Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi everyone, I always get the Rufous and Broad-tail hummers mixed up sorry if he's miss labeled correct me if i'm wrong on the species. This was taken about 2 months ago they have now migrated out of this area. I was waiting to post this one with all the issues I was having with colors as a few of you might know about my colorblindness. I think we have come to a solution. This was edited in LR, dropped the highlights, increased the shadows a bit, corrected the black and whites, did try to bring out more detail in the eye but all it it did was bring out more of the highlights, sharpened slightly and a bit of NR. Then moved to PS to fix the colors, used a more "scientific" method to fixing the colors, used the color picker with 3 points, 1 white, black and mid gray, then used the numeric info to correct the colors instead of eyeballing them. Back to LR to resize and export with standard screen sharpening. Thanks to everyone that has helped me with this issue, still a work in progress. Hope this helps anyone else that has the same kind of issues I have.
As always comments and tips are very much welcome. Thanks for looking.

Brian.






Nikon D600,
Nikon 200-500mm,
500mm @ 1 / 500th, f / 8
ISO 400,
Handheld

[Mike Hitchen]

That is really eye-catching Brian and the bird is so well matched to the tone of the background.

Reading how you have learnt to overcome what must be a significant challenge in photographic terms is awesome.

[Tim Foltz]

Brian nice shot, good HA, BG and sharpness also a nice perch. Definitely not a Rufous, a Rufous should have no or very, very little green on the back.
If it was here in Southern Ca. I would say it's an Allen's Hummingbird.

-Tim

[Satish Ranadive]

Brian,
Excellent image. Beautiful look back pose, wonderful colors with superb details. Great BG.
There is too much of negative space. I will go for vertical composition for this bird. What do you think??.

Regards,
Satish.

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Satish, Thank you sir for your kind words, I really like the new resize , I did think about going portrait but went off my 1st thought, Thanks again!

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Mike, Thanks for the comments, yeah it been a bit frustrating at times , but with all the help from people here on the forums has made it a worth while in the long run. Thanks again

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Tim, Thanks for the comments and info, really appreciated.

[David Salem]

The technical parts of this one look great and I really love the birds pose as it looks up.
Nice details and colors also but on my monitor I think it could go just a little bit brighter. Not sure which comp I like best as the vertical cuts off the end of the branch which I kind of liked. Well done

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi David, Thanks for the comments, I went for the landscape look because of the branch, how I thought it led the eye to the bird, I like both to be honest, Thanks again.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hey Brian, I love what you went for here, including the original composition. The hummer's head tilted back towards us is a super cool touch. I like the long thin perch, and beautiful BG. Perhaps having the subject a bit lower in the frame would have given the comp a boost, but it's OK as is. Nice and sharp subject.

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Dan, Thanks a lot for the comments, coming from you its very much appreciated , you know how much I enjoy your work, Thanks again.

[gail bisson]

This is lovely. I think the comp of the OP is definitely the way to go.
Love the "daintiness" of the image and the color palette.The perch is the perfect size for the hummer.
Neat head position.
Well done,
Gail

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Gail, Thanks a lot for the nice comments really appreciate it.