Another shot of a Sword Billed Hummingbird found at Zuro Loma Reserve in Ecuador.  This was one of my favorite properties to visit and I highly recommend you do as well if you also want to discover the nature that Ecuador has to offer.

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One of the craziest Hummingbirds I have ever encountered.

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When visiting family back in December one of my aunts told me that she likes photos of Hummingbirds and flowers. I took that as a challenge to impress her with photographs that feature Hummingbirds and flowers knowing that I could take some during my Ecuador trip.   I hope others enjoy these photographs as well.

The secondary Hummingbird on the bottom is a Tyrian Metaltail for those interested.

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Another shot from Ama Ecolodge. I love this photograph and I think it represents a photography style that I have created for myself very well.

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I took a bunch of shots of this Equatorial Antpitta and I thought this particular pose was one of the most fun. This is a resident of Zuro Loma Reserve (@zuro_loma_reserve) which is owned by Dario’s family, our local Ecuadorian guide. This property was one of my favorites that we have visited so far.

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Here is the first of many photos to come from Ecuador. This photograph is for my wife. She loves owls and so do I. Pygmy Owls in particular are a special bird to us so I worked really hard to get this photograph for her since she did not join me on this adventure.  There was a very bushy tree or two in front of me but I found a small opening so that I could capture this photo.

Our friend Dennis from Costa Rica, who is a nature/wildlife/birding guide and amazing photographer himself (@geoexpeditionscr_), invited us to join his first group birding tour in Ecuador after deciding to expand his business to another country. Since this trip is focused on photography my wife decided to stay home with our dog Maple while I came to Ecuador to capture exotic Nature Content for you. I’m still currently here as of this post. It has been really great but very long hours so finding time to sort and develop my photographs has been challenging.

Our local guide Dario (@dario_hipo_wild_photography) found this Andean Pygmy Owl for us. He has also been an amazing guide and I hope to work with him again in the future.

A lot more to come from Ecuador!

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A couple of California Towhee hanging out on a damp Winter morning.

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This is a female White Crowned Sparrow which can be distinguished from a male as it doesn’t actually have a white crown.

This is called sexual dimorphism: where the different sexes of the same species look a little different. To give a counter example: Bald Eagles are not sexually dimorphic by coloring. You may not be able to tell if a Bald Eagle is male or female because they look very similar, only their size is different. But many birds are sexually dimorphic and the females and males are distinct in coloring and/or patterns.

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I knew this photograph was going to be good when I took the shot. I knew it was going to be good because I knew that the blue feathers of the California Scrub Jay would contrast well against the rest of the scene which consists of warmer tones. I knew that the cool blue feathers would pop because they are in focus and sharp as opposed to the rest of the photograph that is warm and out of focus behind the Jay.

I hope this insight helps someone take better photographs.

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