Rainforest photography

I've decided to do another photo tour to Costa Rica with a new itinerary because the nature photography there is so amazing. In one of the lodges I'll use this time, for example, there are over 400 different species of birds that have been recorded. And the birds are the LBJ types (little brown jobs). Most of them are brilliantly colored with stunning markings. One of my favorites is the aracari toucan pictured here. Photographing in low light environments like a dense rainforest requires a high ISO unless you use flash. I feel that flash has such an artificial look to it that I use it only when absolutely necessary. I was just introduced to an amazing noise-reducing program called Neat, and when high ISO settings are required, it does an amazing job at eliminating noise without reducing sharpness. It will be featured in the Feb. issue of my free monthly eMgazine, Photo Insights that will come out in a few days. My settings for this picture were 1/320, f/4, 1250 ISO and I used a 500mm lens on a tripod. This photo has not been cropped.