Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Nova Scotia Canada, August 2009 8pm
Nikon D300, 300mm, 1/1000s, f4, ISO400, manual exposure
ambient light, rig supported on monopod with gimbal sidekick.
25% of original frame, processed in Lightroom
My first upload to this forum. I recently joined birdphotographers ooking for honest, constructive feedback on my work, the only way to learn and to progress.
I like this particular shoot for the unique light situation. I was about to pack it up for the day when this fellow made a final appearance. Feeding on the flower its back was hit by the last direct light from the sun disappearing behind the horizon, bringing out the colors of the bird and leaving the dense woods in the background in deep shadow.
Welcome Ulli, this is very nice for your first post! I like the position of the wings and the slight blur. I might try to open the shadows in the face just a bit, but in a natural way because of the angle of the light. It looks like you can sharpen the face area a little more. The body looks a little sharper (not sure where you had your focus point). Lastly, I would personally give it a bit more room to the left. Great job though and l looking forward to seeing more! :)
More room to the left would be good. Also, the bottom half of the beak is lost in the shadows. However, I'm surprised that this is only ambient light! So given that, you did very well.
It's sharp with lots of details, nice motion blur.
Welcome Ulli! I like the drama of the black background, the sharp detail and the eye contact. I think maybe a bit more room all around, as well as more for the left side. And more light on the face/beak would have been my wish as that area seems to fade into the background.
I think this is a wonderful photo of a hummer using ambient light. Not an easy thing to do and get the results that you have (I am still trying).
I like the dark background which helps to focus the attention on the hummingbird.
For me, the details - like the light hitting the feet, the position of the bird, the lighting on the flower - all work together to make a solid image.
If mine, I would be tempted to lighten the eye a bit (or as comment above - open the shadowed area on the face a bit).
Looking forward to the rubies coming back this spring - hope I can get something this nice.:)
Welcome Ulli. This is really a lovely image. Amazing, in fact, for ambient light. I could only have wished that the light was a bit more behind you so that some more light was on the face and throat, but you take what you are given, and you did well with it. I like the crop as presented, but I suppose a bit more on the left wouldn't hurt. Very nicely done!
Thanks for all the flowers -to stick with the theme- and for the constructive critic. I will for sure play a bit more with the cropping and give the facial brightning a try.
Flying Emerald
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