PHOTOGRAPH and Live View Focusing Technique

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Photographing A Harpy Eagle + Canon 800mm f/5.6 lens review and Live View Focusing Technique

 Harpy Eagles are the AH-64 Apache gunship helicopters of the jungle:

  • Stalking the Shadows – Harpy eagles fly below the canopy in the dense shadowy forest hunting for sloths and monkeys.
  • High-Speed Flight – A harpy eagle can reach speeds of over 50mph while attacking prey in a dive.
  • Vertical Flight Capabilities – They have short, broad wings and can fly almost straight up, too, so it can attack prey from below as well as above.

Harpy eagle chick in the Peruvian Amazon

  • Advanced Target Acquisition – A Harpy eagle can turn its head upside down to get a better look at its potential meal. They also have excellent vision and can see something less than 1 inch (2 centimeters) in size from almost 220 yards (200 meters) away.
  • Serious Weapons – Harpy Eagles have huge talons. Their rear talons can reach over 5 inches long – the same size as a grizzly bear’s claws!
  • How rare are harpy eagles? I don’t really know but they are pretty damn rare and seeing a chick in the wild is almost impossible.

Canon 800mm f/5.6 IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (Photograph and Live View Focusing Technique)


I have a Canon 800mm f/5.6 and take it everywhere with me. The lens weighs almost 10 lbs so it can be a little difficult hiking with it in the jungle but it’s totally worth it when I get a good shot.

Here is why I love my 800 (Photograph and Live View Focusing Technique):

  • Largest Lens That Canon Makes: That’s cool.
  • Fluorite Lens Elements: This lens is really really sharp. I think that it could be the sharpest lens that I have ever used. The reason for this is two fluorite lens elements, one UD element, and one Super-UD-glass element.  This makes for outstanding correction of chromatic aberrations and extreme contrast and sharpness.
  • Magnesium Alloy Construction – I constantly bang my cameras and lenses into trees while walking in the jungle. This lens takes all the punishment and keeps ongoing. One time I slipped and fell and slammed the lens onto some rocks and it didn’t break. It also has weather-resistant gaskets that really come in handy in the rain.
  • Image Stabilization: The lens is image stabilized, providing up to 4 stops of correction for camera shake. Now, even though I shoot from a tripod the image stabilization help steady the image when shooting at extremely high magnifications like when I shoot with a crop sensor (1280mm) or with a 2x Teleconverter (2560mm)

Photographing The Rings On Saturn: This lens is so awesome you can take a picture of the rings on Saturn with it. Also, on a clear night you can see the banded clouds on Jupiter and some of its moons.Saturn

Photography Technique: 

harpy eagle chick in tambopata 4

A lot of people ask me about the camera settings that I use.  Here is what I do:

    • Aperture Priority: Aperture priority, often abbreviated A or Av (for aperture value) on a camera mode dial, is a setting on some cameras that allows the user to choose a specific aperture value while the camera selects a shutter speed to match, thereby ensuring proper exposure.
    • Aperture – I use the camera in Aperture Priority mode. I set and leave the aperture value. I set the Av to f/5.6 and never move it. I do this because I want to get as much light as possible into the camera. The lighter the camera gets the quicker the shutter speed can be. The quicker the shutter speed is the less chance of a blurry image.

Also…

    • ISO – I set and leave the ISO – I normally set the ISO to 800 when I start shooting. In very basic terms, ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. I increase the ISO in order to reduce the shutter speed. Again, the quicker the shutter speed is the less chance of a blurry image.
    • Shutter Speed – When you are shooting in Aperture priority the camera automatically chooses the shutter speed. To make sure that the settings are correct I use something called the reciprocal rule. The basics of this rule state that if you’re hand-holding your camera, your shutter speed should not be slower than the reciprocal of your effective focal length in order to avoid “camera shake,” i.e. the blur that results from any slight movement of the camera during the capture of the image. I shoot off a tripod but I use long focal length lenses that are susceptible to any little shake or vibration so I still think that this is a pretty good rule of thumb.

Live View Focusing

Harpy Eagle Mommy

I also use something called “Live View Focusing” to get perfect focus and sharp images:

  • Live View and Zoom: I set the lens to manual focus and switch the camera into live view mode. I then zoom into the image and manually focus on the eye or beak of the bird.
  • Focus on the catch light: For super sharp focus I focus on the reflection (sometimes called “Catchlight”) in the eye of the bird.
  • Timer Mode: I switch the camera’s shutter release mode into the two-second timer.  This way I won’t be touching the camera when the photo is taken. This reduces camera shake and vibration. You can also use a cable release to take the photo as well. Using this technique can make the images a lot sharper. It’s good to note that this focusing technique can also be used for macro photography. I use it all the time when I’m taking pictures of bugs.

So that’s how it’s done, folks. I hope that this article and video helped a little bit and gave you some ideas to try out and let me know how you like using the Live View Focusing Technique.  I think that it’s pretty cool. I’m going to start making more videos and writing more articles so stay tuned. I put some more pictures that I took on the trip below. – Jeff

Trogon in Tambopata

Trogon

Aracari in TambopataAracari in Tambopata

slug-caterpillar-in-TambopataSlug Moth Caterpillar

Hunting-SpiderHunting Spider

Juvenile-Cara-Cara-2Juvenile Cara Cara

Dusky-Titi-Monkey-in-TambopataTiti Monkey

Giant-River-Otter-in-TambopataGiant River Otter

Stink-Bug-in-the-Peruvian-AmazonStink bug

Black-Vulture-in-TambopataVulture

Yellow-crowned-parrot-in-the-peruvian-AmazonYellow-crowned parrot

Fauna - Amphibians & Reptiles - Rosmarie Lerner (3)

A Caiman lurks beneath the water’s surface in Tambopata. Photo by Rosmarie Lerner.

