Little Jewel

[jack williamson]

Nikon D700, 300mm f2.8, tripod, SB900 flash. 1/200, f8, iso 400. Adjusted +.45 exposure, small vibrance in acr. This is about 60% of the original. This was last september before the hummers went south. This is an althea (hibiscus) that I placed in a tripod handle and poured a little sugar water in the flower. A feeder was close by. I had an sb900 flash in the hotshoe set manually. I love these little birds and can't wait for their return.

[Carmelo Cannova]

Beautiful colors and vibrant BG. Just wish I could see a little of the beak.

Carmelo

[dankearl]

Jack, A very nice comp with the foliage leading up to the hummer.
Not your usual IQ to me though, I would go with a looser crop and better IQ for this lovely image.
Not that it is bad, just a bit of noise and some sharpening halo around the bird.
Easy fixes for a very nice photo.

[Don Nelson]

Since this was a setup, but with just one flash -- have you considered a multi-flash setup for this year? That would eliminate the motion blurring in the rear end/tail, as well as always ensuring the wing was sharp (although you'd have to take sequences to get the wing up position similar to the one here.). Linda Robbins has an outstanding CD -- although you can find most of the information by dilligently searching the web.

I think this image has good IQ in the flower, head, upper body and wings -- although the bird might need just a little more darkening to bring out the details fully.

I would have wished for just a little more of the beak showing -- its pretty deep in the flower for my taste, although you might otherwise prefer.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jack, I like your comp as is, nicely stretched diagonally across the frame. Good sharp detail considering the use of a single flash, which shows up the iridescence nicely. Another vote for seeing a hint of the bill.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Jack, lots of good pointers above. I like this composition a lot. good call on the f-stop and setting yourself up perfectly to get this angle.

[Daniel Cadieux]

You got some good advice, and I concure. Beautiful colours, and I like the strong diagonal of the composition.

[jack williamson]

Many thanks folks.

Jack

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot. Beautiful flower, lovely background, and I really like the comp.Well done.

[jack williamson]

Thank you Robert.

Jack

[Raul Padilla]

nice setup, great moment, i will see as little more of the bill out of the flower