Rufous Hummingbird II

[Gail Spitler]

Hello Everyone
I'm trying to stretch the limits of hummer photographya wee bit with this image. The bird was 'hidden' in a forsythia bush late in the afternoon. I wanted to create an image where the bird is surrounded by the yellow of the bush, but I want the bird to still be a prominent feature of the image but subdued into the the bush.
Please let me know what you think. I feel like this was a trial to see how the image worked. Thanks ever so much for your suggestions and comments. They do mean a lot.

Canon 30D with 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6 at 1/2000, EV with 0 compensation, ISO 500

Cheers
Gail Spitler
British Columbia Canada

[Julie Kenward]

I really like it. Even though the background is "busy" it works IMHO. You don't have any really bad burned out areas (thanks to the yellow forsythia) so I think it really adds to the image.

If anything, I'd like to see you pull the shadows up a bit so his plumage is more evenly detailed. It sure is a stunning bird!

[Gayle Clement]

The color and pose are outstanding. I'm amazed at the detail in the feathers. Can you can do anything to even the shadow across the breast

[Brian Wong]

Hi Gail!

I get what you are trying to do, and your hummer is nice and sharp.

For me, what I see is 1) the nice hummer 2) the perch 3) the vertical branch to his right 4) the branch in the lower left corner 5) the partial green foliage in the lower right corner 6) the nice yellow OOF background. Perhaps if you wanted the feel of just having the hummer surrounded by yellow bush ... and you are not opposed to working on it, I would think that eliminating the various distractions (#3,4,5), and then slight blurring, and a few QM of some yellows (over the darker areas) to the nice background, might get you closer to your goal.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Gail I like what you are trying to do.

Got a couple of suggestions. The bg is fine but would move slightly to keep the sticks from coming out of his head. A step right or left will would do it. Fill flash would give you the fill light you need. The base exposure is good but the bird still looks dark in parts. CS could help but would rather have it as close as possible from the capture !!!

[Gail Spitler]

Hi All
Thanks very much for the comments and suggestions. I think the suggestion of the fill flash is a good idea, everyone commented on the shadows across the bird. Another biggy for me to pay attention to is defined and undefined structure that distracts the viewer from the subject of the image; i.e., in focus or out of focus sticks next to or growing out of the bird. Brian's running through all the objects in the image and asking which ones are part of my objective was a good exercise for me.
I also much appreciate the support I found in the comments for trying to get a 'different' hummingbird image.
Thanks again
Gail Spitler
British Columbia Canada

[Harold Davis]

gail, i love you hummingbird and agree with brian's points. adding some more yellows in the bg would be a bonus. i cant wait to see some more of these guys!!

[Gail Spitler]

I should have asked this earlier. In Brian's post he mentions adding a few QM of some yellow, what are QM's? They can't be question marks???
Help, please

Gail

[Lance Peters]

Hi Gail - Quick Maks in Photoshop as per Robert O'Tooles APTAT CD- Highly recommend the CD, it is a few dollars well spent. It really is very easy and gives you the basics of how to easily and quickly remove distracting elements in your shots.

Nice bird - by the way.

Lance

[Gus Cobos]

Gail,
Very nice composition, love the colors on your hummer, the background does not bother me that much. But I would recommend to clip that twig to the right of the bird just above the double knot so it can be balanced with the one on the left...:D

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great looking hummingbird Gail, Agree with Gus on that the background is ok. I would also remove the twigs and the shadows.
Congrats