Spectacled Caiman

 

 

Hoatzin by Jeff Cremer

Hoatzin

 

By Jeff Cremer

  • What our guest say

    • Valuation Excellent
    • 5/5

Nancy Hodgson March 2026

Lesly Lagos March 2026

Batya K. February 2026

S. K. February 2026

Julian S January 2026

Flora Warfel January 2026

Julian Sack January 2026

Laura Franklin December 2025

Lee Wozencroft December 2025

Suraj Vijayan December 2025

Claudia A. January 2026

AMJNZ November 2025

This trip was the highlight of our travels through peru. The lodge was absolutely 5 stars for everything. The room, food, people. We had a private guide, Allen, who grew up locally and really had deep knowledge of the land, the history, and the variety of plant and animal species in the jungle. His knowledge and passion were invaluable to our experience. There are a variety of tour companies and lodges you can book to visit the Amazon, however, I would only recommend Rainforest Expeditions as they are truly connected to the community and offer high quality first class amazon experience! Read all

We had a truly wonderful stay with Rainforest Expeditions. Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming, and our guide was fantastic — very knowledgeable and passionate about the rainforest. We saw many animals, even from the boat, which made the experience unforgettable. Read all

I just spent 3 days here with my family. The research center surpassed all our expectations. I want to give a special shout out to Carlos who took such good care of us. He went above and beyond to make sure we werr comfortable. And he was always smiling. He made us feel so welcome. We had Erik as our guide who is so knowledgeable and experienced. We learned so much, saw so much wildlife. It really was a dream vacation. Thank you!! Read all

Chose this place to stay at the Amazon, as I heard it benefits the local indigenous community. Life changing experience. Oscar was an excellent guide! We saw so many wildlife! No 4th wall made it such an immersive jungle experience. Since they are eco friendly, there is no AC. It can get pretty hot depending on the season. So better to follow their guidance for clothing choices Read all

If you want to experience the Amazon in all its glory This is the place to come to Staff and guides were excellent Food was just incredible The forest walks were really interesting and informative Read all

If you are a birder, ask for Juan Carlos Yatto. He recognizes an astounding number of bird calls and can duplicate many of them. This place is magical, all I could have imagined. All the staff and scientists are incredible. The experience of a lifetime. Read all

This was the most amazing experience Very well organised The ground staff were so well organised The guides were excellent ( I’m looking at you Carlos!) Food was tasty and very varied Amazed that the chefs managed to get such variety in the middle of the Amazon Do not hesitate Book immediately you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended Read all

I can not say enough good things about my time at the Tambopata Research Center. Between the guides, the boat drivers, the chefs, the staff, the bartenders, the researchers, etc. Everyone was absolutely wonderful! If you are interested in viewing wildlife in the Amazon, this is the place for you! A special thank you to the maître d' Carlos who was so incredibly kind and hospitable and our guide Dino who was like a real life Indiana Jones. I can't wait to come back! Read all

An unforgettable, fully immersive jungle experience. Amazing how Tambopata Lodge delivers luxury touches in such a remote and rugged location. The food is fantastic, the staff incredible, and the wildlife sightings non-stop. The personalised itinerary and one-on-one guiding made the trip truly special—huge thanks to our guide Johan for sharing his passion and knowledge. The Macaw Project is inspiring, and it’s clear the lodge fully supports this important conservation work. Manager Brian was always kind, helpful. Well-done all involved. Read all

The most important fact we are grateful for is the true sense of understanding of the ecology of the Amazon the staff at Rainforest Expeditions (RFE) have shown us. RFE stands out for its stand against the pure, profit-motive initiatives many other tour operators do. We are very grateful to have had Carlos as our guide. Carlos is deeply dedicated, and is able to explain the nuances of the flora and fauna. The world today needs to act as one against the impact of climate change. RFE is one, bright shining light in this regard. Read all

We had a fabulous trip! The people were amazing, kind and very professional. The food was exceptionally good! The facilities are beautiful and well kept. We just loved our second time with Rainforest Expeditions and can't wait to go again!! Read all

Fantastic to be deep in the forest surrounded by incredible wildlife with our amazing guide Juan Carlos Yatto, who really knew his stuff! Also his photography skills meant that we could share our experience even better through his telescope using our phone cameras! We learned so much!! He went to extra lengths to find butterflies and moths for us along with so many different birds and monkeys. This was a travel highlight for us as experienced wildlife travellers. We loved our spacious room with no windows and open to more wildlife visitors but after 5 nights the bed could have been a little more comfortable. Luckily we had a second bed to use. Otherwise it was fantastic with hot water showers and fresh drinking water all the time. We were amazed at the variety of food on offer for breakfast, lunch and dinner and couldn’t believe they could have such a wonderful food offering in such a remote location. Even the wine and cocktails were great. I highly recommend spending the extra money and time getting to this location. We stayed at another lodge later which was closer to Puerto Maldonado and there was far less wildlife. Read all

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