7 of 9 II

[Wally Nussbaumer]

Black Chinned Hummingbird (female) nicnamed 7 of 9 because of the cheek spots
resembling the # 7. My first attempt using layers to adjust color. Canon EOS 1D MKIII

[Mike Lentz]

I love Hummingbirds, but really think this could benefit from having a flower in the image. Good job pushing the whites right to the edge.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

I love Hummingbirds, but really think this could benefit from having a flower in the image. Good job pushing the whites right to the edge.

Personal taste I guess...most times I try to keep the flower out! More things for me to worry about when it comes to PS...beak too far into the flower, wing behind the flower, flower not as sharp as the hummingbird. At my working distance (4-5' ), DOF is a problem.

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Nice composition. Adequate amount of wings blurr. What was in the back ground ? It looks pretty dull like a card board. Somehow it lacks vibrance (just a personal opinion).

[Dion Lifton]

beautiful photo, Wally .

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the open bill and details in this one. The BG colors don't complement the plumage too well, and I agree that having a flower in the picture would strengthen it.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

I like the open bill and details in this one. The BG colors don't complement the plumage too well, and I agree that having a flower in the picture would strengthen it.

Flowers would have been a nice touch, but Mother Nature decided not to cooperate this year, very late spring, snow, rain and cold temperatures. No wild flowers to be seen and even the nurseries had little stock in as it was too cold to plant anything. On the up side, the Hummingbirds arrive to breed in the area so not having much in the way of natural nectar, they made very good use of the assortment of feeders set out for them. They also survive on small insects and they was a good assortment of those around. Normally the males arrive first and set up their territory then the females arrive. After breeding the males head south and leave the females to raise the young. Soon as their ready to fly, they head south as well so by August, there are few hummingbirds left in the area.
I could perhaps paste a flower in from one of my other images, but haven't mastered that feature very well yet, and to me, I always know it's a "fixed" shot. One of the workshops I was on actually promote that concept.

[Arthur Morris]

Wally, I like the image, especially the open bill.

#1: Please include the specs, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Those help everyone to learn and allow us to better help you.

#2: You missed Kaushik's question on the BKGR above. Please repsond.

#3: Please share with us how you went about making this image: flashs settings, how many flashes, artificial BKGR?, etc. By doing so all can learn.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

Wally, I like the image, especially the open bill.

#1: Please include the specs, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Those help everyone to learn and allow us to better help you.
Canon EOS 1D MKIII, Canon EF 100-400 L series zoom, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/250, f/16, four X sync flashes set at 1/16 power level. Distance about 4-5 feet
#2: You missed Kaushik's question on the BKGR above. Please repsond.
Background was an artificial backdrop illuminated by one of the flashes

#3: Please share with us how you went about making this image: flashs settings, how many flashes, artificial BKGR?, etc. By doing so all can learn.

An image of the typical set up for those interested. Plastic bags were used to keep the flash units dry during the rain. Feeder is hidden by flowers (not much choice this year as the season for planting was very late and the nurseries had little selection) Two feeders above the back drop that can not be seen, one center right (you can just see the red plastic) and one flat one on the ground near the flash stands. More feeders = more birds, unfortunately not always in front of the camera.

[Arthur Morris]

Thank you sir. I am confused by the slight blurring of the wings. It look more like motion blur rather than ghosting. At 1:16, the wings should be totally frozen. Any clues? Was the BKGR flash also set to 1:16?

[Dan Brown]

I don't see a ghost, I see OOF wings, so, f16 may not have provided enough DOF, considering the 4 to 5 ft working distance.

OR

What if - the BG flash didn't fire.
and - the other three flashes fired and spilled a little light onto the BG,
and - ambient light was strong enough to create the blur as a ghost overlay.

Dan Brown

[Wally Nussbaumer]

If I set the flashes at 1/32 or 1/64 the duration is even shorter and you get more of the freezing effect. At 1/16 power one will still get blur depending on the wing position. The background flash must be set at the same power level.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

I don't see a ghost, I see OOF wings, so, f16 may not have provided enough DOF, considering the 4 to 5 ft working distance.

OR

What if - the BG flash didn't fire.
and - the other three flashes fired and spilled a little light onto the BG,
and - ambient light was strong enough to create the blur as a ghost overlay.

Dan Brown

If one of the flashes were not to fire there would be a definite "ghosted" wing shadow. I have examples of that too! ;)

[Dan Brown]

So, maybe this is a simple DOF issue?

[Arthur Morris]

I don't see a ghost, I see OOF wings, so, f16 may not have provided enough DOF, considering the 4 to 5 ft working distance. OR What if - the BG flash didn't fire. and - the other three flashes fired and spilled a little light onto the BG, and - ambient light was strong enough to create the blur as a ghost overlay. Dan Brown

#1: As I said, I see blurred wings not ghosted wings. :)
#2: If the BKGR flash did not fire the BKGR would be either very dark or black...
#3: The blur is not ghosting. With ghosting (caused by the ambient light), there is a sharp image (from the flashes) super-imposed atop the blurred image (that was created by the ambient light). This however, can happen only when the ambient exposure is within a stop or so of the set exposure. With Wally working at ISO 100 at f/16 this would almost surely not be the case. I would be willing to bet that he is at least several stops under the ambient, and this is exactly what you want so that the flash overpowers the ambient and ghosting does NOT result.

