Trogon Photo Tours

 


PO Box 1505
Fresno, TX 77455-1505

ph: 281-778-1486

nchappell@trogontours.net

  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • UgandaClick to open the Uganda menu
    • Uganda Signup
  • TanzaniaClick to open the Tanzania menu
    • Tanzania SignUp
  • Orcas EaglesClick to open the Orcas Eagles menu
    • Orcas Eagles Sign Up
  • San DiegoClick to open the San Diego menu
    • San Diego SignUp
  • Spain RaptorsClick to open the Spain Raptors menu
    • Spain SignUp
  • GrouseClick to open the Grouse menu
    • Grouse Sign Up
  • ColoradoClick to open the Colorado menu
    • Colorado Sign Up
  • YellowstoneClick to open the Yellowstone menu
    • Yellowstone Sign Up
  • NomeClick to open the Nome menu
    • Nome Sign Up
  • EcuadorClick to open the Ecuador menu
    • Ecuador Sign Up
  • Ecuador HerpsClick to open the Ecuador Herps menu
    • Ecuador Herps SignUp
  • South Ecuador Click to open the South Ecuador  menu
    • South Ecuador SignUp
  • Costa RicaClick to open the Costa Rica menu
    • Costa Rica Sign Up
  • GalapagosClick to open the Galapagos menu
    • GalapagosSignUp
  • Brazil Pantanal
  • Brazil RainforestClick to open the Brazil Rainforest menu
    • Brazil Rainforest SignUp
  • PeruClick to open the Peru menu
    • Peru Sign Up
  • AmazonClick to open the Amazon menu
    • Amazon Sign Up
  • Colombia Click to open the Colombia  menu
    • Colombia Sign Up
  • WA EaglesClick to open the WA Eagles menu
    • WA Eagles Sign Up
  • MalheurClick to open the Malheur menu
    • Malheur Sign Up
  • South AfricaClick to open the South Africa menu
    • South Africa Sign Up
  • GalvestonClick to open the Galveston menu
    • Galveston Sign Up
  • TexasClick to open the Texas menu
    • Texas Sign Up
  • TX Hill CountryClick to open the TX Hill Country menu
    • TX Hill Country SignUp
  • Slovenia
  • ArizonaClick to open the Arizona menu
    • Arizona Sign Up
  • ThailandClick to open the Thailand menu
    • Thailand Sign Up
  • ChinaClick to open the China menu
    • China Sign Up
  • AustraliaClick to open the Australia menu
    • Australia Sign Up
  • Testimonials
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Covid_19
  • GalleriesClick to open the Galleries menu
    • Galveston
    • South Africa
    • Costa Rica
    • Thailand
    • Brazil
    • Hummingbirds
    • Ecuador
    • Galapagos
    • Peru
    • Arizona
    • Australia
    • Colorado
    • Amazon
    • Botswana
    • Yellowstone
    • Eagles
    • Cranes
    • Malheur
    • Namibia
    • Nome
    • Argentina
    • Texas
    • Participants
  • NewslettersClick to open the Newsletters menu
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • August 2018
    • May 2018
    • March 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • October 2017
    • July 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
  • FAQ/Policies

April 2019

April 2019  - This month's newsletter features images taken from the blind at Sachatamia Lodge in Ecuador with discussions about how to handle settings starting from a dark early morning start to when there is quite a bit more light available a couple of hours later. It features mostly images of birds in the large Neotropical family, ovenbirds (furnarids). 

Strong-billed Woodcreeper

Strong-billed Woodcreeper photographed January 2019 at Sachatmia Lodge, Ecuador.  Canon 1DX II, 500F4 1/50 F4, iso 3200, Av mode,  600ex fill flash at -1.3, Gitzo Tripod, Wimberley head.  When you first enter the blind around 6:30 am or so it's very dark under the canopy so you are stuck with either using flash as main light on full power or shooting at a fairly high iso with a limited shutter speed and depth of field.  On this day I decided to go for more natural looking shots so I went with fill flash and the fairly high iso etc.  This isn't a great shot, I wish the bird was turned a bit more toward me, it's mostly for comparison purposes. 

