Ruby-throated Hummingbird

I live in a subdivision surrounded by subdivisions. I put out hummingbird feeders every spring but have never been successful attracting a breeding pair of hummingbirds.
The only time I see hummingbirds is late August into September when juveniles fledge and adults from farther north start migrating south. Taken two weekends ago.
I'm usually out in the field on sunny weekend mornings. Never have had much luck going out in the field for evening light so having something to pursue at home is kind
of nice for a change. Staged. I tape a bottle to my feeder an stick flower cuttings in it. The feeder is on a swing arm so I have some control over the backdrop and lighting
angle. I love being out in the field, but there is a certain appeal to doing some photography while sitting in a chair drinking a cold beer...or two. 1/1250s is generally my go
to shutter speed for hummingbirds as I do prefer some wing blur and actually a little more than what is in this image. Basically full frame.

Nikon D500, 500mmF4VRII, TC-14EIII

1/1250s, f9, iso640

The basic image design is fine. The light is relatively harsh resulting in some deep shadows. The biggest problem is that the bird's head is angled slightly away from us. The white tail tips turned BLUE in the shadows. Having the darker parts of the BKGR behind the subject is not ideal.

with love, artie

Agreed. There was a pretty stiff breeze that day that kept moving the cuttings around so I was never sure exactly what the backdrop was going to look like. It was a tree
maybe 75 ft away and it didn't take much movement of the cuttings to change the backdrop. This was later in the afternoon but not near the golden hour so the light was
still pretty intense. Unfortunately my neighbors house blocks the sun later in the afternoon.

Nice to see the blur in the wings. Like the composition and the feeding behavior.