Rufous Hummingbird - male

[Brad Manchas]

Two weeks ago the Rufous have returned to my area of the Pacific Northwest. I love this part of Spring just spending part of the day in the backyard capturing these little birds.

Shot using the 1D3, 500mm f/4 w/1.4x and 12mm of extension tubes from about 12'. Natural light, ISO 1600, f/5.6 (+1 EC), 1/250th. Feeder is just out of frame left. I am not happy with the background, as it just my shop wall about 60' back. A bit later in the year hanging plants will add color that will vary as I rearrange the plants for different looks.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/Bradklr/rufousmale20.jpg

[Randy Stout]

Brad:

A very nice capture. Sharp, well exposed. I like the variation of color in the gorget. Nice little drip on the beak. Nice composition. Even though the multi flash setups yield consistent and predictable results, I really enjoy seeing a natural light capture that displays as beautifully as this one.

Is it the color you don't like in the background, or its blandness?

Thanks for posting this beauty.

We only get ruby throated hummers here, and they are a month away. Snowed here yesterday.

Cheers

Randy

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Nice capture. Agree that the BG is not a really popping, in-your-face color, but still it kind of works. Love that red bib!

[Ilija Dukovski]

Brad, this is just a fantastic image.
Taken at ISO 1600 and yet I 'm having real trouble seeing any noise.
Natural lihght at 1/250 and as sharp as it gets.
I don't know about you, but to me the BG is a PERFECT addition to the overall feel.
Congratulation!

I think I'll make it a personal goal for me to get a hummer photo like this :)

Cheers, Ilija

[Stu Bowie]

I think the BG is great, as it makes the hummingbird pop nicely. I like the colours and detail on him too. Very well captured Brad.

[Brad Manchas]

Thank you all for your remarks, it is appreciated. While I agree the background works okay, it isn't as good as it can be based on the shots I took last year. With more natural colors of flowers and foliage diffused brings a better look, at least to my eye.

The 1D3 does do pretty well at higher ISO's but then so does the 40D and the 50D almost as well which I also shoot. But my post production has my using Neat Image as an integral part of the workflow. This iamge has had two passes of Neat to remove any hints of chroma and assist in keeping the background color gradients smooth, seems to work for me.

On natural light I have shot these birds with multi flash units, never seven or so that I seen here but up to 5 and while you can be sure of great light and color, it isn't quite the way I like to go. I like the challenge of small birds and in particular in my backyard, this is relaxing time for me. A cup of coffee, some nice light (yet to see that though) and the camera on the gimbal nearby and just watching all the activity.

Makes for a nice hour, day or weekend. And placing the lights and getting setup is all little too much like work. However Costa Rica in November means setting lights doing it the hard way for the sure results.

Thanks again for the comments!