Monthly Archives: December 2023
La Paz Waterfall, Costa Rica
One of the best known waterfalls in Costa Rica, mainly because a busy road crosses the foot of the falls on a narrow bridge (just out of frame). The area on either side of the bridge has been colonized by stalls selling tourist merchandise of all kinds, making parking a risky business…as is crossing the narrow bridge with its traffic for alternative views of the falls. This is actually the lower section of the last of 5 major waterfalls just upriver. To see both sections you have to climb a little hill beyond the falls, in which case the bridge is in the way (I have that photo and may share it one day), or you have to stand in the middle of the bridge, which no sane person would do for long…certainly not long enough for anything but a cell phone pic. I do not have that photo. OM Systems OMD E-M5 Mk3 with 12-45mm Pro zoom. In-camera HDR. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! This is my banana!
Prong-billed Barbet: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is a story that during the 2009 earthquake that destroyed much of the Cinchona region in Costa Rica, the Soda (shop or cafe) was full of customers. At the first rumble the owner yelled for them all to come to the kitchen, where they watched as the rest of the building collapsed down the mountain side. What we visited on our second day in Costa Rica is the rebuilt Mirador y Soda Cinchona. The Prong-billed Barbet, also a regular visitor to the Soda, does not care. It is all about bananas and their ownership for Barbets. This banana is obviously owned by this Barbet. Barbets exist, not only in the tropics of Central and South America, but also in the tropics of Africa and Asia…some are lowland rainforest birds and some have ranges, like the Prong-billed, in the foothills and even mountains. All have the typical heavy bill and stout body. They are cavity nesters and most excavate holes the same way woodpeckers do. Fun facts from my morning reading on Barbets 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Green-crowned Brilliant
Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Circling back to the first full day of our Costa Rican adventure now, and working our way through day by day — In all his finery! In my opinion, one of the most beautiful hummingbirds…all in subtle shades of brilliant green with that little bright blue chin patch. We had lunch (a first for me) while watching the birds at Mirador y Soda Cinchona…which is certainly one of my favorite stops in Costa Rica. And the food was almost as good as the birds! Never enough light, but still. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Not your normal Quetzal shot
Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — I am still trying for my “best” Resplendent Quetzal photo. The light is never good, just after dawn in the shadows of the steep mountain valley on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica, and the distances are just over what we might like…and with the streamer feathers the bird is hard to fit effectively in a frame at any focal length that will capture the feather detail…but still you have to try every time this magnificent bird gives you the chance. And Quetzals in flight? Even harder 🙂 So I am happy with this photo. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 552mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Photo Quality (photo enhance and photo unblur). Another shot at ISO 25600.
Costa Rica! Female Quetzal
Female Resplendent Quetzal: San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — The female of the Quetzal shows the birds’ membership in the Trogon tribe more clearly…and it is a fairly spectacular bird in its own right. Quetzal photography always strains the limits of whatever camera you use, as the birds are only reliably active before the sun reaches down into the depths of the Savegre valley…and this was a an overcast day after a rainy dawn anyway. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and “photo enhancer & photo unblur”. Taken at ISO 25600. 🙂
Costa Rica! In one end and out the other
Lesser Violet-ear Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Just for a smile. Stuff happens. This Lesser Violet-ear was sipping from a suspended flower and reached the saturation point. This is more common than you might think when hummingbirds drink sugar water. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 570mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Photomator and “photo enhancer and unblur” (great app, terrible title).
Costa Rica! Bird of the day
Lesser Violet-ear Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica — It was raining off and on and quite dark when we got to Batsu Gardens high above the Savegre River, but the hummingbirds came to flowers placed for them and doused with sugar water. This is a Lesser Violet-ear (and no, there is no greater violet-ear)…one of the common hummingbirds of the foothills and cloud forest of Central America. This is a natural light shot…not a multi-flash setup. I was very pleased with the results from the OM-1 in the low light we had to work with. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 570mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Bird of the day…
Resplendent Quetzal: San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Bird of the day so far. It is not yet noon and we have an afternoon session with hummingbirds. This was before breakfast this morning, still in the deep shade of the mountains to the east. I never get tired of photographing this bird. OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Taken at ISO 25600! Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Lesson of the day
Being part of a photo workshop here in Costa Rica has pushed me to try new things…or at least to try the lesson of the day my way. This is the Savegre river high in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica, and the lesson of the day was, you guessed it, moving water. Olympus OMD E-M5Mk111 with 12-45mm f4 zoom at 70mm equivalent. Shutter preferred at about .6 seconds to silk the water. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Focus stacked frog
Red-eyed Leaf Frog: Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica — the poster child for Costa Rican conservation, the Red-eyed Leaf Frog (or Tree Frog) is one of the main attractions of Selva Verde Lodge. They have a healthy population right at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dinning hall. They are nocturnal and sensitive to flash so you have to photograph them with led movie lights or with flashlights. This year I got to try the OM Systems OM-1’s in-camera focus stacking…which takes 8 images and stacks them to get the whole frog in focus at the same time. Quite a trick. Especially working from my monopod beanbag. I cannot argue with the results though! Perhaps my best Red-eyed Leaf Frog shot to date. 🙂 As noted the OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and in-camera focus stacking. Processed in Photomator.