Dead flamingos were not why I came to Laguna Grande, Argentina but...

Sometimes travel isn't pretty. Even in the most beautiful places, there can exist a darker side.  And that darker side revealed itself to me when I revisited Laguna Grande in the Catamarca Province of Argentina. I first experienced this flamingo-filled lagoon in 2017 with my wife, travel, and photography partner, Therese Iknoian. And since that moment, I had dreamed of returning, in the hopes of capturing spectacular photographs of the thousands of flamingos that call this high-altitude lagoon home from October through April each year.

James’s flamingos flying over Laguna Grande in Argentina. Thousands of other flamingos, some James’s, some Andean, some Chilean, fill the lagoon in the background.

On April 4 of this year, just before sunrise, I found myself standing on the shores of Laguna Grande once again. Therese and I had worked closely with Socompa Adventure Travel to craft a 13-day photography itinerary into the Puna of Argentina that would give each of us deep dives into the type…