Vicuna, Taito Geyser, Chile
Fujifilm GFX100S II, 100-200mm zoom, f5.6 @ 1/800 second, ISO 80 

Llamas and alpacas up the north of South America, guanacos and vicunas down the south. This is a vicuna, greatly valued for its wool and now protected which, in part, explains why it was wandering casually through one of northern Chile’s most popular tourist destinations, the Taito Geysers.

The Taito geothermal field sits at 4300 metres above sea level and if you want to see lots of steam, the idea is to get there when the surrounding air is cold and the steam best performs its magic. If you’re there during warm weather or in summer, you might not see much in the way of steam, but in the cooler months, it’s a matter of rugging up with an extra layer or two to keep yourself warm, but the light show is worth it.

The main problem with getting there early as we did, is that so does everyone else. So, what’s the approach?

Fortunately, it’s a large area and you can find quite a few angles without buses, cars and other tourists in the background. Often the steam will cover up unwanted elements, but when it doesn’t (as in this photo), well, isn’t it wonderful that Photoshop and Lightroom can now delete unwanted objects and replace them with appropriate content.

Given the vicunas’ protected status, they were quite comfortable walking through all the people and buses, but it was certainly a surprise to see them. Although we were shooting landscapes, most of us wandered around without a tripod in the pre-dawn light and pushed the ISO. Then when the sun came up, there was no lack of light for hand-held photography – and certainly that’s what you want to be shooting for wildlife!

There were three vicunas. Mum and child wandered through first, with dad following along behind. This is dad and as he moved across to an adjacent set of geysers, the sunlight was in just the right position for both the steam and the grassy hills behind. He even paused and looked back for a moment – click.

We don’t have any vicuna at Middlehurst in New Zealand, but we have one spot available this July if you’re interested – check out the details on the Better Photography website at https://www.betterphotography.com/photo-tours/workshops/middlehurst2025-detail

And don’t forget my new Photo Process course, which includes 80 videos, a portfolio review and an original A2 print. Visit https://www.betterphotography.com/subscriptions-2/photo-process