Green-Breasted Mango

[Doug Brown]

We did a fair amount of multiple-flash hummingbird photography in Costa Rica. I like the creative control you have over the process (nice for a change in bird photography). I also like the surprises that you get when you review your images; they move so fast that you can't see most of the cool stuff. Many thanks to Linda Robbins and Greg Basco for their help.



Canon 50D, 70-200mm f/4 @ 189mm, f/16, 1/200, ISO 200, manual exposure, 5 flashes, tripod

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool pose, setting, details, exposure control and eye contact. I particularly like the fanned tail.

[Don Lacy]

Great fanned tail and color.

[Scott Frye]

Colors in the tail is a great surprise -- i really like the green background -- very nicely presented

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Doug!
Sweet action shot - fanned tail makes it for me!
Best,
Nicki

[Fabs Forns]

Very nice fanned tail and colors. The flowers is a but competing. Incredible you can work them with the 70-200 :)

[Paul Marcellini]

Man this is nice. I agree with Fabs on the flower, I think it is needed and really adds impact, but I might desat it a tad and maybe drop exposure on it too. Not too much, but man it catches your eye first. A top notch shot though.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Doug. Looks great. I love this flower but after reading the comments and looking at the image I do agree that the viewer's eye lands there first. I like Paul's suggestion of desaturating it some.

Cheers,
Greg

[Greg Basco]

Oh, Doug, by the way, the inflorescence is in the genus Costus, its own family Costaceae, which is related to Heliconias, gingers, bananas, and birds of paradise. It's a common hummingbird-pollinated flower in forests here.

Cheers,
Greg

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for the tips. I had already decreased the brightness of the flower in the original image, but here's one with additional darkening and some desaturation. I like it better.

[Dan Brown]

Great one Doug! Your repost is super! I loved every minute of shooting at the setups! I have so many good shots that I can't decide which ones I like best!

I would like to see her turned a bit toward the camera though:D

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Doug your repost is really good.

Great job, it looks like you guys had a great time in CR.

I hope we will meet next year some where.

[Mike Lentz]

Very nice! Its crazy how all those flashes stop that speed merchant still at 1/200 sec. I assume you guys did the setup in the shade?

[Stu Bowie]

Doug, Im amazed at how you guys freeze the action with this multi speed flash set up. Love the posture, fanned tail, and really like the mottled colours on him. Great OOG BG too. Congrats on an outstanding image.

[Greg Basco]

Mike and Stuart, I'm sure Doug will chime in but the key is that we had the flashes set at 1/16 power, so the actual exposure time (no ambient light enters the picture) is the duration of the flash, say around 1/15,000th second for the flashes we were using. Think of it as a studio portrait done outside.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Mike Lentz]

Mike and Stuart, I'm sure Doug will chime in but the key is that we had the flashes set at 1/16 power, so the actual exposure time (no ambient light enters the picture) is the duration of the flash, say around 1/15,000th second for the flashes we were using. Think of it as a studio portrait done outside.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

Yep, I've actually had a few outdoor studio sessions done in my backyard on Hummingbirds with friends running their multiple flash setup. It really amazed me! I just remember that it worked better if we were in the shade or if it was a consistantly cloudy day vs mixing in sunlight as that would mess the preset settings up. Keep up the fine work! :)

[Greg Basco]

Mike, indeed this setup was in the shade. You're right that bright sunlight can cause ghosting. I sometimes let that happen because the look can be interesting. Other times I clamp an umbrella over the flower stage to eliminate the sun with another umbrella over the background.

Cheers,
Greg

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for answering the question Greg!

[Kristin Brown]

Doug, I love the image. I do like the repost better. I love how you caught the bird with it's body in that unique bent position. Lighting is fantastic and the image has a great feel.
The trip was fantastic thanks to you and Greg. I really felt like you and the rest of the participants really helped me take better photos...

[Ramon M. Casares]

Simply stunning! Superb pose, superb light, superb BG, comp, and colors, detail is outstanding and I just loved it! Congratulations!