We traveled to the highlands of the Mindo Cloud Forest near Quito, Ecuador to photograph some of the most colorful and exotic birds in the Americas. The cool temperatures at high elevation made for perfect, relaxing conditions for our photo sessions.
The hummingbirds in the area are spectacular. We used three different methods to capture hummingbird images. For the first method we used very high shutter speeds, from 1/2000-1/12000 sec in natural light to freeze the wings and get sharp images. This method highlights feather details from wing tip to toe on these dazzling birds.
For a more creative technique we used slow shutter speeds in natural light to highlight the incredibly fast wing speed of the birds. We used shutter speeds from 1/20 to 1/250 seconds. This technique worked very well in lower light conditions and highlights the graceful movement of the birds.
For our final method, we used multi-flash set-ups to freeze the bird in mid-air, relying on the speed of the flash rather than shutterspeed. This method allows us to do things like capture the subtle movements of the racket-tails as the bird flies towards local flowers.
The perching birds in Ecuador are just as compelling as the hummingbirds. We spent several sessions focused on tanagers, flower piercers and other exotics like Euphonias and exotic jays.
A real highlight of the workshop is photographing larger birds like parrots, toucans and mountain toucanets and mot mots. Most of the reserves use local bananas to lure birds and other creatures into their strategically placed limbs. This means we can focus on photography rather than hiking out to find birds.
Finally, flowers are abundant in this part of Ecuador. This makes it the perfect place to photograph flowers and work on macro images. Native crocosmia, vibrant heliconias and delicate orchids attract hummingbirds to the reserves and are just steps away from our bird photography areas.
Want to join us in Ecuador in 2025? We are considering adding a session from January 11-18. Send us a note if you are interested, click here