Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA
July 2024 - Seeking Nectar
Original
About the Image(s)
We are starting to see more and more female and juvenile hummingbirds now. This image was captured in a memorial butterfly garden planted and maintained by one of our local service clubs. Canon R5; Canon 100-500mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter; mounted on a beanbag on the door of the car.
ISO2500; f/10; 1/8000 sec. The shutter speed must have shifted when I moved the camera on the beanbag - this is much more shutter speed than I needed. However, I do like to underexpose a little bit as it seems I can open up the shadows more effectively than I can tone done highlights which are always a problem in bright , contrasty summer light.
I cropped in LR, then did Topaz DeNoise. Back in LR I set white and black points, tweaked contrast and clarity, and adjusted the tone curve. In Color Efex 6 I added natural polarization and a tiny bit of dynaminc contrast. My last step was to add a vignette.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
14 comments posted
Very pretty Sharon. When I pixel peeped, as best as we can at these resolutions, it looked like the bird's head might have been slightly out of the plane of focus. I also feel that the dark area on the bottom right weighs the image down or pulls my attention there instead of to the subject. To address these points I played a bit and added some color and contrast to the bird's head and tried to lighten up the dark area. Posted: 07/10/2024 19:40:31
Good suggestions. Thanks, Mike. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:22:13
Great composition. The pink flower grabs my attention, and leads my eyes to the bird. The high shutter speed really stopped the action. The muted colors of the background and bird generate a peaceful affect. The diagonal position of the stem and flower form many pleasing triangles. The image reminds me of some of the small paintings of Albrecht Durer.
I like Mike's adjustments. Did you use animal/eye tracking, servo, continuous shooting?
Posted: 07/11/2024 14:15:23
I like Mike's adjustments. Did you use animal/eye tracking, servo, continuous shooting?
Posted: 07/11/2024 14:15:23
Thanks for your comments. Yes, for moving subjects I always use AI Servo, burst shooting and set the autofocus to animal eye tracking. I have the * button on the back set for that, so all I have to do is put my thumb on that button. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:25:49
I really like this Sharon, the leading lines in the petals leads the eye to the bird. The creamy background adds to the overall effect, but I agree with Mike's thought on the dark area on the right. However, it still is a beautiful picture one to be proud of.
Iechyd da
Ann Posted: 07/11/2024 16:31:59
Iechyd da
Ann Posted: 07/11/2024 16:31:59
Thanks for your comments, Ann. I am still working on hummingbirds and hoping the fall migration will give ne more opportunities. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:26:55
The image is just beautiful Sharon. You caught the humming bird just hovering over the flower with the wings expanded and the head and eye clearly visible. The symmetry and balance is so hard to achieve. The bird stands out nicely against that colorful flower and soft green background. I like Mike's suggestions. Lightening the lower right corner, just a bit, without dulling the dark green stem is a nice idea. Posted: 07/15/2024 23:17:43
Thanks, Polly. I plan to follow up on Mike's suggestions. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:27:33
Yes its hummingbird season here in Colorado! Very nice image and like the diagonal placement of the flower. I might have liked to see more of the Hummingbird but difficult as they move so quickly. Did you have the R5 set on Shutter Priority? Think as Mike suggested lightening up the bottom half would be good. Posted: 07/16/2024 15:56:02
Thanks, Ally. For birds in flight I only use manual. Shutter priority would not allow me to control the depth of field and that often results in messy backgrounds unless the background is a pretty far distance behind the subject. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:29:09
Ok thanks Sharon that is really good to know and will try that as i have difficulty on my R5 with the shutter speed for wildlife. Normally i have it on AV priority. Posted: 07/16/2024 16:44:05
If I can chime in, I too generally use manual for birds in flight primarily because they can fly in front of a bright or dark background too fast to dial in any exposure compensation. If they are in the same light, manual will result in a good exposure without having to make any changes. 90% of the time I'm in manual. However, if the background is consistent and the light is changing, such as with passing clouds, I'll often switch to manual with auto iso. In this mode the aperture and the shutter speed are set by the photographer and the camera sets the ISO. It's very similar to AV where the shutter speed is what changes. With slow moving subjects, I don't think it makes a difference how you get to the correct exposure taking into consideration what depth of field is desired and trying to keep the ISO as low as possible. Posted: 07/16/2024 17:34:22
Thanks Mike a great help especially since I am off to Tanzania in October so
Need to make sure my settings are correct before the wildlife start flying! Posted: 07/16/2024 18:18:29
Need to make sure my settings are correct before the wildlife start flying! Posted: 07/16/2024 18:18:29
You did a great job capturing this little hummer without flash. The fast shutter speed was effective in freezing the wings. Other than agreeing with Mike's suggestion about the lower right corner I think a square crop would work well in this image. I feel like there is too much negative space at the top of the image. Posted: 07/17/2024 02:50:39