One of the most visually arresting birds in the world is the scarlet ibis. I didn't use any post-processing techniques to enhance the color of this bird. It is naturally ultra saturated with an intense red-orange color. Even at great distances, you can immediately identify it. I have yet to photograph this species in flight (although I've captured other kinds of ibises in flight), but even so, a wading scarlet ibis in muted light and with a muted background is striking. I used a Canon 500mm f/4 telephoto to take this shot, and the settings were 1/500, f/5.6, and 1600 ISO. One of the advantages of a long lens is that it makes distant subjects appear to be eye-level because the lens itself is parallel to the ground. I hand held the camera and lens, and the exposure was determined by test shots. Saturated red, like white highlights, can blow out easily. I had to make sure this picture was exposed correctly to retain detail in the brilliant feathers.
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