Green-crowned brilliant exorcist move

[Greg Basco]

Hi, and sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've been busy redesigning my websites:(. But I did find some time to shoot hummingbirds a few months ago. I was with a friend and we set up using his Nikon gear. I was happy with this shot because I decided to go for a complicated setup mixing in lots of vegetation and then was rewarded with this crazy head turn.

This was done with multi-flash technique near a feeder setup. The background is a print of OOF cloud forest vegetation. The flower is a native Costus and was baited with sugar water to attract the birds. Shot near where I live in highland Costa Rica.

82783

Tech: Nikon D700, Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 lens, tripod, multiple flashes, SU-800 to trigger them, f8, 1/200, ISO 320
PP: full-frame image and aside from a slight vibrance bump in Lightroom this is straight from the RAW file

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Greg, the image design is very nice and the BG is working. Yes, unique head turn indeed. Its interesting to see what gets captured with these multi-flash setups.....things that naked eye simply cannot see.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wicked pose - at first glance I thought it was belly up! Love the colours and comp. I only wish the FG OOF leaves were not there.

[Jim Crosswell]

Very unique head turn. I like the sharpness of the bird and flower. I think it would be better with the OOF FG plant not being there but you were going for a complicated set-up. Great image Greg!

[Scott Frye]

Wow looks like a 3D picture on my monitor. Color and shaprness are first rate. I've looked at this picture several times and shared it with everyone in the house -- its one of my favorites

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice one Greg!
This one is very different to any other HB image that I have seen before and to me that makes it special.

I know how much you like these guys and that you also like to try new things when it comes to HB photography, so well, this one has paid off! very good results. I do like the OOF leaves, they look like brush strokes to me, very artistic!

[Pieter de Waal]

Wow unique capture Greg. I like the image for its natural feel despite being a setup.

[Dan Brown]

Hey Greg! Love the BG and the OOF forground veg! Nice setup! The crazy head turn is a real bonus!

[Christoph Belanger]

Love this shot. I think the blurry vegetation adds a lot to the acrobatic position of the bird and in-the forest look. Well done

[Keith Bauer]

Greg: That is one scary looking pose. The "Owl Hummingbird" comes to mind with a head turn like that!! I like the OOF leaves in the foreground. Looks very natural to me. The background is also a bonus on this. It looks very natural. Of course your hummingbird lighting is second to none!!

[gary rouleau]

The Zen of flight! Like everyone else I think its a fabulous shot, I just wonder if a little more room to the right would work.
cheers
gary

[Greg Basco]

Hi, and thanks to all of you for your thoughtful comments. I'm glad that the majority found the OOF vegetation to work in bringing an added, natural sense of depth to the image. Gary, I agree that a bit more room on the right would not have hurt, but this is the absolute full-frame as presented so it will have to stay as is.

Cheers,
Greg Basco