This image was taken two weeks ago while I was on a photography trip to Costa Rica. We had a big storm come through which kept us from going out to a local National Park for the entire day. This image was taken from out back porch while I was waiting for humming birds to show up. I had never seen one of these species before and the Merlin app identified him/her before I even saw him/her.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I like this image because of the colors of the bird and they way he posed on the very large leaf. I was a little puzzled with how to get the eye to show up. I brightened and sharpened the area around the eye to try to get it to ‘pop’ as much as possible. I also realize the whites are blown out a little. I wasn’t able to recover much there.
I would like to hear critiques around the areas above and certainly any other suggestions that could make the image stronger.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon 600 mm F4 EF with adaptor
Settings: ISO 3200, 600mm, F/4.0, 1/8000 (because I was waiting for hummingbirds)
a tripod was used
I really love this picture. It looks this bird found its throne, high above the rest of everybody else. You really captured her stance that seems even more important than her eye. The white blobs on the right are a distraction and I wonder if you tried to use a radial filter around just that area and lower highlights and exposure. Maybe that will help. But really great catch.
Thank you for your nice comments and critique! I actually removed an even bigger white blob on the right edge and I thought I was done, but I definitely agree with you.
A nice pose from the Kiskadee (a gorgeous bird!), and lovely light on the banana leaf! I love the interesting detail in the OOF BG, but the tan area in the UL draws the eye a bit. It’s a small point, but it would be easy to bend those colors in Selective Color to make them more like the rest of the BG.
Whites are easy to overexpose against a relatively dark BG, and it looks like the exposure got too high as the SS maxed out at 1/8000. That’s a wall I’m still trying to learn to watch. The on-screen histogram on the R5 is a wonderful tool but not that precise for small white areas. It might be possible to recover more of the whites with a linear profile – it takes a little getting used to but can be a good tool to have:
I applaud you for hauling the 600 that far – mine hasn’t been used much since I got the RF 100-500 and the TCs. It is an amazing and easily-handled rig.
Thank you so much for your comments and critiques. Also, thank you for the article. I love to learn new things, so I will definitely try it out!
Regards;
Willem
