This image of a White-whiskered Puffbird (Malacoptila panamensis) was taken in the dense rainforest near Capurganá, Chocó, Colombia, just before sunrise. The species is notoriously inconspicuous, often perched silently in the shadows of the understory. I was fortunate to spot this individual resting on a mossy, diagonal branch in near-darkness, its red eye and fine white facial markings faintly catching the ambient light.
The scene was deeply challenging from a technical standpoint. I used the Canon EOS R5 with the RF 800mm F11 lens, combined with a 1.4x extender for a total focal length of 1120mm. The lens, when paired with the extender, is fixed at f/16, which leaves little room to compensate in low light. Because the sun had not yet crested the canopy, and the forest floor remained in deep shade, I had no choice but to push the ISO to 25600. The camera selected a shutter speed of 1/15 second—extremely slow, especially for handheld shooting at that focal length.
Despite the odds, the bird’s complete stillness and careful bracing allowed me to get a usable frame. In post-processing, I applied aggressive noise reduction to recover detail from the high ISO setting without sacrificing feather texture. The resulting image reflects not only the moment of stillness I witnessed in the field, but also the limits of what can be achieved through patient technique and technical understanding. It’s a reminder that even under the most difficult conditions, unique opportunities can still emerge.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
