49.3

For years I've wanted to travel to Peru to see 2 things: Machu Picchu and the Amazon Jungle. With my roommate finishing her PhD she decided she wanted to head to Peru for her graduation celebration and she invited me to tag along. We spent 2 weeks doing pretty much everything there was to do in Peru and it started with 4 days in the Amazon Rainforest! We flew into Puerto Maldonado and after a 30 minute boat ride we arrived at our jungle lodge, Hacienda Concepcion. Built within the last year, this retreat was absolutely wonderful. We all had private cabanas, complete with mosquito netting, private bathrooms, hammocks facing out onto the jungle, delicious food and amazing jungle excursions. This was by far the best part of our trip.

The first night we arrived we were taken on a river tour by boat where we saw Caymen, birds, and some other animals that only come out at night. To my surprise, we also saw the Milky Way in all of its glory -- and boy was it visible to the naked eye. I got really excited because that meant I could break out the new D800 and give it a whirl! When we were back at the lodge I grabbed the camera and walked down to the area where our cabanas were situated. The cabanas were lit by very dim gas lanterns and gave off just enough light so that I could expose for both the milky way and the cabanas all in 1 exposure! Unfortunately I had left my ultra-wide lens at home, not thinking I'd need it for the trip, so instead I shot 16 images and stitched them together in Photoshop CS6.

Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S:
24mm, f2/.8, 25 sec, ISO 3200
16 images stitched together in Photoshop CS6