Tawny-bellied Hermit

[James Babbitt]

I am a neophyte, slowly improving (compared to 20,000 photos ago) but still often disappointed in my finished product. This bird was shot in Ecuador in a flower garden with a Canon 5D4 and a 500 mm II lens off a tripod at a distance of about 18 feet. Settings were 1/2500 sec, f/5.6 and ISO of 800. Initial processing in DPP (small crop from left and bottom, transferred to PS 2020 for small amount of dodge and burn around the eye and face, and sharpened and NR with Topaz AI. Nothing was cloned or added. I am still unsure of my Save As settings so please guide me. The white area on the top of the bird's head is pollen, not blown highlights.

[gail bisson]

Hi James,
This is a solid first image. Great BG and the hummer is nice and sharp.
Processing looks good to me.
The main problem with this image is that the flower overwhelms the hummer. It looks like the flower was closer to the camera and this makes it look even bigger.
Gail