A LITTLE BACKGROUND: I've been taking pictures since 1958 when my grandmother bought me my first camera, a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. I like to think that those simple beginnings brought me to where I am today. I currently sell my work domestically and internationally through two websites. I'm self-trained but have taken a class here and there on lighting techniques and darkroom operations. With the dawn of digital imaging, I have left the darkroom in favor of digital editing.

THE EMOTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY: I now have the time (I'm retired) to travel and explore with my cameras. While I have been known to take more than 5,000 photos in a single day, I try to be selective with my scenes. The only time I take a large number of shots is when photographing wildlife. That said, I have spent hours in a single location; shooting from different angles and changing light. The overriding factor in this is how I felt about the scene. What was I thinking, feeling, and remembering while I viewed the subject? There is a line in the Star Trek IV "The Voyage Home" where the testing computer asks Spock "How do you feel?" That is how I approach my photography. I take notes about the scene and what I was feeling and why I stopped to take those photos. I do the same thing in post-production processing. What I felt plays a part in how I crop the scene and adjust the lighting.
Last year I began writing stories and poetry to mate with my photographs. All of those works have been copyrighted and are now being published into a series of photo/poetry books. Here is an example: "Abandoned Buckboard"

THOUGHTS? COMMENTS?

Hi, Tom!
First, I have to say that's one of the best Yellow Crown Night Heron shots I've ever seen!! Congratulations on that!

I just turned 69 and I don't have any desire to learn Lightroom! Even if I had just turned 29, I would have no desire to learn Lightroom! I'm not a post processor and never will be! I use Picasa for the very minimum post processing that I do. And have ever done! You DON'T HAVE TO BE a post processor to get great shots! I have a great many photos posted here and other places and have numerous followers who will attest to the fact that most of them are very nice photos! ALL JPEGS! (I use the Large/Fine setting).

Your choice of the D500 will take you far with wildlife photos! I use a D500 and a D850 with the Nikon 200~500mm f 5.6 zoom. Your 500mm will do great, though I think a zoom is more versatile with just as good or very near as good IQ as the prime! There, I've said it, bring it on UHH'ers! And I'll put money on it that most people won't be able to tell the difference! I love the D500, the only problem I have with it is the relatively small sensor makes cropping more problematic than with the D850. But with the "crop factor" of the DX camera with an FX lens, I get 750mm equivalent so cropping is less of a concern to begin with.

I would say that you could do both RAW and JPEG just for peace of mind on a once in a lifetime trip. I've been to Alaska, Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and more, and have only shot JPEG and have never had any regrets. But shooting RAW will only cost you a couple more cards so why not?

I applaud your thoughts about taking the best shot you can in JPEG at point of capture! That is what I have done since day one! And have never regretted it! I'm looking forward to seeing some photos from Brazil!

Last thought, my D850 is more capable in low light than my D500. It's an older camera and you can pick one up for considerably less money than when they first came out. But still expensive! A lot of them are available used, and one of my two D850 bodies was purchased used from B&H Cameras. Never a problem with it and it has several thousand "clicks" on it now. I wish you luck on your trip to Brazil! I wish I was going with you!!