This image is a good example of how new software and cameras have changed the way we can photograph birds in the dark rainforests. This is a Scale-throated Hermit from Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest. A common bird, it is frequently seen anyplace there are flowers, whether wild or garden. To try and freeze the motion of the bird (it is a hummingbird after all) I had to use a fast shutter speed. Because it was also dark (very early in the morning) That required that my ISO value was very high-16,000. ISO value is a measurement of how sensitive you want your camera's sensor ("electronic film") to be. The good news is that when you make the ISO very high, your sensor is very sensitive to even small amounts of light. The bad news is that your sensor is then also sensitive to electronic "noise". That can make your image very grainy and have no detail or color. Newer cameras and more importantly, new computer software can greatly negate this problem allowing images to be taken and used that, in the past, would have been instant deletes. Shot with a Canon R5, 600 mm f/4.0 lens; SS 1/2000, f/4.0, ISO 16,000. Processed in DXO Pure Raw, PS, and then passed through Topaz DeNoise at very low settings.

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Thank you for looking and commenting. All that any of us can do.

You are too kind. I appreciate the "kudos".

You are too kind. Thanks for looking.

As was stated earlier, "natural progression". I like to think I am improving, but sometimes I wonder when I see some of the spectacular images posted on line.

Thank you for your thoughts. I agree with you-I am much more inclined to keep a marginal shot of a bird that I likely will never see again than a marginal shot of a sparrow in my back yard.

You are absolutely correct. When I took this image I was sitting on my butt with the lens braced on my knees. This bird was originally up and to the left of the image, approximately eye level with me. All of those shots were caca; he then jumped down onto a gravel pathway and was gone in 3 seconds. Having the camera 6-12" lower would have improved this image a lot.

My wife loves to photograph the birds too, so when we go on a trip, it is not unusual for me to have to review and cull 10,000 images a day. To survive, I have to be more ruthless with my culling than I used to be.

I guess the price of "getting better" (or at least watching too many You Tube videos).

My "bar" for pictures that I have taken has changed over the years. A shot that I would have been very happy with 5 years ago, no longer pleases me. The bird may be just as beautiful, the pose may be great, the image may be technically good, but if the background or perch that is in the image is not good, the picture often is immediately deleted. This image just barely made the cut. This is a Tufted Antshrike from Brazil. A neat bird, with a great crest and an active personality. The shot was taken early in morning, so there was not a lot of light to work with. To try to get the black bird properly exposed, I had to over expose the white rocks it was standing on. While this can be altered in processing, it still never will be pleasing. Shot with a Canon R5, 600 f/4.0, handheld. SS 1/320, ISO 8000, f/4.0. Processed in PS with bird slightly brightened and background slightly darkened. Topaz De Noise was used.

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These birds, Black-goggled Tanagers, are common in the Atlantic Rainforest of SE Brazil. These two, a male and female, were having a heated discussion one morning and I could not help but notice that he turned his back to her. In my household, that would be a major mistake.
Shot with a Canon R5, 600 f/4.0, at SS 1/100, f/4.0, ISO 12800. Little processing in PS and run through Topaz De Noise at minimal settings.

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No, as I pay the balance off totally as soon as it is posted. I use the "waived sales tax" option rather than the no interest option. I live in California-hence the sales tax option.

Will post a couple of birds we saw during our trip to the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil (Mata Atlantica). These birds are notable, not because they are spectacular birds, but rather because they are not easy to see, let alone photograph. These are birds of the understory. They can fly, but prefer not to. They live in the dense undergrowth of the rainforest. Taking images of these birds usually requires either luck, or sitting in a hide/blind for hours at a time. These images were taken by the latter method. Arrived at the blind before sunrise and sat for 3 hours waiting. Finally they showed up separately. The first image, a Gray-fronted Dove was shot with a Canon R6, 100-500 lens at 428, f/6.3, SS 1/400, ISO 12,800, EC -.3 (a mistake). Processed in PS and Topaz DeNoise with saturation of bird brought up slightly. Second image is a Slaty-breasted Wood Rail. Shot with a Canon R6, 100-500 lens at 500, f/7.1, SS 1/40, ISO 5000. Same processing. Both shots handheld.

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Thanks to everyone for looking and commenting. I agree that these birds are anything but "plain".