05 December, 2017
There is a unique feeling about visiting the Galápagos Islands. Tales of strange wildlife and pioneering explorers make them seem almost inaccessible to a "normal" person; a mythical land. As travel photographers, we're used to shooting people and culture, but this promised a wholly different experience featuring rare wildlife and vast, empty landscapes.
The Galápagos Archipelago is a group of 13 islands and hundreds of islets that are in perpetual movement. They lie 973km west off the coast of Ecuador, sitting atop a volcanic hot spot that was responsible for their creation. Their location at the intersection of four ocean currents with different temperatures - the cold Equatorial and Humboldt currents, the warm Panama current and the deep-sea Cromwell current - seems strategic for the congregation and development of some of the most exceptional species on earth. Animals that are usually found in completely different climates thrive together, and it's almost comically surprising to spot a Galápagos penguin resting on a bed of volcanic rock next to a group of marine iguanas.
This is one of the few places on earth that remains free of human trace other than those who live on the outskirts of the protected area of the Galápagos National Park. This means that animals are either nonchalant or inquisitive, the air is clean and the landscapes unsullied. To be able to experience nature in such a pure way changes your world perspective; we hope that these pictures will go some way to convey that.
