The Elusive Snowcap
I went to Costa Rica one day before my annual workshop there, and my wife and I spent that day doing some photography of our own. We hired a driver and he mentioned that he knew a place along the way where the Snowcap could sometimes be seen. We decided to stop and have a look. We spent the better part of an hour at this spot and saw a couple of interesting species, but no Snowcap. As we were walking back to the car, I saw a flash of white against a dark green background and yelled 'Snowcap' to my wife. I raised my camera, adjusting my shutter speed a full stop faster as I brought the camera to my eye. I managed a quick burst of 3 frames before the Snowcap was gone. I peered down at the LCD to review the burst, and was thrilled to see this image! I was lucky to get both a clean BG and the flower in the same plane of focus as the bird, because he was only there for a second or two.
It's always a good idea to know what your camera exposure is set at when you're not actively taking photos. That way, you know how to compensate when something unexpected appears in front of you. Had I not adjusted my exposure as I was raising my camera up, the whites would have been totally cooked.
Nikon D850, 600mm + 1.4x, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 400, manual exposure, hand held
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infact very well captured. Great angled pose towards both you and the flower, and the iridescence pops nicely from the darker BG. I do like the single droplet on the flower. Congrats on getting your shot.
Originally Posted by Doug Brown
