Hummingbird in flight (first time posting)

Hello all! I am happy to join your forum. I consider myself a rank amateur, as I am 18 and have been shooting birds for a little over a year.

http://i.imgur.com/qfko8de.jpg

I would appreciate any critique on this shot. I believe t It was taken in Flagstaff, AZ, on a cloudy day. Shot with Nikon D7100 and Nikkor 300mm f4 and 1.4 TC tripod-mounted. No calls, perch, drip, or feeder setup for this shot.

Tech details--SS 1/1250, A f/5.6, 420mm, Matrix Metering, EV +1/3, ISO 400, natural light.

Post processing:

Touch of contrast, opened up shadows on right side of body, slight crop, and dodged catchlight in eye.

Hi Walker, and welcome! Go over to the Introductions forum and say hi -- always nice to have new people here, and especially young ones!

This is a wonderful shot to introduce yourself! Nice exposure and colors, focus is right where it should be, on the head, lovely background and pleasing blur and position on the wings.

It might be interesting to compare a slightly looser crop, showing a little more of the flower, but hard to know without seeing it. Just a first impression. I'm inclined to crop tight and people often comment that they'd like to see a little more space for the subject. You'll always get a range of opinions on options!

I'm looking forward to more of your work! And jump in with comments on other images -- that's a great way to learn and to become a member of the community!

Hi Walker! Welcome! What a great First Post! I like everything about it!
The flower looks like it might be a cleome (or something similar) ... so I think your crop is good...... with more of the flower in the frame, the "busy-ness" of it may detract from the subject.
Well done!

Walker,

Nice first post. Nice clean background. I would also like to see a little more of the flower. The only thing I would try to do different next time would be to get down a little lower so you are more eye level with the bird. That may also give you a nice catch light.

-Dave

Diane--I did not crop anything off of the right side of the image, only off of the left side as my original frame was a little bit lopsided, composition-wise. I would have liked to have more of the flower as well. Thanks for the input.

Sandy--Thanks for your feedback.

David--You are right, I had trouble seeing where I could have improved the composition, maybe other than more/less of the flower, but you nailed it. Something seemed off to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It would have improved the image if I shot eye-level with the bird. I appreciate your comments.

Beautiful, Walker. I'll agree with Sandy about the flower. I like it anchored in the corner. The contrast between that stillness and the motion of the wings engages me and provides for some interesting tension. But just one opinion.

That is a beautiful bird and the image is fairly sharp. Nice BKGR, fairly harsh light, and a bit light overall. Welcome :)

Do you know what species?

Jim and Arthur--thanks for your feedback. It would have been nice to have fill flash, but I hadn't purchased my SB-900 yet. May upgrade to the 910 since my 900 (and a bunch of other gear) was stolen.

Arthur--it is a Rufous Hummingbird.