Preening

[Michael Lloyd]

There's a little motion blur but I don't think it hurts the image too badly... I don't think Hummingbirds do anything slowly :) This is a very tight crop.

EOS1DsMKIII (manual / spot metering)
580EXII (manual, 1/8th power, wide angle)
Better Beemer flash extender
ISO Speed Ratings = 500
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/125 second
Aperture = F10
Flash = Flash fired, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length = 600/1 mm = 600 mm

[Doug Brown]

You didn't do half bad with the exposure using fill flash. The backlight is a bit distracting. From a technical standpoint, I would have gone for more shutter speed by bumping my ISO and using f/6.3 or f/7.1. That would have sharpened things up some. Hummingbirds are often quite approachable, so if you find the right place you shouldn't have to crop too much. Also, if you can't get close consider using a 1.4x. Thanks for posting!

[Lance Peters]

Hi - does look a little soft, dougs tips are great.
The bright white spots in the BG are distracting.
Cant wait to see more :)

[Desmond Chan]

As a bird portrait, the background may be distracting. But as a photo in general, I found the background interesting and pretty good looking. In fact, the background got my attention when I looked at the thumbnail. The main issue I have with this image as posted and looked at on my monitor is the white halo around the bird and the pose of the bird.

Thanks for sharing.

[Michael Lloyd]

Thanks everyone.

Doug- Half bad is better than you suck :D so I'll take it :) I should have shot at 1/250th synch speed and opened up a bit. The 600 really comes into it's own as far as bg smoothness goes at f4. I had room to drop the flash power (1/16th) but I think it balances the back light pretty well. If I could figure out how to set a strobe and softbox up to follow them around the yard I would have it made. The background was the western sky in the morning. I should have gotten an earlier start to minimize the affect. Hopefully the hurricane that is on the way won't permanently blow the hummingbirds further north and I'll get a redo soon.

Lance- the softness in the head is from motion blur. The rest of the bird is sharp. I'm always hesitant to PS things like the BG in my images... maybe I shouldn't be...

Desmond- I've looked at the image on my EIzo and two other monitors and I can't see a halo (on the web or the actual image). I'm not sure what you're seeing. The shot is of the bird preening it's feathers. Hence the pose.

The bad news about the background is that there isn't anything else. I have 3 feeders and I walked around them yesterday trying to find a better vantage point. The trees are starting to drop leaves here so instead of a smooth BG I am stuck with splotchy.

[Desmond Chan]

T
Desmond- I've looked at the image on my EIzo and two other monitors and I can't see a halo (on the web or the actual image). I'm not sure what you're seeing.

Fair enough. That's why I added "...on my monitor".

The shot is of the bird preening it's feathers. Hence the pose.

I understand. OK, perhaps I should have said: "it is a bad pose" ? ;)

[Michael Lloyd]

No problem. I'll take a hard look at the original vs the processed image in a bit. Who knows... maybe I missed something. It wouldn't be the first time.

:D Perhaps :D

Thanks again for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it.

[Doug Brown]

Try hanging your feeders lower (at eye level or so). That'll help.

[Michael Lloyd]

Thanks Doug... that's a really good idea... True story- I recently went through the thought process of shooting from a higher vantage point :p but gave up on the idea because there was no easy way to accomplish the task... It never crossed my mind to lower the feeders :D