Broad-tailed Hummingbird

[Doug Brown]

Hi everyone. It's been a busy late summer for me, so I haven't had much time to participate on the forum. Just got my son off to his freshman year of college (that makes 3 out of 4 in college now); I definitely have mixed emotions about him leaving, but he's really excited. Here's a frame from a multiple flash hummingbird setup during a workshop I helped co-lead in Santa Fe, NM early last month. My friends up there have an incredible number of hummingbirds, even compared to Costa Rica!

Canon 1Dx, 500mm II, f/13, 1/160, ISO 200, manual exposure, hand held
One catchlight cloned out.

[vishaljadhav]

Amazing placement of the bird in the frame perfect. I love the details and the lovely details on the throat
Nice wing position and superb plain bg
those small feet look cute

[Barry Ekstrand]

Very nice Doug, great pose and colors. Was the shutter speed really 1/160 sec or was that a typo?

Barry

[Randy Stout]

Doug:

Very fine pose, like the tongue, but the subtle flashwork is what makes it for me. Good DOF also.

Santa Fe hummers. Another reason to come visiting I guess!

Cheers

Randy

[CM Prince]

Very detail picture of the hummingbird. But it look more like a Ruby-throated to me. Hope some day I can take a picture as great as this one.

[Doug Brown]

Very detail picture of the hummingbird. But it look more like a Ruby-throated to me. Hope some day I can take a picture as great as this one.

No Ruby-throated Hummers in this neck of the woods CM. The narrow feathers visible at the tops of the wings give the Broad-tailed Hummingbird its distinctive sound.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image with beautiful colors. Love the pose with nice wing position, great details,very nice HA, beautiful BG and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Doug Brown]

Very nice Doug, great pose and colors. Was the shutter speed really 1/160 sec or was that a typo?


Hi Barry. It's not a typo. Multiple flash hummingbird photography uses a principle called flash as main light. You underexpose by about 3 stops in camera and rely entirely on a burst of flash to expose the frame. The burst only lasts about 1/10,000 of a second and it becomes your effective shutter speed.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Nice pose, IQ, wing position & BG. Excellent flash work. TFS

[hennieloots]

Hi Doug. Absolutely gorgeous image. The IQ and details in the neck feathers are amazing. I agree on the comp and smooth, plain background. TFS. Hennie

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Great shot Doug.

The tongue out adds quite a bit to the dynamic pose - chest out, wings back.

Miguel

[Lyle Gruby]

Exposure couldn't be more perfect. IQ is top notch. Love that little bit of tongue sticking out with what appears to be a tiny amount of nectar. Just awesome. I guess I wouldn't mind a little more room on the bottom and a sliver more room on the right.

[Alan Murphy]

Nicely done Doug. Great detail.

[Markus Jais]

Stunning shot. Fantastic sharpness and details in the feathers.

How many flashes were used in this shot?

Markus

[Doug Brown]

Stunning shot. Fantastic sharpness and details in the feathers.

How many flashes were used in this shot?



Hi Markus. A total of 4 flashes were used for this setup.

[Doug Brown]

Thank you all for the comments! It feels good to be participating again!

[Greg Basco]

Fantastic flash work for a natural look, Doug!

Cheers,
Greg