Fiery-throated Hummingbird Photography Holidays

Photographing Fiery-throated Hummingbird One of the most spectacular hummingbirds in the Americas, & one of the most demanding to photograph well. The throat of the Fiery-throated Hummingbird is a patchwork of iridescent copper, gold, blue, & violet that only reveals its full brilliance in direct frontal light at precisely the right angle – from the wrong position it reads as plain dark. Confined to cloud-forest edges above 1,200 metres in the Costa Rican highlands, it rewards a purposeful visit to the right elevation with images that are almost impossible to capture elsewhere. Where NaturesLens Takes You NaturesLens photographs the Fiery-throated Hummingbird on its Costa Rica cloud-forest trips, visiting garden feeders & flowering treelines in the Cerro de la Muerte highlands & Poás-area cloud forest. Dawn light on the Pacific-facing slopes produces the most dramatic colour rendering on the multi-toned gorget. Photography Technique & Gear Position yourself so the sun strikes the gorget head-on – this transforms a dark-throated bird into something incandescent. Shoot at 1/2000 s or faster in burst mode, as perching positions rarely last. A 300-500mm zoom at f/5.6-f/7.1 provides enough depth of field to keep bill & throat simultaneously sharp. Moving your position even 30° sideways can make or break the image: angle of light is everything. The photography holidays listed below operate in regions & habitats where the Fiery-throated Hummingbird is regularly encountered. As with all wildlife photography, sightings can never be guaranteed, but our itineraries are designed around seasonal behaviour, suitable habitat, & photographic opportunity, giving you the best possible chance of meaningful encounters in the field. Our small-group approach allows time in the field to adapt to conditions, behaviour, & photographic opportunities as they unfold. You can photograph the Fiery-throated Hummingbird in Costa Rica. During our photography holidays, the Fiery-throated Hummingbird is often photographed alongside Basilisk Lizard, Blue Jeans Poison Dart Frog, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Collared Aracari, & Emerald Toucanet. Seasonal presence & photographic opportunity vary by location & time of year. Photography themes commonly associated with this species include amphibian macro photography, Costa Rican photography, Costa Rican wildlife, frog photography, macro photography of flowers, insects & other miniature flora & fauna, & macro photography subjects.