Willy Alfaro

Willy was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica. His interest in nature began at age six, when his father bought him a natural history encyclopedia, a book that soon became young Willy's prized possession. Although Willy studied Marketing at the University of Costa Rica, it was some years later, when he first visited a tropical rainforest in Braulio Carrillo National Park, that he was inspired to return to school and study biology.

During his studies, Willy worked as a naturalist and trained tour guides in natural history. After graduation, he continued guiding and also studied bird population dynamics and hummingbird ecology in the highlands. He served a tenure as President of the Ornithological Society of Costa Rica, an birding organization dedicated to regional conservation programs.

Willy has been a guide in the United States, Panama, Cuba and Chile, including the Patagonia region and Easter Island, as well as in his native Costa Rica.

Currently, when he is not leading photo trips, he devotes his time to photography — both nature and fashion photography. He's had photos published in local magazines and newspapers, and exhibited in Costa Rica and Spain.

He received his Photo Instructor certification in a multi-day training workshop.  Developed and taught by National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions photographers, the workshop helped develop the insight and skills necessary to help you better understand your camera and the basics of composition — to better capture the moments at the heart of your expedition.