After spending most of this year collecting images for and writing the text of my forthcoming e-Guide to the Birds of China, I'm getting back into the habit of using this forum. In my work this year, I have been focusing on Chinese rarities and have therefore been visiting some out of the way places, such as extreme northern Xinjiang and southern Yunnan.
Here, a streaked spiderhunter looks at the camera after lapping up nectar from the blossoms on the banana plant. In China, the streaked spiderhunter lives only in the extreme, tropical south. The streaked spiderhunter is actually a large sunbird and loves nectar, just like its cousins. I was at Skytree Nature Reserve, just an hour's drive from the border with Laos.
Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Teleconverter: TC-14EII 1.4x
Focal Length: 850 mm
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1600
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +0.33
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 3200
Metering Mode: Center-Weight
Subject Distance: 15 m
Photoshoppery: Removed some spots. The blossoms were overexposed, but I managed to cool them down some.
What a remarkable looking bird and a great pose. To my eyes the "bright" background detracts a little from the subject I would try toning it down a little.
Way wicked. Toning down the SAT a bit would likely improve this excellent image. The only thing that bugs me has not bugged anyone else: the stem of the plant is angled away from you. If I used Nikon gear I would never have added light to the exposure here....
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Hi Craig, great to have posting again - thought you were running the length of the great wall of china. Love the overall setting here, and a bird I havent seen before. Good to see the tongue protruding, and agree, toning down the lower part of the image can only improve it.
Streaked Spiderhunter, Yunnan, China
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Love the overall setting here, and a bird I havent seen before. Good to see the tongue protruding, and agree, toning down the lower part of the image can only improve it.
