A snowy perch

[Craig Markham]

Canon EOS-1D Mark III
EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
12/29/09 4:00:53 PM
Manual Exposure
Evaluative Metering
1/30 sec, f/10.0, ISO 800
External E-TTL
Flash Exposure Compensation -1
Originally landscape orientation
cropped to portrait orientation using full height of LS image,
approx 50% of original area.

Anna's hummingbirds come to our feeder year-around. We're always careful to keep the nectar thawed out during these winter days. This resident female rested for a few moments on a hazelnut branch during an unusual (for this area) 3-inch snowfall. She looked like she was enjoying the change from the preceding cold, clear nights. This is the same bird I photographed next to a clothespin on my clothesline, posted earlier in this forum.

Thanks for looking.

[Cheryl Flory]

great detail in the feathers and snow! wonderful eye contact and catchlight. might clone out the oof twig behind her bill, and maybe the bright one toward the upper right. but I like the extra snow on the large branch behind her. too bad about the oof one in the lower left, I doubt if that could be removed. I really like this image as hummers and snow just are never seen together around here! The little snow on the beak is the crowning touch for me.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Great moment in nature. I might swap some aperture for shutter and crop from top - thanks for sharing.

[Cheryl Flory]

would you keep both highlights in the eye?

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Craig,
I like this capture very much...you have fine feather details and good color rendition on your little guy. I would crop 1/4 from the top ans eliminate the half moon catch light from the lower portion of the eye...you have a good head angle and a clear sharp eye...looking forward to your next one...congrats...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Craig

Might fine capture with all that feather detail and sharpness !! Tempted to do some heavy duty work and remove the upper branch, its a real nice image. btw those little guys must have it tough in the winter having such small body mass !!!

[Lance Peters]

Very very nice - agree with the above comments.
Good show :)

[Anita Rakestraw]

Cool! I didn't know hummers and snow were ever found together!! :confused: Love the detail and how you caught the gold tones in his feathers.

[Craig Markham]

Thank you all for your kind comments and suggestions! I'm glad you enjoyed the image.

I spent the afternoon reworking. I think the URC branch reinforces the idea of a snowy environment, so I kept it in. The LLC branch contributed less to the story, so I cloned that out. I also removed the OOF twig behind the bird. The URC branch is a bit overweight, but without it, the composition becomes one more bird on a (snowy) stick. This snowfall/hummingbird combination was such a rare opportunity I just had to work around the tangle of twigs in the perching area.

I did remove the half-moon retinal flash reflection. The remaining catch light looks a bit pinpointy to me now.

Too often I get caught off guard by small foreground objects like blades of grass or twigs -- they can be nearly invisible through the viewfinder, but become bright flares and create off colors when the flash goes off. I was fortunate to avoid this for the most part, but it did create some extra work. More surgery than I usually care to do!

Well, after all that PP work, do you think it was worth it?

Did any of you catch the PBS "Nature" program Sunday night on Hummingbirds? Amazing! Some very interesting hi-tech video and still image techniques.

-- Craig

[Anita Rakestraw]

Craig, good work; you made just the right amount of changes and it looks great. As for the catchlight, probably would look fine to anyone not aware of that you modified it. Would it work any better for you if you softened it slightly or moved it from center, do you think?

[Mack Hicks]

Love to look at beautiful hummingbird photos. I do like removing the large LLC branch, but the OOF twig behind the head added some depth to the bill.