Tough exposure conditions

[James Babbitt]

This shot was taken near Mindo, Ecuador. The flower was on a terrace of our hotel and was visited by this Rufous-tailed Hummingbird regularly and he would frequently flare his tail when approaching. Unfortunately, although the trees in the BG were far away, they were bathed in bright sunshine. The sun is coming from my left and although it was early in the morning, it still produced a "spotlight" type of lighting. Looks like it was flashed but was not. I had to bring the exposure of the bird up and the BG down considerably. Even though this was shot with an R7 at ISO 5000, I thought it held up well. Shot with an R7, 100-500 at 169mm. SS 1/2000, ISO 5000, f/7.1, EC of +1.0. I had a difficult time deciding on crop. Approx. 33% cropped away from R and bottom.

[William Dickson]

Hi James...I like the flight pose you captured ....Something different from the usual 'side on' pose....I think the image looks a bit heavy on the yellows..... I hope you don't mind.... I reduced the yellows and contrast slightly....I think it helps with the 'brightness'......

Will

[James Babbitt]

[QUOTE=William Dickson;1275975]Hi James...I like the flight pose you captured ....Something different from the usual 'side on' pose....I think the image looks a bit heavy on the yellows..... I hope you don't mind.... I reduced the yellows and contrast slightly....I think it helps with the 'brightness'......

Will


Thank you for your thoughts. I can see your point about the yellows in the BG. It was early morning, just after the sun rose. The flower though, was absolutely "neon" yellow in real life. I have actually toned it down somewhat already. Here is a version with the BG desaturated (yellow) but the flower left as is.

[Arthur Morris]

I like the image and Will's repost. I believe that it would look much better cropped from the top to 3X2 as the upper part of the frame as is does not add anything ...
with love, a