Our house in New Mexico has a deeply shaded portal, and I spend (too many) hours on sunny days trying to get the perfect shot of a flying hummingbird in full sun against the dark BG. There's just enough light to show some detail on the shaded stucco wall but I like the effect that mimics a flash setup. I have many of these, each one departs from perfection in one way or another but I think this is my favorite. This was taken in natural light, no flash. Canon 7D II, Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II at 400 mm, ISO 400, 1/3200 at f/6.3, manual exposure.
Love the graceful pose in this shot, David, like the bird is performing ballet. Was there much of a crop here because it looks like the IQ is started to suffer just a touch, although still a very pleasing result. I can see that texture in the wall behind - am guessing it is not that far behind the bird as there is quite a bit of detail there even though it is out of focus. Hope you manage to nail the perfect shot one day soon!
Sharp with an excellent exposure. The big problem is that the bird's body is angled away from the plane of the sensor; that is what left the face a bit in the dark.
with love, artie
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Please stop posting Hummingbirds...we don't have them in here in Aus...(just kidding...and I'm very jealous). Lovely capture. I don't mind the background, although it looks somewhat noisy to me (on my laptop anyway)...I have the same camera/lens combo, so I know about noisy backgrounds!
The pose is lovely! I like the dark BG.
The main issue here is that the head is angled slightly away from you.
I can see why you like this and it is only a matter of time until you get the perfect one!
Gail
Thanks, Glenn. Yes, it was at least a moderate crop, and of course this image is compressed. Hummingbirds always are a challenge because they are so small and so fast.
Hi David, love the 'ballet' pose here, and the HB certainly pops against your darker BG. Good detail and sharpness all round, and HA already mentioned.
I would love to try my hand at these guys one day.
Thanks, Stu. If you ever come to the US, let me know! I am obsessed with them, but your location--my country of birth--reminds me that you have sunbirds, and I need to post one of those.