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Thread: Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird

  1. #1
    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Default Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird

    This is one of my first attempts at multi-flash hummingbird photography, done in Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago. Comments and critiques would be most appreciated. I'm also interested in purchasing my own multi-flash setup, but am not sure about which flashes to purchase (I already own a Canon 580EX II). Also what's the best way to trigger all of the flashes at once? Many thanks!



    Canon 40D, 210mm, f/16, 1/200, ISO 320, multi-flash (5), manual exposure

  2. #2
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    I like the pose, eye contact, and details. Overall, it looks a tad dark for my taste.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Nice pose, good EXP, sharp, and good head angle, but there is some very strange stuff going on with the primaries, as if you screwed up some cloning badly... It looks as if you did some cloning along the top edge of the bird's left wing and both wings out towards the end have somehow picked up some green from the background.... I am not a big fan of your chosen background and the BKGR is posterized as well...

    Linda Robbins has nearly completed work on her High Speed Flash Hummingbird Guide which will be published by BAA.

    later and love, artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Nice, but nature light is better.
    http://www.naturephoto.cz/img/clanky...-2008-4121.jpg

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Artie, what you are seeing is motion blur. I didn't clone anything above the bird; I did however add a little canvas at the top because the bird was crowding the top of the frame. But it doesn't come in contact with the area you're describing. I agree about it being a little dark; I'll post a different photo later that has better lighting. I just liked this pose, and I liked the way the dark accentuated the metallic green on the bird.

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    Nice looking bird Doug, great eye contact & details. I'm curious, what is the background?

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Doug, If you are getting motion blur or ghosting, you are doing lots of things wrong. The basics include using several flashes all at the same manual power setting, usually 1/16 or 1/32 with the background flash set the same. Linda's guide will cover it all.

    Ondrej, Natural light is nice but as your linked image shows you cannot freeze the wings. High Speed Flash Hummer photography is an acquired taste for some but when done well it can be lovely (though never natural...) See if you can find a few of Linda Robbin's hummingbird posts...

    later and love to all, artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  8. #8
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    Wow, I believe I am going to learn in this site, I like your image except that I find it a little dark, but is certainly much better than mine.
    Last edited by Juan Carlos Vindas; 03-22-2008 at 08:06 PM.

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    The BG was a large square of green cloth.

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    Did you apply a blur or other processing to the BG? I like the pose and I go for a slightly darker look than most so for me that much is good. There is something with the BG / wing that doesn't look like any motion blur I ever got on hummers. Maybe a product of compression or some kind of work with selections?

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I think what you are seeing is the fact that I changed the hue of the BG, but didn't do a good job of fixing the hue around the wings. Here is a crop of a JPG straight from the RAW file.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
    I think what you are seeing is the fact that I changed the hue of the BG, but didn't do a good job of fixing the hue around the wings. Here is a crop of a JPG straight from the RAW file.
    Agree on the hue business. Strange how so many folks make the images worse as they are trying to make them better... IAC, Linda's Hummer Guide will get you on the right track.

    later and love, artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  13. #13
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    I want to get that Hummer Guide.

  14. #14
    Glenda Simmons
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    Regardless of all the technical stuff...that is one pretty Hummer! Great job showing him off.

  15. #15
    Gayle Clement
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    The bird is really beautiful. I love seeing the detail.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCVindas View Post
    I want to get that Hummer Guide.
    Linda's guide will be announced via Bulletin. Best to subscribe. I am sure, however, that word will spread quickly here on BPN.

    later and love, artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  17. #17
    Linda Robbins
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    Hi Doug -

    I really love the pose you captured, and the head angle is great. The slight blur in the wings and body was caused by ambiant light competing with your flashes. Placing your set up in the shade will make it much easier to have all the light for your exposures coming from the flashes only. There is shadowing on the right side of the birds body which means that the positions of your flashes at the set up needed to be adjusted so that the birds are evenly lit no matter where they are in the photographic zone. The background is not ideal. My Hummingbird Guide is nearing completion and will cover equipment, flash placement, exposure, troubleshooting, backgrounds, feeders, etc. Isn't Hummingbird photography a blast!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    To get an idea of what is possible if you want to endure the expense of all the needed equipment and the difficulty of travel, see Linda's image of the same species here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ead.php?t=8192

    later and love, artie
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










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