A Twist In The Air

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

This is another image from Costa rica taken during the time that we had the five strobes available for light.

Nikon D3
Nikon 500 mm F4
1/100, F16
ISO 400
manual

All comments are appreciated.
Thanks

[Randy Stout]

Judy:

An amazing aerial acrobat. Like the tongue out!
I like the composition.
A bit 'over' flashed for my personal taste.

Nice BG. Artificial?

Thanks, makes me smile.

Randy

[stuart wanuck]

another good one

[Hilary Hann]

A very glamorous image of the bird, an almost metallic look to the feathers which has been well captured. Agree with Randy, something about the pose really makes me smile.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Judy-
A great pose, HA, and eye contact. I agree with Randy that it looks a bit over-flashed (whites on throat and bill), and there are still 3 catch lights in the eye

For comparison, here's what it would have looked like if Greg had set-up the Bkgd he used for BBHB. It's not the cleanest selection (intent just to show effect of different bkgd)

I'd be curious whether people prefer the monotone or multi-tone bkgd's

Nicely done

[Hilary Hann]

Peter, I prefer the multi-tone backgrounds a I think it looks more natural and gives a bit of variety without detracting from the main subject (bird, animal, person).

[Michael Wolf]

Superb capture!! I like the original as is. The blurred wings really make the image special.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Judy-
A great pose, HA, and eye contact. I agree with Randy that it looks a bit over-flashed (whites on throat and bill), and there are still 3 catch lights in the eye

For comparison, here's what it would have looked like if Greg had set-up the Bkgd he used for BBHB. It's not the cleanest selection (intent just to show effect of different bkgd)

I'd be curious whether people prefer the monotone or multi-tone bkgd's

Nicely done

To me both types of BG can yield interesting images but I tend to prefer the more ''natural'' multi-tone BG's since it renders a more typical rain forest BG.

By the way Judy, this is an awesome image, love the way you captured it and the tongue out, would suggest to clone two of the flash catch lights.

[denise ippolito]

Judy, Good advice by Randy regarding the flash. I like the original BG but often do think that Hummingbirds need better BG's. I just like the color of yours.:) Cool pose.

[Greg Basco]

Judy, cool pose. That's why it's fun to do straight flight shots on occasion as you're more likely to catch a strange position than with a flower setup.

You know, it's interesting on the BGs for hummingbirds. I too like BGs with more detail for some shots (as in the one Peter used for the repost above which was taken from my black-bellied hummingbird image). On the other hand, you'll see lots of bird images with totally smooth BGs that people rave over but when used for hummingbirds people will comment that it looks less natural. That's always puzzled me somewhat. Judy's BG for this image is indeed a straight shot of OOF cloud forest vegetation on a sunny day. In the end it comes down to personal preference and, for me, what the photographer wants for a particular image but I find it hard to conclude that one type necessarily looks "more natural" than another.

Oh, Judy, I agree with Peter about cloning out the two extra catchlights.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Judy, well done. The pose is very interesting, to say the least. Brings out the essence of what really a hummingbird is. Thx for sharing.

[Danny Laredo]

Super flight pose and framing Judy.