www.CostaRicaTicas.com

The past two days I've spent a considerable amount of time online researching chicas in Sosua and ticas in San Jose. I've watched several YouTube videos from guys like Cuba Dave, visited a hundred if not hundreds of other websites, killed literally hours of time looking into it. The FAQ posted by Orange on this board is fantastic - but, as a newbie, I do have a couple of things I was wondering about that were difficult to clear up via the board's search tool.

Let me explain a bit about myself - I'm a single, 34 y/o pro photographer for a newspaper in the midwest. I've primarily dealt with live action sports during my 13-year career. In search of something new, something different, and of course something fun, I've decided to venture into sex tourism. My ideal trip (taken solo) would be mainly to hook up with chicas/ticas but with some photography as well. Upon return, I'm hoping to have enough artful images to package together as sort of a 'Sights of CR (or DR)' collection; something that shows the beauty of the land, the people, the wildlife, etc. (of course, this would include the ladies, working or otherwise). With all this in mind, here are my questions and concerns:

*I have two professional cameras, each one used primarily with one particular professional lens. I like to carry both to avoid the time wasted swapping interchangeable lenses (those seconds can be precious to a photographer). How much gear is too much gear to be seen carrying around San Jose or Sosua? Do I have a serious risk of getting my gear stolen in either city, at any particular time of day or night?

*How do the girls in San Jose and Sosua react to having their pictures taken? I've read "just ask them first" but I would appreciate more clarification. Again, my hopes are to take some posed artsy shots of girls, and if they'd be willing to do it at my hotel, I could even have a couple of my studio lights set up. For example - in Sosua, would girls at the beach willingly pose for a professional? Would they even know the difference between someone working on a (somewhat) serious project and a normal tourist just looking for a photo of a hot babe? The experiences I've read in regards to these things seem to be all over the board.

*Are there any 'can't miss' photo opportunities in DR or CR, on excursions or otherwise? Specifically I am interested in land/water formations, rare/exotic plants, animals, landmarks.

*How out of the ordinary would I appear behaving as a solo traveling photojournalist in general? Is this something I shouldn't even consider? If the overall risk vs. reward isn't there for the photo thing, I'll still have a fun time with the girls I'm sure.

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read, I would greatly appreciate feedback!

IMHO, leave your gear at home unless you can work with a pocket-sized point-and-shoot, or unless you can work with a team where somebody can watch your back while you use any expensive equipment.

Photo, as a professional photographer myself, I agree with Rac, leave the gear at home.
If your want to work with women as models, why lug all that equipment down there and risk anything happening to it? Start shooting women at home and take a point and shoot.
As far as other subjects, CR has some great birds (which you would need a 400 mm lens for at minimum) , snakes and frogs. There are some waterfalls as well in both countries, but to shoot those you're now going to need to take hiking clothes, tripod, and need transportation well before the sun comes up and after it goes down. My opinion, to come back with some decent work, you need to make it solely a photography concentrated trip. Or at least prepare to take ton of bags.
PM me if you have any questions or want to talk shop.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4

Don't let Cuba Dave be your guide. Agree with the two above posts.

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Thanks for the great info guys. I was particularly interested in the info in a reply that has since been deleted...? Someone mentioned a volcano, which sounded like a good idea, but now that post is gone. Leaning towards bringing two lenses, my back-up camera, and locking luggage. I could then just use the cheaper of the two lenses unless I started to feel more comfortable.

Before I'd make it a "photography concentrated" trip, I'd make it a "ticas concentrated" trip. I need a getaway like this more than I need the photography work, but photography provides a great excuse to give my co-workers as to why I was going to CR by myself.

I have no plans to let Cuba Dave be a guide. I just used his name because his videos were the first I saw, and they're what got me started into researching everything that's led me to lean towards CR over DR.

Photo...wow, you sound a lot like me before I gave it all up and moved down here for good. I was working at a newspaper as a photographer/reporter and doing sports photography freelance for various organizations. Now, I live here with my wife of 6 years, run a transport business and have never been happier.

There are a TON of great places for photos in Costa Rica. The biggest problem is the security issue. You would NOT want to walk around San Jose (or 90% of the rest of the country) with thousands of dollars in equipment without some kind of security. When I see professional photographers doing, for example, a fashion shoot in Parque Espana, they had a three-person photography team (camera and two light guys) then several security guards.

If you can keep you equipment hidden then you can get away with a bit more. I used to put my camera in the Canon bag then put that inside a large red duffel bag so no way to know what I had in it. When I'd see a shot I wanted, I'd check out the surroundings and if I felt comfortable, I'd pull out the camera and get my shot and then repack it.

Now out in the country, it is a bit easier. A lot of great places for photography will be tourist areas where most of the people are tourists along with the usual compliment of 'tourist police' that hang around these areas. For example, I feel safe using my good camera on the Tarcoles River Bridge to photograph the crocks. There are also a LOT of great places for pictures where there just isn't anyone else around. Only problem with this kind of photography is you will need transportation/driver/guide so an added expense.

