Dale Morris was my guide on my first Brazil and ORYX Photo Tours adventure for jaguars, caiman, and lots of colorful birds of Pantanal. He’s a down-to-earth guy, which I really liked, and is also fantastic. He helped us a lot with the composition and light, and also helped us process pictures in Photoshop, and was always cheerful and professional.
In August 2022 I joined ORYX Photo Tours Brazil Pantanal Photo Tour. Our photo tour leader was Dale Morris, whom I have taken several trips with, and he always does a top-notch job.
He is constantly in the background making sure of every detail, so guests have the best time and safest trip. I enjoy his imagination. He frequently thinks of ways to take a photo, so an ordinary image becomes something really unique. This trip was great and so was the guide.
We saw and photographed many different birds, as well as Caiman, and Capybaras but our time with the Giant Otters and Jaguars was very special.
When we were on the houseboat, we spent our days in a small boat searching for Jaguars. We were rewarded with seeing 14 different Jaguars watching and photographing them in several different activities.
Caiman along the bank and with a powerful move climbed up the steep bank. Photographing the Jaguars was fantastic but getting a view into their lives was the icing on the cake.
This ORYX photo tour was more than I could have expected and has given me memories I will cherish forever.
My first trip to the Pantanal with ORYX Photo Tours and Dale Morris was terrific. Dale and the wonderful local guide Sergio Freitas (Dale’s Brazilian assistant) knew nearly everything I asked about the local wildlife, and if they didn’t, they found out. Dale and Sergio went out of their way to find reclusive and camouflaged animals, able to do so through knowing the animals’ behavior and the Pantanal itself so thoroughly. The tour was well-planned, the food was plentiful and delicious, the lodges and the boat hotel were comfortable, and the group of photographers were companionable and pleasant. I was using a new camera and shooting manually for the first time.
Every now and then, as I aimed at a potoo or a coiled anaconda, Dale would whisper, “If you use this ISO and that shutter speed, and stand exactly where I am standing now, Alison, you will get an excellent shot.” And lo! he was exactly right: I’d get a sharp photo with open eyes and no stick coming out of the animal’s head! I enjoyed the trip to the Pantanal very much and would urge anyone to travel with Dale Morris.
I very much enjoyed my time on the 2022 Pantanal photo tour as I had when I was on the one in 2017. Both times Dale Morris was our guide and photo expert. As always, Dale was a gem, and he was clearly happy and enthusiastic to be leading a tour after many months of COVID lockdown. I must add that the tour was made particularly enjoyable and educational with the participation of Sergio Freitas, PhD (Dale’s local assistant) who served as an excellent and affable Brazilian language/logistics facilitator and fauna biology expert.
We had plenty of wildlife photo opportunities, and all the lodge accommodations were very good.
Our time on the Jacare – our boat hotel – was very pleasant.
Our ‘Jaguar tracking’ boat driver was highly skilled both on our sprints and in holding steady while maximizing our photographic opportunities. To sum up, my friend Alison and I very much enjoyed the 2022 Pantanal tour. It was well planned and conducted with successful innovations adapted to the weather.
I have not counted up the number of separate species that I photographed and videoed, but there were a lot. I did get lots of good shots and video clips of my favorites – giant otters, a loping giant anteater, jaguars, and even two pairs of long-legged seriemas in a loud, pre-dawn territorial battle.
Dale Morris was our ORYX photo tour leader on a recent tour to the Pantanal in Brazil. This was either my 5th or 6th trip with Dale, and I have 3 more with him in the works. It is hard to imagine there could be a better guide than Dale. He is extremely knowledgeable about wildlife, a miracle worker with his camera and advice, and can do some great animal impressions. You will be in excellent hands should you decide to travel with ORYX and Dale. I highly recommend him regardless of your level of photographic expertise.
I had a great time in the Pantanal with Dale -the trip exceeded my expectations.
I like the group size and we were very fortunate to have such a compatible group of people.
I think that Dale is one of the best and I look forward to traveling with him and Oryx again.
We had the most amazing time and Dale was an excellent host. The trip exceeded our expectations when it came to photographic opportunity and we will definitely recommend it. It’s safe to say our camera cards are full of amazing imagery and memories.
Irene
We had an excellent Pantanal photo safari! We liked the itinerary and felt it was paced well. Dale Morris was a fantastic guide again (as we had him on our previous Madagascar trip). A big part of why we chose Pantanal this year was because of how much we enjoyed touring with Dale. If we didn’t live on other ends of the earth, I think Dale would be a great friend of mine. He’s adept at photography, provides constant feedback on whatever we are shooting, and is knowledgeable about so much wildlife and ecology matters. He cares very much about the experience of the group and is always working for “the tribe” while traveling.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Dale in August 2019 on a trip that he led to the Brazilian Pantanal with an extension to Iguazu Falls. And what a wonderful trip it was! As an inexperienced photographer, I was the least accomplished in our group and Dale adeptly integrated my need for extensive instruction into his management of the group as a whole. Throughout the course of the trip, he taught me in a progressive fashion with one day’s photography building on the practices and accomplishments of the prior. I also enjoyed the vigor that he brought to his teaching, balancing a willingness to repeat foundational concepts which slipped through the cracks in my brain with the expectation that I engage in the process of learning and assume responsibility for some degree of retention. Aside from the photography, Dale’s guiding skills were impressive and he shared his knowledge of the fauna, local environment, and larger world of ecology and conservation with passion, commitment, and extensive foundational knowledge. And to boot, he’s a good teller of stories and great company with whom to share a caipirinha! Bottom line: I learned a heap, got a bunch of photos that look like they were taken by a “grown-up” photographer, had a blasting good time, and have already planned future trips with Dale which I anticipate gleefully.
I have traveled with ORYX twice, Pantanal and India, both trips were amazing, well run, and organized, Dale Morris was the guide for both trips, he works very hard to make sure you are getting the “shot”.
I Highly recommend ORYX.
