I photographed a Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) perched on a glossy leaf beside a shaded creek in Capurganá, Chocó, Colombia. The bird’s warm cinnamon tail and subtle barring on its wings stand out against deep-green foliage rendered into creamy bokeh. Soft shafts of morning light filtered through the canopy, sculpting its sleek gray head and highlighting the curve of its slender bill. Framing the flycatcher slightly off-center allowed the diagonal line of the leaf to lead the viewer’s eye through the scene, conveying both the bird’s poised stillness and the tranquil rhythm of its riparian habitat.
Recording this moment required a precise combination of reach and sensitivity. I shot handheld with a Canon EOS R5 fitted with an RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lens plus a 1.4× extender, yielding an effective 1120mm focal length and fixing the aperture at f/16. ISO 3200 lifted crucial detail from shadowed understory without excessive noise, and a 1/180-second shutter speed froze the flycatcher’s subtle head tilts. Maintaining a steady stance on uneven creekbank stones and timing each exposure with controlled breathing were essential to keep this skittish subject in sharp focus.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
