I took this portrait of a scarlet macaw deep in the Madidi, Bolivia during a two week trek covering 150 kilometres of mountainous rainforest. Eventually reaching this spot after a long climb up a vantage point above a clay lick, where macaws gather to feed on mineral rich clay exposed along the cliff face.
A tree had grown out over the cliff edge with a drop of more than 200 metres, its branches crowded with Scarlet Macaws. To photograph them at eye level, I had to lean out over the edge while my friend held on tight to my backpack with one hand and a tree with the other. As someone with a fear of heights, I was not comfortable, but it was the only way to get the image I had envisioned.
The result - my most intimate portrait of one of the most colourful birds in the world.
