Michael Braunstein
April 2026 - Sword-billed Humming Bird
About the Image(s)
This photo was taken in Costa Rica.
I used a Canon R6 and a 70-200mm lens at 159mm. Shutter was 1,2500th. and F 11. Processing was in Camera Raw
11 comments posted
Michael, outstanding image of a Sword Billed Humming Bird. The colors and sharpness of the Hummer are breathtaking. Most of the background is good but the dark blue area in the top left draws your eye, so I cloned it out. Very surprised that you could just about stop the wing movement at 1/2500. A friend of mine shoots a lot of Hummingbirds and he used several flashes with good results. Posted: 04/08/2026 17:05:53
Michael
Great composition of the Hummingbird. This species is unique in the bill length with tongue extended. You were fortunate to freeze action with the selected shutter-speed. If you had enough light, you could have shot 1/8000 and completely freeze action of the wings. However, with the elected exposure setting a higher ISO would have introduced unacceptable noise. Great capture of the magnificent colors. Posted: 04/09/2026 12:47:41
Great composition of the Hummingbird. This species is unique in the bill length with tongue extended. You were fortunate to freeze action with the selected shutter-speed. If you had enough light, you could have shot 1/8000 and completely freeze action of the wings. However, with the elected exposure setting a higher ISO would have introduced unacceptable noise. Great capture of the magnificent colors. Posted: 04/09/2026 12:47:41
Thanks, it is better. I usally use flash on birds. I have been shooting birds a lot in my front yard. I have a Rokinon flash. I sue 1sr curtain for the shutter. Do you happen to know why there is no return detected by the flash in the file info? Posted: 04/09/2026 12:55:08
Not sure, but you probably use high-speed sync, which may have something to do with it. Posted: 04/09/2026 13:02:19
thanks. I neve take my flash off of high speed sync. Posted: 04/09/2026 13:37:02
how lucky for you to see one of these spectacular hummers, much less get a photo of it.
I rarely have any complaints about your birds or processing, but this one is overworked. You selected it and tried to minimize the background in PS with mixed results. It's tricky.
However, the good news is you seem to be recovering and getting out to shoot more often. Always look forward to seeing what you post. Posted: 04/09/2026 16:02:17
I rarely have any complaints about your birds or processing, but this one is overworked. You selected it and tried to minimize the background in PS with mixed results. It's tricky.
However, the good news is you seem to be recovering and getting out to shoot more often. Always look forward to seeing what you post. Posted: 04/09/2026 16:02:17
You are correct. After I sent it in I thought that it was over processed. Posted: 04/09/2026 16:08:12
I wonder what the result would have been like if the aperture was a little smaller and the shutter speed a little higher? I usually use aperture values ??between 6.3 and 8. I really liked the composition. Posted: 04/13/2026 17:38:13
If the light from the flash hits the bird a fast shutter speed is not needed because the flash fires faster than the camera. That is a big if.
Posted: 04/13/2026 18:00:11
Posted: 04/13/2026 18:00:11
Michael, beautiful shot of this hummingbird. I have never seen a Sword Billed Hummingbird before, so this is a treat to see one, especially with its tongue extended. Nice job. Posted: 04/15/2026 12:57:12
What a fabulous capture of a fabulous bird in action. I only wish we had hummingbirds in UK. Your depiction of the colours is spot on! Posted: 04/16/2026 10:36:07