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#639 Costa's Hummingbird

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted June 15, 201466 views5 comments

Costa's Hummingbird (Calypte costae)

Place: Phoenix, AZ
Date: My 12, 2014, 10:28 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 70-300 VR, tripod
Exposure: aperture priority matrix metered, ISO 800, 1/160th @ f/5.6
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 72% of frame

For a variety of resons I’ve not been getting out for photography, but I’m still getting some time to look out the window.. This Costa's Hummingbird just outside the window likes to sit on an agave to monitor the feeder hanging nearby.

Shot through the dirty glass window, which robes the image of a lot of contrast (mostly fixed in raw conversion and post processing). My rarely used 70-300 zoom was a better choice than the bulky 300/2.8, plus it focuses a little closer.

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

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 15, 2014 at 11:07 PM

Richard, it's a neat pose sitting right on the tip of the agave with it's head cocked and you've positioned the bird well in the frame. I also like the oof agave leaves. It might be worth a bit of dodging to bring out the eye highlight a bit more. This looks very good for being shot through a dirty window, fine job with the processing to compensate.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Kane on June 16, 2014 at 10:27 AM

Richard,

What a great pose to have that little guy on an agave with it's head tilted that way. I'll echo Mark's comments too about the result of being shot through a window - fine job!

Registered on August 4, 2012, 66 Posts, 726 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on June 16, 2014 at 8:04 PM

Well, he is really perched right on the tip here!

I like your simple comp with the placement of the bird on the main stem and the placement of the two other OOF stems on a clean background. Good job on processing to make a great finished image from a "taken through a dirty window" shot.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on June 19, 2014 at 1:50 PM

Excellent, Richard. The perch, pose and composition captures a sense of scale very nicely.

I think we shoot through windows for exactly the opposite reasons: in your case, it's too darn hot outside; in mine, it's too darn cold.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 11, 2014 at 8:12 PM

Sharp detail and I like the complimentary tone/color of your BG Rich.
Neat pose and the hummer connects well with the viewer..

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