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Spent 12 days in Ecuador last month - saw an amazing 65 species of hummingbirds. Found this one in the Pacific Lowlands near Porto Quito. I think the flower is native torch ginger.
Undecided about the crop - thanks for looking
Mark 4 500mm F4 1/250 f22 using multi-flash setup with six 580EX (manual power at 1/32) and ST-E2 trigger
That's quite an elaborate lighting set up, but with impressive results - especially considering the subject & aperture setting. I think the crop is very nice and the flower in particular looks stunning.
Hi Peter. Sounds like you had a great time in Ecuador! That's an impressive number of hummingbird species! The pano crop works nicely here. The exposure is a bit of a challenge; dark hummer and bright pink/red flower. The bird could stand to be a little brighter, as Peter pointed out above. I wish we could the iridescence a little better too. This is a matter of preference, but the lighting scheme is so even that the bird doesn't quite have a 3-dimensional quality to it as a result. I'd love to go to Ecuador someday!
Ian - The 580EX's were acquired "used" at Craigslist. Their added power means they can be placed further back from the flower/feeder and still use a higher f-stop of f22-25 to increase the DOF. The ST-E2 frees up another flash for the setup.
Peter - This is a very dark species of HB with very little natural irridesence. The photo shows its true colors.
Doug - I'd never considered the flat 3D effect, something to think about. The setup was at the edge of a blacony/terrace overlooking a steep drop doen to a river which somewhat restricted the placement of the flashes. Ecuador is an amazing trip if you ever get to go. There are far more species of birds than CR/Panama, excellent guides+/- drivers to take you around, and great eco-lodges with very comfortable accomadations and dining.
Thanks again for the comments and suggestions.
Peter, what a cool species and you did well to get it (her I'm guessing?) to come to the flower. I agree with Doug that the lighting is a bit flat and just doesn't give the texture and shadow that would better show off the hummingbird. I like your background -- very nice! That flower is a tough one to light as it's reflective even when not wet, and it looks maybe the rain made lighting it even more of a challenge. The flower, by the way, is a torch ginger, which is native to Southeast Asia where I presume it co-evolved with sunbirds. Nonetheless, it's widely planted, probably naturalized even, in the American tropics, and the native hummingbirds love it.
I'm with Doug -- I've got to get down to Ecuador too!
Cheers,
Greg