 Strong-billed Woodcreeper

Strong-billed Woodcreeper photographed at Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador in November 2008.  Canon 1DX 500F4 1.4x teleconverter, 1/250 F8, manual exposure, iso 800, 580ex at 0, handheld.  This shot of the same species from the same lodge (no blind back then) shows the results of using the flash on full power and treating the image more like a night shot.  This is your other alternative when shooting very early in the morning with very little light in the rainforest.  The positives are you can use a lower iso, faster shutter speed, more depth of field and there is more ability to stop the action.  The negative is the shot looks overflashed and not as natural as for example the previous image. 

Plain-brown Woodcreeper

Plain-brown Woodcreeper photographed January 2019 at Sachatamia, Canon 1DX II, 500F4 1/60 F4.5, iso 2000, 600ex fill flash at -1.3, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  This was taken about half an hour after the first image shown and it had gotten a bit lighter, allowing me to drop the iso to 2000, stop down to F4.5 and get 1/60.  Still challenging techs but a bit easier than the first shot. 

Linneated Foliage Gleaner

Linneated Foliage Gleaner photographed January 2019 at Sachatamia Lodge, Canon 1DX II,500F4, 1/60 F4, iso 1600, Av mode, 600ex fill flash at -1.3, Gitzo Tripod, Wimberley Head.  This was taken just shortly after the previous image.  One of the neat things about the blind at Sachatamia is there is a white sheet which is illuminated at night which attracts large numbers of moths during the night and then in the morning the birds come in to prey on the multitude of insects. 

Strong-billed Woodcreeper

Strong-billed Woodcreeper photographed at Sachatamia Lodge, January 2019.  Canon 1DX II, 500F4 1/80 F4.5, Av mode, iso 1600, 600ex fill flash at -2.0, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  This image was taken about 15 minutes after the previous image and with a bit more light I could get a touch more shutter speed, in addition I dropped the amount of flash I was using from -1.3 to -2.0 as the amount of ambient light increased.  

Rufous-breasted Ant Thrush

Rufous-breasted Antthrush photographed January 2019 at Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador.  Canon 1DX II, 500F4, Av mode, 1/50 F4.5, iso 1250, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  This is one of the star birds which makes an appearance or two at the Sachatamia blind most mornings.  I didn't use flash on this image, I was using it but it wasn't recycling for every image and I preferred this one to the ones with flash.  These antpittas and antthrushes will sometimes stand very still allowing for a low shutter speed.  At this point it was a bit later and I had dropped the iso to 1250.Three-striped Warbler

Three-striped Warbler photographed January 2019 at Sachatamia Lodge in Ecuador.  Canon 1DX II, 500F4, Av mode, 1/125 F4.5, iso 1250, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  This was taken another 25 minutes or so after the previous shot and at this point I wasn't using flash on many shots as there was enough ambient light from the right direction to shoot with natural light on most images.  The setup perches near the blind allow for a clean background for species such as this that would normally be in a busy environment.  This is a small bird so I chose to present it with a fair bit of negative space. 

Masked Trogon

Masked Trogon photographed January 2019 at Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador.  Canon 5D4, 500F4, Av mode, 1/160 F5.6, iso 1250, 600ex fill flash at -2.0, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  Masked Trogons are another one of the star birds of the Sachatamia blind and they are there a lot of the time.  This was taken the next day later in the morning when there was more light.  I really liked the way he spread his tail and turned his head back toward us.  In conclusion when shooting very early in the morning under the canopy you have to choose between taking an overflashed image or one at a high iso, as the light improves the photo opportunities improve and you can back off both the iso and the flash.  Of course one of the things about birds is often some of the best birds only appear early in the morning. 

Newsletter

 

 




 

Copyright Trogon Photo Tours, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

PO Box 1505
Fresno, TX 77455-1505

ph: 281-778-1486

nchappell@trogontours.net