Little Hermit visiting Rattlesnake flower

[Greg Basco]

Hi, folks. I haven't done much hummingbird photography lately but I went recently with Doug Brown before our Costa Rica workshop to test out a new hummingbird feeder area that I've set up in a lowland rainforest here. It's attracting some very interesting lowland species, and one I was particularly interested in was the little hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus). One of the flowers it likes best is the rattlesnake plant (Calathea crotalifera). I really wanted a nice image showing this hummingbird visiting this flower. Since the area is still getting ramped up, the volume of hummingbirds isn't yet comparable to highland areas like Monteverde (indeed it probably never will be given the lowland location). So, I set up for the long haul and, after about five hours was rewarded with this frame, which I think is quite nice. I like hummingbird images that make the bird part of the image rather than the sole or even principal focus, so this is what I envisioned. The flower grows commonly in rainforest light gaps, so BG and lighting scheme were chosen to give a filtered sunny tropical forest gap look. I rather like the OOF wasp in the corner but I'm sure some will disagree.

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Tech: Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 70-300 mm f4-5.6 L IS zoom, tripod, cable release, radio flash triggers, four flashes (you don't need more!), plastic chair Post: Very slight crop (though I like the full-frame I thought slightly cropped would work better for the forum), cloned one catchlight from the bird's eye, and that's it Field: Set up in my new hummingbird area, flower baited with sugar water, printed BG Comments always appreciated. Cheers, Greg Basco

[jack williamson]

Greg I like this alot. I like the space, the hummer and the flower are sharp, the lighting is great. The diagonal stem behind the flower and the oof wasp distracts to me. It would have been great for the wasp to be in focus.

Jack

[EzhilSuresh]

Greg, like the dynamic shot. Very nice colours, sharpness looks very good. I feel this almost looks like a painting. Thanks for the technicals. What was the f-stop and shutter speed used to capture this?

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Wow! very nice image Greg! ideed, you have been gone for long time! but as soon as I saw the thumbnail I recognized your work. This must be one of the hardest hummers to photograph since they move fast are not so numerous in the rain forest. So getting this bird and one of its fav. plats is a real bonus. Nice wing and tail pose, as you mention, the OOF wasp don't do much in my opinion.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wowee that is nice. I love that the bird is small in the frame next to the flower. Beautiful vivid greens, and the techs are all spot on. I wasn't sure what the wasp was until you mentioned it, and for that reason I think it could go. If it was easier to Identify then it would be better to keep.

Hope you had fun with the Ottawa folks that were down in CR last month...I've seen some wonderful photos from those workshops!:w3

[Greg Basco]

Thanks, everybody, for your comments. I have an affinity for that wasp but do understand the argument for taking it out. I wish it had been on the same plane.

Daniel, I did indeed have -- all very nice people! Thanks very much for your comments on the loose comp :-)

Ezhil, I'm sorry I forgot to post the shooting settings. They were as follows: f13, 1/200, ISO 250

Cheers,
Greg

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent composition with the diagonal stem and the beautiful flower, like Dan I am not sure about the wasp as I cannot identify what it was w/o reading your description but I understand you like it, it does give some depth to the image

[gail bisson]

Another vote for zapping out the bumblebee. I like the composition and the slightly opened up body position of the hummer. Great BG. When I first viewed this image I didn't like the stem on the left but it has grown on me . I like the "fuzz" around the flower. Lots to look at in this shot. I like it,
Gailbut

[Doug Brown]

<embed id="application/x-exifeverywhere" type="application/x-exifeverywhere" width="0" height="0">Your hard work at the lodge paid off with a very nice frame of a cool little species. People should follow your example of complete tech info on your photo: ".......plastic chair........." :t3

[Greg Basco]

Doug, it was a Canon chair, the new one with IS!

Cheers,
Greg

[Peter Seidel]

Very nice Greg. I like seeing the feeding shots where it's more "in context" with the surroundings. Mine tend to be short range so I tend to get tunnel-vision trying to get the hummingbird to dominate the scene, which doesn't always work. I don't have a preference on the bee - I'd probably keep it in. I may try cropping out the large stem to see how that works with just flower, hummingbird and bee. I like the framing a lot, but for some reason that large stem is a bit distracting to me.

Pete