little bitty birdy- 2" or slightly more plus creative mods.

[Steve Bein]

This is a Calliope humming bird and it is a severe crop. Not as sharp as I wished. So high contrast, high saturation and then over sharpening and I got this.
1D MK II, 70-300 IS L lens

[Steve Bein]

The are the smallest North American bird.

[denise ippolito]

Awesome! I do wish that the slight halo around the bird weren't there. You did a great job with the capture and it does look sharp. The background has a nice textured effect. I would love to see an image of one of these birds that shows how small it really is- just curious.

[Hazel Grant]

Yes, the halo caught my attention, but otherwise nice work with the sharpening, etc. Like the reflection in the eye.

[Indranil Sircar]

Steve, excellent capture and processing. Where did you find this Calliope? Agree on the halo... still an excellent composition!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Steve, a beautiful bird - I especially like the reflection in his eye.

[Paul Lagasi]

They are beauties, and we really have no idea how small they are until you see a live specimen, guides don't do them justice. I like the effect, assuming its Topaz...and the composition...TFS

[Steve Bein]

The work was all in photo shop, as noted, contrast, saturation and PB is all. They are really small, only about 2 to 3" top of the head to the tip of the tail, so tiny is a realistic word. The 70-300 IS L lens is awsome and I will be retiring my 100-400 as soon as I find a suitable TC for this since it does not take Canon TC's. I decided not to deal with the halo. Just too much to do and this was a fun thing to share as it is. These little guys are fun and really hard to see. I had to move around a lot to get a semi clear shot.

[Mitch Carucci]

Neat bird. I love the way the colors pop.

[Steve Bein]

OOPS. I forgot to say where. A friend in Woodland Hills, CA had this in the yard.