"Pin-up" of the Day

[Craig Markham]

MK3L0428.CR2 -- fem Anna's Hummingbird
01/04/10 11:11:58 AM
Canon EOS-1D Mark III
EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Manual Exposure
Evaluative Metering
1/100, f/8.0, ISO 800
Flash Exposure Compensation-2
Uncropped image

Not exactly your Alan Murphy setup, so I'm posting here. This little lady made me smile when she took a breather next to a clothespin on my clothesline. She was in dark shade, and I set up so that the BG was the brighter gray sky and barren trees in the distance. Fill flash was essential. Cropped, this image also yields a nice sharp close-up portrait, but there's still that plastic clothesline o:eek:o.

As for the obvious "hand-of-man", I have to ask how different in intent, really, is this clothesline "setup" compared to a contrived "natural" setup composed of flowered branches clamped to a tripod, or a disguised plastic birdbath with an I-V drip bag overhead?

Nearby, I do have a nectar feeder and some winter-beaten fuschias that she visits. Without them, chances are she would not have landed on the line, and you would not be seeing this image. So together we, and my visitor, enjoy a mutual benefit.

Enjoy, comments welcome,
Craig

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Craig,
You just brought a smile to my face...:) This is as natural as can be...especially if you have a feeder near by. The little guy looks a tad tired and pooped out from his daily activity (feeding, and more feeding):D I like this capture because it gives us a sense of the little fellow's size in comparison to the cloths pin. I like the feather details and the color rendition...well done Sir...keep them coming...:cool:

[Lance Peters]

COOL - that is one small bird :) -- Really great to give the idea of the size of this little guy - amazing and smaller and he would be a bumblebee ;)
Good HA and eye contact and sharp.
Like it.

[Bill Dix]

Not your classic avian shot, but I love it -- the use of the clothespin as a scale reference is terrific. On my monitor it almost looks as if the focus point is on the clothespin rather than the bird, but others have noted how sharp the bird looks, so must be me. In any case, well done!

[Myer Bornstein]

Craig
great shot and the humming bird is a good addition to the picture;)

[Katie Rupp]

Unusual and interesting image and I wonder how it would look if it were rotated cw so the clothesline horizontal? On another note, how great that you can use a clothesline (not allowed in my complex); nothing like the smell of clean sheets from the line.
Katie

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Interesting OOTB thinking, maybe move subjects left/right out of the center - well done.