Costa's Hummingbird

Gallery: AvianPosted May 14, 2014138 views8 comments

Costa's Hummingbird (Calypte costae)

Place: Phoenix, AZ
Date: My 11, 2014, 6:18 pm
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 70-300 VR, tripod
Exposure: aperture priority matrix metered, ISO 800, 1/30th @ f/5.6
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 62% of frame

Lots of stuff has gotten in the way of getting out for photography, and time here at NPN. At least I managed a little time to shoot this Costa's Hummingbird just outside the window as he sat on an agave to monitor the feeder hanging by the window.

Light is always a challenge here: I need to shoot in the morning or late evening to avoid blotchy high contrast issues. The dirty glass is another issue and robes the image of a lot of contrast (mostly fixed in raw conversion and post processing).

I rarely use the 70-300 zoom for birds, but it worked well in this case and focuses closer thasn the bulky 300/2.8.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. If possible please view the larger image before commenting.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on May 14, 2014 at 12:33 PM

He did a nice job of sitting still for you Richard considering the slow shutter speed. Always tough trying to shoot through glass windows. Since the 70-300 isn't known for being a razor sharp lens and going through glass also you able to capture a pretty nice image. Did you apply much NR to the BG? The large version is still kind of noisy.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 14, 2014 at 12:46 PM

I like this POV from slightly below, nice pose & sharp where it counts.
The soft BG works with its complimentary color too.
Great job with the very early light as well.

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on May 14, 2014 at 1:37 PM

I would not have guessed it was captured through glass. I like the perch, but I don't like the background. The two lighter areas are very strong graphical elements that really pull my eyes away. As noted, the larger version is also exhibiting a lot of noise in the background.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 14, 2014 at 10:38 PM

Great pose Richard, and I like the dof you chose-it makes the Agave tip look really cool.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on May 14, 2014 at 10:53 PM

I love the pose and the way the colors in the bg match the colors of the bird and perch.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on May 14, 2014 at 11:47 PM

Personally, I like the striated bg. I might have cropped out the very Left edge that is not striated. I wouldn't have known you shot this through a window if you hadn't mentioned it. Contrast looks ok to me. I like the proud pose. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on May 15, 2014 at 8:55 PM

Great pose, I do like the colors and the background.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on May 16, 2014 at 9:15 PM

Richard,
I really like the contrast between the vertical striations in the background mixed with the triangular shape of the agave perch. I might be tempted to crop out the dark splotchy left edge where you have it meeting the turquoise green vertical striation. The rest of the background is nicely blurred and not a distraction for me. The pose is very nice and you have a perfect head turn. I too am noticing a fair amount of background noise. Would never have guessed this was shot through a window, dirty or clean. Nice job.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments