Probably my favorite image for my recent Costa Rica tour. The trip was a blast! Two weeks of paradise, with a great group of people, a nice variety of birds, excellent food, and some incredible scenery. The story behind this photo goes as follows. We were driving from one lodge to another and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant along the way. We knew that Aracaris lived in that general vicinity, but when we got off the bus, there were no birds to speak of. After enjoying a nice traditional Costa Rican meal, we grabbed our cameras and set out to find some birds. It wasn't long before this beautiful Fiery-Billed Aracari made its grand entrance. He moved around quite a bit and most of the perches he selected were fairly busy. That is until he landed on this one for a couple of seconds. I love the way the sun was illuminating his head in this image.
I am thinking of entering this photo in some international competitions that don't allow much in the way of post-processing. I'm curious about whether the BG is a distraction to forum members? To me this photo captures typical Costa Rican habitat and I'm not at all bothered by the high-key BG elements. Thanks for the feedback!
Canon 1D Mark III, 500mm + 1.4x, f/5.6, 1/4000, ISO 640, -1/3 EC, fill flash, monopod








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