There are no hummingbirds in the Old World, that nectar-eating niched filled by sunbirds in Africa and Asia.
These tiny birds move very, very fast, and this represents the only decent frame I captured on my six-week trip despite
the continual presence of various family members. As presented, the image is probably 50-60% larger than the living bird.
So a challenging target, for sure!
This bird was photographed at the Kirstenbosch Gardens outside Cape Town.
Is the shooting angle a bit high? Yes, but not by much.
Are the OOF areas of the cactus distracting? A bit.
And did I remove a bit of rogue plant in each lower corner? Yep.
All that considered, I'm super stoked with this shot, particularly as it's a natural, native perch achieved without lure.
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/2000 at f/5.6, ISO 800
Processed in LR CC and Topaz DN
Congratulations Dorian. Sunbirds are gorgeous little creatures -- unfortunately I've only seen a few of them, and never gotten a satisfactory image, so I can imagine why you're stoked. Pose, exposure and detail are spot-on. To my personal taste the perch dominates and detracts from the bird. Although not a fan of square crops, I might be tempted to try one here and lose some of the bottom cactus. Just personal preference.
From an artistic point of view, I really like this.....Fab colours throughout....Perfect pose and those greens and reds look real good.....I would leave the crop as is.....All works for me....Well done Dorian
A super image, very eye catching, colours and composition look very god indeed, darkest areas around the bill perhaps a little dense otherwise tones look spot on.