Posted respectfully.

[Arthur Morris]

If I set the flashes at 1/32 or 1/64 the duration is even shorter and you get more of the freezing effect. At 1/16 power one will still get blur depending on the wing position. The background flash must be set at the same power level.

What flashes are you using? WIth the Nikon SB 26 flashes, 1:16 yields perfectly sharp wings. We do, however, usually work at apertures well smaller than f/16.

[Arthur Morris]

If one of the flashes were not to fire there would be a definite "ghosted" wing shadow. I have examples of that too! ;)

I am about 99.9% sure that the statement above is not accurate. If one flash in the set-up failed to fire the bird would be unevenely lit but would not cause ghosting...

Repectfully submitted.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

So, maybe this is a simple DOF issue?

Not an expert here, but the blur looks equal on the near and far wing I suspect movement blur. But I also have the added benefit of seeing the images prior to and after this shot which would indicate DOF was borderline, so perhaps your correct. As you said, at this distance f/16 does not give much room for error.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

What flashes are you using? WIth the Nikon SB 26 flashes, 1:16 yields perfectly sharp wings. We do, however, usually work at apertures well smaller than f/16.

X Sync flashes were Sunpak 544's only because we can get them to run off AC power. My 580's yield a different result, but are hard on batteries. The added bonus of AC is that all flashes remain equal, whereas with batteries if one set start to die before the rest, you get ghosting or uneven exposure.
I wish Canon would make A/C adaptors or at least provide the information required to make an A/C set up. Unfortunately, Canon consider this a state secret and will not even provide the flash duration specs for the various settings. I can not speak for Nikon.
I probably would have gone Nikon years ago when I bought into Canon's EOS series but their AF system back then sucked as the lens motor drive was in the camera with a mechanical (and noisy) linkage. Now I have L series Canon lenses and it would be expensive to switch systems.

[Arthur Morris]

Do you know the flash duration at 1:16?

[Wally Nussbaumer]

I am about 99.9% sure that the statement above is not accurate. If one flash in the set-up failed to fire the bird would be unevenely lit but would not cause ghosting...

Repectfully submitted.

This is a perfect example of what it looks like when one flash fails. By fail I mean it does not sync with the other units for one or more reasons. If it totally fails (does not fire), you are correct certain pasrts of the image or the background will be darker....I have examples of that too! :D

I am not a "pro" by any means, I do it for fun and learn (most times) by my mistakes, but I have also been known to make the same mistake more than once!

[Wally Nussbaumer]

Do you know the flash duration at 1:16?

If memory serves me correctly around 1/12,000 of a second, but I could be wrong At 1/32 it's supposed to be 1/32,000

[Arthur Morris]

This is a perfect example of what it looks like when one flash fails. By fail I mean it does not sync with the other units for one or more reasons. If it totally fails (does not fire), you are correct certain pasrts of the image or the background will be darker....I have examples of that too! :D I am not a "pro" by any means, I do it for fun and learn (most times) by my mistakes, but I have also been known to make the same mistake more than once!

Thanks for the clarification. The BKGR will be fine unless the BKGR fails to fire. Lastly, in the example that you gave the cause would seem to be something other than a mis-synhed flash... If a flash is mis-synchs, the super-imposed blur should be sharp, not soft as the one in the photo above. The image above looks like regular good old ambient ghosting...

I also have been know to make the same mistake many times over...

[Arthur Morris]

If memory serves me correctly around 1/12,000 of a second, but I could be wrong At 1/32 it's supposed to be 1/32,000

At 1/12,000, there should be no detectable blur of the wings.

Any relation to Rolf? Where is your family from?

[Wally Nussbaumer]

Thanks for the clarification. The BKGR will be fine unless the BKGR fails to fire. Lastly, in the example that you gave the cause would seem to be something other than a mis-synhed flash... If a flash is mis-synchs, the super-imposed blur should be sharp, not soft as the one in the photo above. The image above looks like regular good old ambient ghosting...

I also have been know to make the same mistake many times over...

So have I, but in this case it was the flash that was intermittent. After removing it from the set-up and placing another in it's place the problem disappeared. I doubt ambient lighting would have been a problem because sometimes I would accidently move the pc cord and none of the flashes would fire....results, totally black frame.

[Wally Nussbaumer]

At 1/12,000, there should be no detectable blur of the wings.

Any relation to Rolf? Where is your family from?

Not that I know of, my father was from Switzerland (Basel)

I am going by what SunPak indicate. We found that the only time the wings were perfectly frozen was when they were at the upper most part of their travel or lower most part. In between some blur was detectable at 1/16. 1/32 power was better, but still not perfect. I have not tried my 580's on hummingbirds yet, perhaps it would be a good test.