Purple-throated Mountain-gem, female

[Tom Palmer]

Costa Rica, 450D, 70-200 f/4 IS USM,
I shot this in natural light, hand held at f/4, 1/20, ISO 400.
This is a new camera and lens for me, quite an upgrade from what I had before.
I’m new to this forum and hope to improve my photos.
The images posted her are amazing!

[Stephen Stephen]

Tom welcome to BPN. This is definitely a bird that I've never seen. I love the feather colours. The out of focus branch in the background tends to draws my eye. A slight head turn towards you would have improved the image as well. Thanks for sharing this species with us.

[Doug Brown]

Welcome Tom! Costa Rica is one of my favorite places to do bird photography! I like the fanned tail feathers. The perch is a little large for such a small bird. The OOF branch behind the bird is a bit of a distraction (if possible try shooting from a higher or lower angle relative to the bird to avoid BG distractions). I think the bird could stand some more sharpening. My suggestion is that if you're going to shoot hand held in low light, bump your ISO to 800; 1/20 is pretty slow. Look forward to seeing more of your photos!

[Tom Palmer]

Wow that’s quite a change! I have a lot to learn, thanks.

[Desmond Chan]

To me, I think the repost has over-done it. At least that's what looks like on my monitor. The natural-look of the first photo is lost. The perch now has blown highlights. Some of the distracting elements in the background now got emphasized. And some details in the shadow areas of the hummingbird now disappear. The taken out of the branch in the background is a good idea. I agree the colors could be enhanced a bit, too. Perhaps something in between the original and the repost should be in order?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN, Tom. Very nice first post. I don't think I've seen this species either. I like the colors and details in the repost as well as the removed branch but would tone down the highlights on the perch and add some room at the bottom. Keep them coming!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hi Tom, The nits have been mentioned already. In the meantime I took your image to give it the pep it needs.
I Qm-ed the back-branch out and applied a fair bit of sharpening. The sharpening brought out the fantastic irredescent colors of this bird. I also reduced the shine of the beak and brightened the eye a bit.
Peter, you did a great job here, but I believe the colors are over saturated and dark in your repost.

[Greg Basco]

I like Peter's repost but agree with Juan Carlos that the colors, particularly the rufous breast, are a bit oversaturated. Tom, where did you take this picture?

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Tom Palmer]

In our garden in San Ramon de Tres Rios.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Greg where do you live in Costa Rica?<o:p></o:p>

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Tom. I'm in Zarcero about halfway between San Jose and the Arenal Volcano. Peter, don't throw your PC away. The repost was much better :-) Sorry to critique you for just trying to help!

Cheers,
Greg

[Tom Palmer]

Peter that's a very nice improvement over the orginal.

Thanks,
Tom

[Desmond Chan]

The re-repost is much better. Thanks Peter !

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Thanks Greg, I'll give it another try. It was bothering me too much today.... I have been 'messing' with my color profiles too much lately. Had it wrong last night because I was printing earlier. I also corrected the errors of my quick fixes. Tell me if I need to reconsider...:p

..and Tom, I still like the picture. The head will be noticed by the HAP police.
Hello Peter!
We are in business now! I can almost touch this hummer. Very good job. :D

[Gus Cobos]

I like your final post Peter. It looks very good...looking foward to your next one...:cool: