This was a set up in my yard from this past summer. Flower is salvia dipped in sugar water. Background is natural, my grass lawn.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
any/all
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
any/all
Any pertinent technical details:
Canon 7D2, 400mm f4 DO IS II, 1.4x TC III, Canon Speedlite 600 EX RT II, tripod
ISO 640, f6.3, 1/1000s
This was a single flash rig with the intention of some wing blur to convey motion. I may try a multiple flash set up this coming summer to fully freeze the wings.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
1 Like
Welcome to NPN and the Avian forum, Allen. This is an excellent first post. Great wing position and composition with the Salvia very neatly arranged. I never thought of just dipping one in sugar water. The blur worked very well. Yo my eye, the white breast, while certainly not blown out, looks a bit bright, but we don’t have ruby-throats out here, so it could very well be ignorance on my part.
Keith Bauer, one of the moderators on this forum, does superb multi-flash hummingbird images, so if you want to give it a try, he’s a good resource.
Hi Allen: Welcome.
This is a nice image of the hummer. The wing position is nice (of course we don’t get to time that part!!). The slight blur adds a nice effect. I much prefer backgrounds that aren’t so uniform. The OOF grasses worked for the green, but create a pretty flat background. Based on the lighting, it looks like your flash was on the camera. If you want to just use one, it is best to get it off camera an higher to create shadowing that will look more natural.
Multiflash is really a lot of fun. Challenging to get the lights set up well for a completely natural look, but I like the results a lot. Looking forward to having these guys back next summer!
Very nice composition with the bird and flower positioned as they are. Good detail and nice wing blur.
Very nice image. I like the slight blur in the wings and the perfect wing position. Super clean background. I carry a small spray bottle of sugar water and spritz the flowers.
