Exit Stage Left...

[Arthur Morris]

Of the about 8,000 hummingbird images that I created in 4 1/2 days in Ecuador this past week, this may very well be my favorite. I used the high speed flash techniqes taught to me by Linda Robbins. The combination of the tripod-mounted 400mm DO lens and the MIII were deadly. ISO 400. Manual: 1/300 sec. at f/22. Five slaved flashes plus one slaved background flash.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet (pictured here) was my favorite hummer of the trip.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Doug Brown]

Way to go Artie! Love the wing and head position, along with the visible feet. And welcome back.

[john crookes]

I love these hummer photos and I am wairing for linda's technique to be published.

there is a green blob in the lrc that seams out of place

[Fabs Forns]

What a pose, I can see why it would your fav, not the usual frontal view. Love the soft background and the little feet :)

[Harold Davis]

love those feet!!!! great capture, artie. i like the unusual pose. nice work.

[Gayle Clement]

Quite a pose. You've really stopped those wings! Welcome back.

[Mike Tracy]

Really like your subject, technicals and pose of. I saved this and added canvas on the bottom, got rid of the negative space on the left and feel it makes for a stronger image. I hope I haven't offended the maestro.

[Sid Garige]

Out of the box pose and eye contact makes this image for me.

[Steve Maxson]

A wonderful image with a great pose. Amazing that with 6 flashes it doesn't have that "flashed " look. You might consider cropping some from the left. The following are some extremely minor nits: I agree with John that the hard bottom edges of the green blob in the lower right corner look like you forgot to blend them - or something. There are two small spots (one white, one black) on either side of the upper wing and a dust spot just above the head.

[Daniel Cadieux]

As per the title the hummer looks like it is banking ( or backing ) to exit left...the empty space there gives it room to fly into. I like it!! Agree with the LRC though.

[Robert Amoruso]

Nice work Artie. Works for me just fine.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Awesome image Artie and the pose is over the top !!! Welcome back and loof forward to seeing more.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. Ten hours a day photographing, a few more teaching, too many images, and too little time led to some sloppy work. Here is the re-post without the dust spots (even the best auto-cleaning sensors miss a few at f/22) and without the mess in the lrc. (See the original with comments in the pane below.)

[Arthur Morris]

Just getting a hummer totally in the frame, separated from the feeder and from other birds iin the frame, and in sharp focus is quite a challenge. I routinely add canvas to the image and eliminate the feeder (as I did here). With the variegated background I could not use Quick Masks on the right side of the image. I resorted to the clone stamp and sloppy technique led to the mess in the lrc.

[Juan Aragonés]

This is great Arthur, I love the wing position and the lighting is out of this world, it doesn´t look the light coming from six flashes, very natural and nice. 1/300s at f22???? wow!!!!

[susanschermer]

Hi Artie! I love the hummingbirds with a 6 flash set-up. This one is particularly nice with a beautiful background. Do you suppose Linda would do a "how-to" article for the magazine?

[Bob Ettinger]

Clean BG and a really unique pose. Well done

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie! I love the hummingbirds with a 6 flash set-up. This one is particularly nice with a beautiful background. Do you suppose Linda would do a "how-to" article for the magazine?

Hi Susan, Glad that you liked it. Linda has been working on a High Speed Hummingbird Guide for about five months now. It is turning out to be a far larger project than she envisioned. She should be done within a month. It will be available through BAA. Perhaps an article covering the basics would work for her. In addition, she will be taking very small groups to various sites in South America.