The traveler: Bob Hussey of Edina.
The scene: Andean Flamingos forage for food in the Chaxa Lagoon, in the Atacama Salt Flats region of Los Flamencos National Reserve in northern Chile. The region lies near San Pedro de Atacama and is surrounded on all sides by the Andes Mountains.
The trip: Hussey and his wife, Jennifer, traveled to Chile in January. "The lagoon and reserve are located in the Atacama Desert, ironically one of the driest places on Earth, though you'd never guess from the photo. Narrowly cut paths through the Atacama Salt Flats allow you to hike out to the lagoon and observe the flamingos up close. By moving slowly and quietly on our approach, [we] were able to get within a few yards of the colony," Hussey wrote in an e-mail. Visitors must travel with a guide, which the two secured through their hotel. "The Chilean government is fairly strict about safeguarding the lagoon for the flamingos and minimizing the human footprint on the salt flats," he wrote.
Equipment: Hussey took this photo in gentle evening light using an iPhone 8.
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