Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Lifting from a Wet Arenal Leaf

The bird rises beside a rain-covered leaf with one wing open and its rufous tail dropped into a warm fan at Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa in Costa Rica. The green body, reddish tail and red-based bill mark this widespread Central American garden hummingbird. The exposure of 1/3200 sec, f/4 and ISO 3200 freezes the decisive body position and separates the principal wing and tail feathers while retaining only fine traces of motion at the fastest edges; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.