Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and Pinkroot

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

RTHPinkroot.jpg
RTHPinkroot.jpg1625×2000 390 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Ruby-throated hummingbirds do go after pinkroot nectar after all. I could not get these guys to come in for my flash setup, but instead I tried natural light photography and let the Z9 do most of the work with Auto-ISO. Lighting was not great and the image required a little tlc. I keep these plants in pots and move them around the feeders wherever hummingbirds are actively feeding.

Specific Feedback

I still prefer flash use for hummingbirds, but decided to give this a try. Overall, how does this look?

Technical Details

Z9 600mm f4 (1/4000 sec at f8.0, ISO 2200) DeNoise, Crop for Comp, Removed old flower stems with rubber stamp tool, rotated canvas by 6 degrees, Shadows & Highlights, Brightness & Contrast,
enhanced micro-contrast…Jim

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2

Very nice, Jim. I’d be tempted to take a little off the right and top as this composition feels a little left heavy. Excellent position of the hummingbird.

3

Great look at hummer and flower; good pose. Images like this convince me I don’t need to go the flash route to get good hummingbird shots.

4

Excellent for sunlight!! You can see feather veins in the wing! I think you could crop from the top and right, and I’m very ambivalent about the bright leaf at the bottom. Both its shape and brightness make it an eye magnet.

I don’t see any sign of cloning, but the new Remove Tool is an uncanny alternative. If an area you want to remove is touching another one you want to keep, you can do some microsurgical cloning to separate them first.