American Dipper Spreading Its Wings in the Savegre River

An American Dipper holds both wings open in the rushing shallows, its pale gray body and fanned feathers patterned by rippling water at San Gerardo de Dota valley in Costa Rica. The American Dipper is specialized for fast mountain streams, using powerful legs and short wings to forage in and beneath rushing water. The exposure of 1/3200 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 5000 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.