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View Full Version : When left with Lemons....



Steve Wheeler
03-04-2008, 07:35 PM
... Make lemonade. Or at least try.

This was taken back in September on one of my first trips to the lake with my then new 30D and a rented 100-400 trying to get egret or heron shots. I'm sitting in a little clump of trees on the shore line trying to be as unobtrusive as I can make myself. Still a little blurry eyed and trying to finish my coffee I hear something buzzing around. My eyes finally catch up to the source of the hummmmm and I get all excited. This little hummer is flying in and out of minimum focus distance, there's no light because it's still 6:30 in the morning, but I'm following him around like there's no tomorrow. I got several "Shots" if you want to call them that... Of course everything was way underexposed so I tried to make something out of nothing here.

Curious if you all think I made it all the way to lemonade or not.

Steve

Alfred Forns
03-04-2008, 07:47 PM
Close to lemonade I can taste it !!! Great idea on going B&W Would clean up the flower a bit Should be easy The only thing I would have liked is for the wings to be sharp I find silhouettes need sharp edges to work best !!!

Good thinking I like it a lot !!!

Steve Wheeler
03-04-2008, 07:57 PM
Thanks Alfred.... I always appreciate your feedback. Understood about the sharpness and silhouettes. To be honest and not that I know any more about what I'm doing now, but I REALLY didn't have a clue when this was taken. Shot at ISO 200 & 1/500 there was no way I was going to stop those hummingbird wings.

They say the only bad experience is one you don't learn anything from!

Thanks again!

Steve

Judd Patterson
03-05-2008, 01:38 AM
Hey Steve, this is really an interesting image and something that I thinks works well given the conditions! It's a beautiful silhouette and the blurred wings don't really bother me. Great way to work this situation to come out with a unique image!

Robert Amoruso
03-05-2008, 12:12 PM
Interesting interpretation. Given that it is a hummer, I think we can forgive the blur on the wing Alfred. :) Other parts of the silhouette are very sharp.

Fabs Forns
03-05-2008, 12:21 PM
Interesting effect. I have an alternate version, using Nik Color Effex 3.0 Dual color filter twice.
Bo better, no worse, just another image :)

Steve Wheeler
03-05-2008, 01:48 PM
Judd, Robert, Fabs.... Thank you all for your comments! Fabs... I like your rendition too... Adds a very nice touch.

Steve

Gus Cobos
04-02-2008, 05:41 PM
Very nice Steve... Like the composition:)

Van Hilliard
04-04-2008, 07:13 AM
I'll take it as is. The silhouette is beautifully composed. Alfred's point on cleaning up the flower is good – if you're included to make such changes. I think the wing blur, if anything, says it's a hummingbird. Very effective.