As for places to shoot, here is a (short) list:
1) Volcano Irazu/Turrialba - These two volcanoes sit next to each other. Irazu is not real active right now, just some occasional steam/ash. However, Turrialba is very active, belching out lots of smoke/ash. Neat thing is, you can photograph Turrialba from the summit of Irazu which is over 11K feet up. It is also one of the only places in the world where you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same time. Only caveat is during rainy season, the weather usually puts the summit under cloud very early in the day so a very early start is mandatory.
2) Volcano Poas - This volcano has a better crater than the others and also has a second crater with a beautiful lake. The drive up and down have incredible views of the Central Valley. You can also go over to La Paz waterfalls in the same trip.
3) For wildlife, I'd suggest the La Selva biological preserve. Some rare birds, monkeys, sloths and a lot more are everywhere.
4) Volcano Arenal is also a great area for photography. The volcano has started shooting out ash/steam in the last few weeks but nothing like it used to, with the incredible lava shoots you see around the internet. There is also a ton of wildlife, a beautiful lake and the drive up/back is one of the most scenic in the country. There is also a tour called the Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge tour where you will see more wildlife than you can imagine. http://www.arenal.net/tour/Cano-Negro-w ... refuge.htm
5) For the perfect beach photography, Manuel Antonio is the ultimate spot. Incredible beaches, great hiking trails to some very scenic places and a ton of wildlife.
6) For a compromise location for chicas/beach/wildlife, I'd recommend basing yourself out of Jaco. Great chicas at night and a ton of good photo ops in the area. Manuel Antonio is just down the road, Tarcoles Bridge is on the way and access to all the adventure activities you can imagine, many of which will provide great photo ops.

Obviously, you will need transport to all these locations. I would NOT recommend a bus if you are carrying the kind of equipment I assume you will. Private transport with a reliable driver would be my recommendations and I can certainly help you out with that.

On what to bring, I'd say if you are serious about wildlife/nature photography, your best camera along with your longest lens for wildlife shots, a short lens for landscapes/panoramas and a good zoom, like my Canon 70-200L (4.0) for generic stuff. If you shoot with Canon and hire me for transport/security I have no problem letting you borrow either that lens or my 28-135 IS lens. I'd say leave all the other lenses at home. On lights, leave that all at home and bring your best on-camera flash. If you have one that can remote trigger and maybe even a small reflector for it, even better.

On chica photography, most don't mind a couple of clothed shots before you start a session. If you want to do a whole photo shoot with a girl it will be more difficult. Many will not want nude pictures taken at all. Others will ask for more money for a few nudes. No idea what they might ask if you want a full photo shoot so that will be an experience for you. If you don't speak any Spanish, that might also be a problem trying to direct the girl. For simplicity, not sure I'd try for full photo shoots with the girls unless you do speak Spanish or have someone there that can help with directions and bargaining for her time/photos.

I have a photo gallery of some of the shots I've taken on my website if you want to check it out (http://www.puravidatransport.com/photos.htm). There is also some basic info about various places to visit with links to more photos I've taken of those individual locations (http://www.puravidatransport.com/advice.htm).

Hope you have a GREAT trip and if I can be of service, answer any questions or anything else I can do to help make your trip a success, just e-mail me or PM me here.
Steve

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

I would agree with just about everything Steve has to share. I travel with a 5dm3, a 28-105mm F4 and a 70-200mm 2.8 and a 580 speedlite. I would bring an extender if I had one for wildlife. I keep my equipment in my backpack with no logos until I am ready to shoot and put it away when done.
Almost every weekend there is an activity / festival in the parks such as Morazon for good people shots, especially K*ds. There is the Sabana Park where you can find all kinds of people gathered playing games or exercising Last month thousands gathered downtown for a dog walk. Another good spot is around a church on Sundays.
If you want to combine some sports and women on the beach, go for a surfing contest, I shot one in Jaco in Feb, you get the best of both worlds. You will need a monopod and at least 400mm for that shoot, hence a 200mm with an extender. I happened to have an old 170-500mm Sigma.
As far as modeling, most of these girls have no clue what to do, most will let you take a few clothed shots in the room, but most hotel rooms are not designed as studios. The back rounds are bad and the lighting is not good.

Can't thank you guys enough. Great information. Purevidatransport - I'll definitely be in touch once I get the money saved up for the trip. I'd be down for a trip to the volcanos one of the days I'm there.

FYI - I took 3 years of Spanish in high school (and coasted through one in college), but I'm far from fluent. From what I've read it sounds like I probably know plenty to get by on. The two lenses I'd want to bring - canon 2.8 70-200 and tamron 2.8 17-50. I've got a 2x tele as well. Don't own a 400 or 500 but have considered it since my 2x tele makes autofocus next to impossible.

Tentative target date: December (pre-Christmas), I hear the two weeks before Christmas draw a lot of talent.

I agree with the others, you do not want to walk around San Jose with a camera (no matter how expensive) out in the open. It's a country of thieves.