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Female Hummingbird
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Female Hummingbird

by Jason Bennett

Gallery: AvianPosted May 20, 201560 views8 comments

A female Ruby Throated Hummingbird from my back yard. Initially I placed one feeder out which was quickly dominated by a black chinned male. I added two more feeders and now there is mayhem. It's entertaining  to watch him try (with little success) to control all three. Cropped about 40%. Captured around noon with clouds and some sun (Difficult to get enough light on these guys). My first post BTW so I hope I did it correctly. Thanks for looking

Nikon D800, 70-200 f2.8 plus 1.7TC = 340mm. 1/2500 at f4.8, ISO 1600

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 20, 2015 at 6:19 PM

Welcome to NPN, Jason.  This looks like it was done correctly.  A very nice first post.  Sharpness in the hummingbird is excellent and catching that tail flare and a nice head turn combined is wonderful.  You might want to consider cripping the image a bit to put the bird a bit lower and to the left (take just a bit off the bottom and left side).  That will decenter the bird and give it more apparent room to fly into as well as making the image more dynamic (something about the human mind likes subjects off center).   This is a great start and NPN is a great place to learn.  I look forward to seeing more of your work.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on May 20, 2015 at 8:07 PM

Hi Jason,

 

Well done capturing this hummingbird in flight.  I agree with Dennis's recommendation for the crop which will help the composition.  Subject is nice and sharp with a great pose...................................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments
Comment posted by Keith Bauer on May 20, 2015 at 8:43 PM

Jason:

Welcome to NPN.  Thanks for sharing your image.  Very nice first post.  Hummers are a great source of joy to photograph.  I have done a lot of them and enjoy them immensely.  You managed to capture a pretty nice frame.  Composition has already been mentioned.  The hummer is a bit bright.  Using some selective tonal adjustments to bring down the brightest part of the breast would reveal more detail.  

Keep 'em coming and we look forward to seeing your comments on other photographers work.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments
Comment posted by Jason Bennett on May 20, 2015 at 9:30 PM

Thanks for the feedback! I went back and forth about where to position the bird and actually prepped it to upload both centered as well as lower and left. Given the consistency of opinion in the feedback I am reconsidering my choice. I have also tried toning down some of the whites.

Registered on April 24, 2015, 1 Posts, 2 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 21, 2015 at 12:22 PM

 

Nice job on the repost, Jason.

crying

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Thompson on May 21, 2015 at 2:31 PM

Welcome Jason, I agree with the suggestions that were made and the repost works very good. Nice background and the detail in the hummer is sharp. Great first post, look forward to seeing more images from you.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments
Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on May 22, 2015 at 1:16 AM

Nice work, especially on the repost. Getting the right angle on a hummer is mostly luck,but this looks very good.Welcometo NPN, Jason. I look forward to your comments on others' posts and more of your photos.

 

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on May 23, 2015 at 9:14 AM

Wonderful first post. I like the repost even better. You have set the bar pretty high for yourself. Look forward to your future posts.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments