Inspired by the paintings of John J. Audubon in the early 19th century whose art showed, in photographic terms, complete depth of field in which foreground birds were 'sharp' and the background landscapes were clearly defined as well, I've made a number of composites that show the same thing. This technique overcomes the limitations of the optics in our telephoto lenses that render nearby avian subjects with shallow focus. This composite consists of 5 images: 1 & 2) two shots of the same sunbittern as it took flight, 3) the landscape, 4) the clouds, and 5) the perch from which the bird in the lower right portion of the frame took off. Sunbitterns are frequently seen in the Pantanal region of Brazil, and they are unimpressive brown birds -- until they fly. The color and pattern on their wings is exceptionally beautiful. My settings for the birds in flight were 1/3200, f/11, and the ISO was on auto in conjunction with manual exposure mode.
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