time to appreciate the gift of nature, their overall well-being is enhanced and they can find more joy in life.

[coresfilms]

Kukua Beach Club Punta Cana Wedding Catherine + David Teaser

[keepingupwith-al]

last night in punta, i’m gonna miss it so much 🥺

[twinktosterone]

the only ones that don’t come in view to photograph are the armadillidium punta cana

the panda kings are surprisingly adventurous and easily photographed

[annapolancophotography]

[hennycordones]

Quinceañera en el faro a colon II

Quinceañera en el faro a colon II

[coresfilms]

Secrets Cap Cana Wedding Elizabeth + Joseph Highlights Trailer