Traveler’s Journal

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9

Where: Sequim High School library, 601 N. Sequim Ave.

Cost: Suggested $5 donation (adults); 18 and younger, free

Presenters: Ken and Mary Campbell

Presentation: “A Journey in Search of the Amazing Wildlife & Landscapes of South America”

This presentation will feature images from our recent trip to Chile where we searched the Atacama Desert for the mountain viscacha, an adorable member of the chinchilla family, and the once endangered vicuna with its highly prized wool.

Then we traveled to the beautiful landscapes of southern Chile in Torres del Paine National Park in search of the shy and elusive puma. We closely followed a puma for almost two hours as it searched for a location to start its evening hunt for South America’s largest wild camelid, the guanaco.

Our trip to Brazil’s Pantanal focused on Brazil’s Big Five — the jaguar, ocelot, giant river otter, giant anteater and South American tapir — as well as a variety of other birds and mammals in the diverse ecosystems that provided superb wildlife encounters.

The Pantanal Conservation Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve of spectacular beauty and is considered “The Serengeti of South America.” Traveling by riverboat, land cruisers and on foot, we encountered 26 species of mammals and over 200 species of birds in this wildlife rich area.

Please join us on Thursday, March 9, for “A Journey in Search of the Amazing Wildlife &Landscapes of South America.”

About the presenters

The Campbells are wildlife and nature photographers. They have traveled the world to find the top natural wonders this planet has to offer, photographing nature for more than 35 years together while making trips to all seven continents in search of extraordinary wildlife.

Ken started taking wildlife photographs in high school and in college while majoring in wildlife biology. Mary joined Ken as a photographer after meeting at the University of New Hampshire and together they share a global passion for “fuzzy fixes.”

Business owners originally from New Hampshire, they joined the Merrimac Valley Camera Club in Andover, Mass., to help improve their work with a camera.

Ken became a photo judge for the New England Camera Club Council and traveled around New England judging photographic competitions. The Campbells were both juried members of the prestigious League of New Hampshire Craftsmen as photographers.

They moved to Port Angeles in 2007 looking for a home with more wildlife viewing opportunities.

The many hours spent near their home along the Olympic Discovery Trail and in Olympic National Park have provided them with the opportunity to photograph the unique and endemic species as well as the wilderness areas of the Olympic Peninsula.

Images are taken with an eye on capturing wildlife in action or reflecting the natural beauty of the world around them.

They also worked as bio-reporters providing photographic images to GLOBIO, a children’s educational website designed to teach children about global biodiversity.

They will show photographs from their first trips to Chile and Brazil, as well as images from return trips to Ecuador and Argentina. The animals and landscapes of southern South America are some of the most uniquely stunning and bizarre found anywhere.

About the presentations

Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for volunteers working on Olympic Discovery Trail projects.

Shows start at 7 p.m. in the Sequim High School Library at 601 N. Sequim Ave.

Suggested donation is $5 for adults; those 18 years old and younger are free.

One selected photo enlargement will be given away each week as a door prize.

For more information, email Arvo Johnson at amjcgj@gmail.com.