Ruby-throat, female

[Allen Sparks]

Canon 7D, 70-200mm II plus 2x III TC
ISO 500, 1/2000, f9, two speedlites (580 EX II and 430 EX II)

[Colin Knight]

I think the crop is dead on. Lightening the head/eye area may benefit you. Also, seems a little soft around the eye. I would like a little less wing blur, but I'm not saying that the wings have to be stopped for a good hummingbird shot. Love how the bird is fully engaged in the flower! Thanks for sharing!

[Mike Wilhelm]

Allen,

The background is great; soft and clean. I like the flower and stem. They really stand out and make the image a total package. The color and reflectiveness on the bird itself is quite captivating. While the eye may be a bit dark, it is well defined and caught the light nicely. This ranks as an excellent shot in my book. Congratulations!

[Steve Wasson]

Lovely image, Allen! I agree with Colin: lightening/sharpening the head with enhance the image.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Allen. Very nicely done for a hummer image using only 2 flashes. Nice comp and background, and the red flower really adds some punch. The suggested tweak of lightening/sharpening the head is worth considering. Another minor tweak would be to clone the two clipped curled leaves on either side of the stem at the very top. Overall, this is well done.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Neat! I like how deep inside the flower the bill is. The clipped leaves at top, and clipped "bud" in LLC would have me hoping you have a bit of canvas to add back top and left. I'd also prefer a wings in an open back position. Nice quality to the image, very intimate and effecrive in its' simplicity.

[Arthur Morris]

I'll be the hard-to-please odd man out here as I disagree pretty much with everyone above. :) While I do not mind the blurred wingtips and the EXP is good and the eye is sharp the bird is simply too big in the frame. The bird and the flower need lots more room; perhaps a VERT.

The problem with lack of light on the face is caused by my dear friend, poor head angle. With the head turned slightly away from us it is turned slightly away from the light and is thus in shadow. Some things never change :).

[Phillip Tomkinson]

Hi a cool image with a very nice back ground.

Phil.

[Stu Bowie]

Cool feeding behaviour captured Allen, and I like the green iridescence on the HB. In going with the left hand stem, I would probably crop away a touch from the top.