Allen's Hummingbird

[David Levinson]

I took this photo recently in La Canada, California. 1DX, 500mm and a 1.4xTC (700mm) f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 250

[Arthur Morris]

Hi David, and welcome to BPN. The image is sharp, the exposure is good, and the BKGR is nice. The bird's pose is quite awkward and the perch is less than ideal. Did you set up the perch? Is this a female or a young male?

[David Levinson]

I was hiding behind one of the many natural blinds at Descanso Gardens in La Canada and waiting for a yellow-rumped warbler to land on a tree that I saw he kept returning to. While waiting, the Allen's Hummingbird, which I believe to be an adult female, kept buzzing me and chirping at me because she didn't like that I was near her bush. She landed on that perch which was a nearby rose bush to watch me and I swung my camera, set on one-shot center focus and mounted on a ball head on a tripod, toward her and started snapping before she flew off. It all happened very quickly.

Arthur, thanks for the critique. I'm a fan of your work.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, a big welcome to BPN, and look forward to your participation. Good detail on the HB, sharp, and I like the colourful iridescence. I find the darker twigs and stripes on the RHS of the frame a touch distracting, so would consider a vertical comp. Im fine with the OOF foliage across the tail and lower perch, as you stated this was more of a grab shot, and no time to adjust your position.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely pose and BG. While the HB is sharp, it appears to have been oversharpened a bit. You can tell this by the "crunchiness" in some of the feathers on the chest/shoulder.

[David Levinson]

Hi David, a big welcome to BPN, and look forward to your participation. Good detail on the HB, sharp, and I like the colourful iridescence. I find the darker twigs and stripes on the RHS of the frame a touch distracting, so would consider a vertical comp. Im fine with the OOF foliage across the tail and lower perch, as you stated this was more of a grab shot, and no time to adjust your position.

Thank you for the critique. I see what you mean about the lines. I wrestle sometimes with going for the photoshop fix or leaving the photo in it's natural state. I think your suggestion to get rid of the lines is a good call.

David

[David Levinson]

Lovely pose and BG. While the HB is sharp, it appears to have been oversharpened a bit. You can tell this by the "crunchiness" in some of the feathers on the chest/shoulder.

Thanks for looking and critiquing. I've adjusted my workflow since reading Arash's posts on this forum and now sharpen only at the end of my process. This photo had double sharpening - in DPP at +3 and then last in my photoshop processing with a High Pass filter masking out the background. This photo in particular was a very crisp RAW image so the the double sharpening was probably one time too many. I don't hate the crunchiness but I understand that if it bothers you it may bother others so I have to consider my audience. Thank you again. I appreciate critiques even when I debate about them.