Broad-billed Hummingbird

This is really nice KC, I would say you achieved the "au naturel" concept at a very natural and artistic level. I love the high degree of plumage detail and how well it shows against the OOF Bg!

Nice, love the BG. What was your ISO?

What was your ISO?

Sorry, Ron! I forgot! I shot this at my default ISO800. In this case, it produced the 1/3200 sec shutter speed that allowed the wings to be frozen. Light in AZ is so clear at altitude so the images were really tack sharp, provided I got it right myself

sweet bg, KC, and fantastic sharpness with nice wing extension. these guys are beautiful--the rarer hummers get most of the attention in SE AZ, but broad-billeds really are beauties.

Very nice, Kwan..... and hey, I have one just like it! I'm glad that we had a mix of backgrounds with these birds. This is my favorite. Some great detail that you got with this one.

Totally amazing shot Kwan, exactly what I'd been striving to achieve with Kingfishers, Hoopoes, and Indian Rollers for the past couple of months, though sadly with no such similar success :^(

Have a few questions for you whenever you can make the time:

Do you think you could have acquired the exact same image as this had you been shooting with a 7D instead of the 1D Mk1V?

Is this image cropped and, if so, by how much from the full frame?

With my Induro tripod (relatively expensive but far from real good) I'm using a Wimberley Sidekick (smaller version of the Wimberley Gimbal), which is actually designed more for the 300mm f/2.8 I originally bought before part exchanging that for my 500mm f/4, attached to a Swiss-Style Kirk Enterprises Ball-Head. What kind of head do you use with your tripod?

Kwan, How fantastic to get such an appealing shot of a Lifer! Extremely well done "au naturel". Lovely light, pose and colors. Background is subdued and doesn't take my attention away from the subject, great seeing the translucency of the wing feathers. I'd be very happy with this in my files.

Congrats on the lifer. The BG adds interest and the detail is excellent. I just wish the bird was angle toward the camera versus away. Great job freezing those wings!

Great pose showing both tail and head. Beautiful colors. I much prefer it "au natural"! Sharon

KC, you've achieved exceptional body depth here, by not using a flash( a wicked thing to use on a bird anyway). Wonderful color and textures. Nice work.

Very nice. Without the light just right these birds look almost all black.

KC,
WOW, what colors and detail. This is amazingly sharp. Really like the natural setting without 10 strobes, electronic trippers, fake cardboard backdrops, etc. Were you shooting with Charlie? Looks like the same type of background. Excellent image KC.

Thanks for the EM Kwan, back with you soon :^)

This is spectacular, Kwan. Tack sharp, beautiful iridescence, perfectly frozen and very interesting body angle. I think you and Charlie had too much fun. And congratulations on the lifer.

A Beauty Kwan Sounds like a very challenging situation, and you nailed this one

Ken Archer

Wow on those metallic colors, they really pop on this BG KC.
Looks great, well done!