Hummingbird in thistle

Gallery: AvianPosted September 4, 2017123 views5 comments

I noticed this little lady checking out what I think are thistle plants at the local prairie preserve. She was periodically doing battle with two other birds to protect her territory and stopped for a brief moment.
Should I have focused more on the bird or is this ok with the thistle framing the bird?
Please let me know how I can improve this.
Canon T5i
Sigma 150-6--C 562mm
F8
Iso 800
Shutter 1/2000
Thank you for looking,
Brian

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on September 4, 2017 at 9:24 AM

Brian: I think including the thistle is just fine. It adds a sense of environment. At the size you posted (your large version doesn't look any bigger) it doesn't look like the hummingbird is quite sharp. Look like focus was on one of the closer thistle flowers. Don't know if you were using a single point on your T5i for this, but it would have been required to get the camera to focus on the bird.

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on September 4, 2017 at 10:25 AM

Nice catch. I have not seen them feeding from thistle. I will have to start looking closer to the thistle plants. I like how you have the hummer framed by the thistle flowers. It does seem just a bit overall dark, might be my monitor. TFS.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Don Young on September 4, 2017 at 1:05 PM

Brian, I like the framing as is, however it is a bit dark and you might crop the thistle on the bottom right . The focus on the hummingbird could have been a little sharper, but I know how difficult it can be capturing these little critters! I like it.

Registered on April 23, 2015, 56 Posts, 224 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 4, 2017 at 1:48 PM

I like the way the thistles frame the hummer here, Brian, though I do wish you'd managed to catch it facing toward you a little more-eventually one will. With the way the hummer blends into the bg foliage here, you might want to brighten just the bird a tiny amount to set it off.

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

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on September 4, 2017 at 6:23 PM

Great setting with the thistles framing the bird. Agree it might help to brighten the bird.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments