Great catch. Some movement in the wings is good by me. It would take some ungodly speed 5000-8000 to stop the wings if you wanted to. You got some nice movement. I was wondering what speed you shot at.

It would be fortuitous to catch it with the beak going to a flower. The only problem I would have is that it is out of context. It has no background or other forground. I think it would look better with those elements. That said I think that catching it as you did is an achievement.

Would a dark background make the hummingbird easier to focus on ?   Posted: 08/07/2026 21:47:15

I love hummingbirds and photos of them. This is a good capture. This bird seems flexed and anticipating a flower. You can stop the wings with 1/200th second. So, I agree with Harley about the background. Darker would be better or use a photo with flowers and put the hummingbird in that photo. In PS use Select, subject. Then copy and paste as I recall. I like the square crop! You can copy your subject and open a new file. I painted it a mid gray and copied and pasted your bird.   Posted: 08/13/2026 22:41:38

This is a nice capture. The body is sharp and well exposed. You've shown good detail and texture in the feathers. There's even a catch light in the eye. That's a huge thing to some critics of hummingbird photography. Does a story add to an image? Sometimes. This image has more of an artistic feel to it. The subdued tones and soft focus in the background give this a whole different presentation than a nature shot. I would remove the plant in the lower right corner of the frame. It's a darker green and more in focus than the other plants, and competes with attention with our friend. You also did a great job capturing the rest of the bird in sharp detail but blurring the wings. Great work, Lane!   Posted: 08/14/2026 12:49:30

I echo the above comments. My dream is to successfully capture a hummingbird. You did that so well. How did you set your camera? I would love to know. I also agree that we usually see these guys dipping into a flower but I like that your background included some greenery.   Posted: 08/14/2026 14:57:43

Nice catch Lane. Hard to catch these little birds in flight. At 1/5000 you still did not freeze the wings, which in my opinion is the way it should be. You are showing us movement which is the only way the bird stays in the air. Frozen wings are best for portraits in books. Nice detail on the body too. Good work.   Posted: 08/22/2026 15:50:24