This photograph features the Long-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii), a hummingbird celebrated for its dazzling emerald body and extraordinarily long, iridescent blue tail feathers. The image was made at La Minga Ecolodge, high in the mountains above Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The setting in the cloud forest created soft, muted tones in the background, allowing the bird’s brilliant colors to stand out in striking contrast.
For this image, I used the Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm lens at 451mm. The focal length gave me the reach to frame the bird precisely while still including enough of its natural environment to provide context. Shooting in such a dense forest required careful adjustments to both exposure and stability.
I set the shutter speed to 1/750 second. This was fast enough to ensure sharpness while still allowing sufficient light in the dim conditions of the forest canopy. The aperture was set to f/6.7, a choice that balanced subject clarity with a gentle background blur, keeping the Long-tailed Sylph crisp while rendering the foliage behind it into a soft wash of green. I chose an ISO of 800, which provided the necessary sensitivity to work in the subdued light without overwhelming the image with noise.
Each of these settings was selected not only for technical precision but also to respect the fleeting moment when the hummingbird rested, tail draped gracefully behind. To me, this photograph represents both the artistry of fieldwork in challenging light and the joy of sharing the rare beauty of a species so closely tied to the high Andean forests of Colombia.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
