If You've Got It, Flaunt It !!!

[Doug Brown]

I just got back from a week in Costa Rica with my wife. We stayed with my good friend and workshop co-leader Greg Basco and his family. Greg is the best hummingbird photographer in the world IMO; he's a master at lighting and composition. This is a photo of a Green Hermit male, a species that doesn't visit setups very often. The pose he struck in this image highlights all of his best attributes; cool iridescence, long curved bill, and incredible tail feathers. I used the 70-300mm L lens for this shot (and for all of my hummingbird photos on the trip); it produces the sharpest hummingbird images I've ever taken without a doubt, and the zoom makes composition a breeze! I've changed my camera settings for multiple flash setups since I last posted a hummingbird image. At Greg's urging I opened up my aperture to f/11-f/14 (rather than f/16-f/18) during the photography sessions. This range of apertures produces more than enough DOF for even large hummingbirds such as this Green Hermit, but it reduces the problem of diffraction. Hope you enjoy the photo.



Canon 1D Mark IV, 70-300mm L @ 252mm, f/14, 1/200, ISO 320, manual exposure, 4 flashes, hand held

[Richard Unsworth]

Great shot Doug; dont see these too often
dont think people understand just how hard it is to do this to this very high standard.
I will be there on Friday and will be going for the Long tailed version but without flash!

[Greg Basco]

Doug, thanks very much for the kind words. You know I work hard at it, so it's great to see a result like this, even if it's not mine. It was a blast being able to hang out and photograph with you last week!

Back to the picture, I think the lighting, the BG, and the pose you caught all came together on this one. I like the pollen on the bill as well. The fact that it's a male green hermit, which is a tough one to get, doesn't hurt either. It looks great on your new website BTW! Congrats on that.

Cheers,
Greg

[Doug Brown]

I will be there on Friday and will be going for the Long tailed version but without flash!

I photographed the Long-tailed Hermit on my trip. If you go to my website (see the link in my sig) you'll see the image in my home page slideshow. I'm in the early stages of building the site, so there's not much content yet.

[Katie Rupp]

Very nice, indeed! Great pose, beautiful bg, and I really like the curved beak and the unusual tail feather design. Looks like you had another good Costa Rica visit. Website looks great, too.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Too good Bhai, sure I enjoyed this....

[Mital Patel]

Master of all .. TFS this marvelous piece of art ..

[Jim Fenton]

Lovely subject and lighting.

The BG bugs me a bit with the large rounded highlights even if they are OOF?

Detail on the bird is superb.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Doug, excellent flash use....looks very natural. of course, the bird and the pose, details are all top-notch.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Such a beautiful image Doug!! Everything came together beautifully...

[Chris Kotze]

Super photography, sharp and lovely detail and colours

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[Richard Unsworth]

Hi Doug
your pics are incredible; some of my fav friends there!
site looks really nice, will bookmark
All I need now is Great Potoo and Ornate Hawk Eagle!

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for checking out the site Richard. I'll be filling it up with more content in the coming weeks. Did you get your Long-tailed Hermit?

[arash_hazeghi]

awesome Doug! I loved the larger version on your MBA screen.

[Luis Villablanca]

Beautiful image Doug. Love the depth and feather detail.
Nice meeting you today. Thanks for the information about the shot.

[James Salywoda]

Beautiful Shot Doug! I really like the pose, colors and detail. as always excellent work.

[Doug Brown]

Enjoyed meeting you too Luis!