A Hummer for the Common Man

[Bill Dix]

I marvel at the amazing images posted here of rare hummingbirds on exotic flowers, taken with multi-flash setups at remote tropical lodges. This is not one of them. Here is the common Ruby-throated Hummingbird (a subadult male, I think), feeding on my wife's hanging Petunia basket, taken yesterday in my backyard, in natural light. Sun angle and head angle are not optimum; I couldn't shift my position and still keep the dark background, which is my neighbor's house in shadow. Bright sunlight plus high ISO were needed for the SS. Two drops of sugar water helped him decide which flower to visit.

D7000, 700mm, ISO 1600, 1/3200s @ f/7.1 manual. Gitzo and Mongoose.

[Dan Brown]

Nice work, Bill! So, you added the sugar water, now add an artificial BG that will help you position yourself for a better sun angle. Next you will add the strobes!!!

[gail bisson]

Ditto your thoughts Bill!
I like the little tongue sticking out and the composition you chose.
I agree with your self critique but still a good image done "au naturel"
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Bill:

Great fun to work in the backyard, and lets you try out a number of things because of the easy access. I think you hit all the major points in your self critique. The bright light against the dark background has rendered it a bit 'harsh' for my tastes, possibly influenced by the relatively high ISO for that body. Keep working your opportunity, tinkering with the setup to address the challenges.

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Dan, Gail and Randy. After looking at the OP, I'm thinking I oversharpened it a bit (it was initially too soft and I over-edited). Here's a repost with slightly less sharpening, and a considerable reduction in contrast. The combination of the two may help to make it a little less harsh, although it doesn't (can't) resolve the fundamental issues noted above.

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent image , Bill Sir. I like the full up wings , curved feet and beautiful flower. great dark BG and nice composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice natural shooting of this nice looking juvi, Bill.

[Dave Spates]

Good idea with the sugar water. Great job in freezing the hummer. Above the flower and to the left of the hummers wing are purple lines that could be cloned out. Overall sharpness looks a bit soft but I use the exact same camera body and know that ISO 1600 is not great, in my experience it falls off tremendously after ISO 500

[Bill Dix]

Good idea with the sugar water. Great job in freezing the hummer. Above the flower and to the left of the hummers wing are purple lines that could be cloned out. Overall sharpness looks a bit soft but I use the exact same camera body and know that ISO 1600 is not great, in my experience it falls off tremendously after ISO 500

Thanks Dave. I'm not seeing the purple lines, but I did add a bit of canvas on the left and may not have matched it exactly; maybe that's what you're seeing. As to the softness, yes, the ISO 1600 has contributed to it. I consistently use the D7000 at 800 ISO with good IQ, but above that it certainly can degrade the image.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone for your comments.