Male Talamanca Hummingbird Flying Toward the Camera Between Branches

A male flies almost directly toward the camera between slender branches, spreading both wings around a turquoise throat and violet crown at Batsu Gardens in Costa Rica. Restricted to the Costa Rica-Panama highlands, this large hummingbird was formerly grouped with Rivoli's Hummingbird; the male flashes a violet crown and turquoise throat, while the female has mottled gray underparts and a white postocular mark. The exposure of 1/4000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 6400 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.