Some time ago I posted another Antpitta picture taken at Refugio Paz de las Aves in Ecuador that was literally called up to a clearing in the rainforest. This is another species. This species is a little more common and not quite as secretive but still spends most of its time deep in the undergrowth of the forest. If it were not coaxed out into the open, most tourists would never get to see one. You can hear them frequently calling at sunrise, but seeing, let alone photographing one, is an entirely different problem. Again, it is dark when these pictures are taken; high ISOs, slow shutter speeds, tripod mounted (very low-I am laying on my belly). I end up culling 95% of my shots. Note the “football on stilts” appearance. made for walking, not flying. They can fly, but only rarely do.
- Created Timestamp08/31/2019 10:05:49
- CameraCanon EOS 7D Mark II
- Aperture5.6
- CreditMatthew Porter
- Copyrightall rights reserved
- Focal Length500
- Iso800
- Shutter Speed1/100
Wow – amazing to get a shot this good in those conditions
Thank you for the compliment. At this location on that morning, I took over 100 shots and kept 6 for further processing. Of those 6 I kept 2, so I guess final tally is 2% keeper rate.
Extraordinary!
As long as you get one you’re happy with it was worth it. Some people are afraid of shooting at low speeds but if you’re careful you can get some great shots -like this one!
When you are shooting in the rainforest environment, there are no other choices. Just keep my finger on the shutter and hope one of the shots are sharp.