A photographic compilation of the Finca Suasie Natural Reserve

Discover through the story and photographs of Marcela Avellaneda the natural landscape of the Colombian Andes in the Photographic compilation of the Finca Suasie Natural Reserve.

In Colombia, high in the Eastern Andes mountain range, near Bogotá, lies the Finca Suasie nature reserve, a place that caresses the soul. Its high Andean forests are home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, with moss-covered trees embraced by the mist. As you walk, tiny droplets soak into your body and, together with the birdsong and the clean air that reaches your lungs, it all takes on a sense of what the Japanese call “forest bathing”.

Camino / Path
Fotografía / Photography: Marcela Avellaneda

I am fortunate to work and live in this place, a house in the middle of the mountains, where you wake up with a cup of coffee and the chirping of birds. I usually take my camera and go in search of the first movement of the birds. The first rays of sunshine are a feast for them. Mixed flocks, curious birds and others that pass unnoticed in my presence. During the walk you can also see traces of bears and other mammals leaving their tracks.

En silencio / In silence
Fotografía / Photography: Marcela Avellaneda

This place was chosen by a group of international ornithological experts, among them Audubon, who selected some important places in Colombia for bird watching. The farm is visited by nature and wildlife lovers, both nationals and foreigners.

Cartografía del bosque / Forest cartography
Fotografía / Photography: Marcela Avellaneda

As an artist, I am a spectator who is constantly exploring the movements that take place in these forests. From there, I allow myself to reflect on the immersion of human beings in nature, from which I learn how, with its primitive wisdom and natural balance, everything here is in harmony.

Atrapada / Trapped
Fotografía / Photography: Marcela Avellaneda

Photography is one of the media I use the most. This medium has allowed me to capture instants that attract my attention, such as the small details, the light of the landscape, life and death as natural cycles, fauna and human traces.

Photography has allowed me to capture instants that attract my attention, such as the small details, the light of the landscape, life and death and natural cycles.

Flor del Gaque / Gaque flower
Fotografía / Photography: Marcela Avellaneda

I believe that art is an effective tool to make these natural spaces visible and to raise awareness of the importance of these ecosystems for the natural balance of the planet.