Anna in the Magnolia

This is the same Anna's Hummingbird that I'd posted some pictures of several months ago. It's been consistently resident about my home and has afforded me many photo opportunities - tough ones to be sure as I'm still working on trying to get some decent in flight photos.

Now, with the magnolia trees starting to bloom out, and with this male Anna's enjoying a high perch in one of the magnolias, I'm able to get some comps with the hummer and the flowers, like this one.

20D, 300/4L IS + 1.4x, ISO 400, 1/200 @ f/7.1, fill flash

Such detail, nice crisp sharp image. Cliff

Thanks, Cliff.

If you could answer a question for me, I'd appreciate it. Are you viewing this image on an LCD display or a crt? I sharpened it on my crt monitor at home but now on my laptop it looks a bit too crisp. This isn't the first time I've run into this. What's sharp on a crt is oversharp on an LCD and what is just right for an LCD is soft on a crt. If you're looking at this on an LCD does it look too sharp?

Super crisp! That is a great shot Geoff..

Looks super sharp on my CRT. Beautifully done, Geoff.

Thank you for the gracious comments, Ned and Marc.

How many of you "out there" have moved over to LCD displays from the older CRTs?

So beautiful. Great capture, I love it.

I bought a 24" widescreen early last December. Love it!

Very nice composition. What a perch and great sharpness too.
Top notch Geoff!!!

Jackie and Dan, thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. I'd been waiting all winter for this magnolia to bloom because it had been a favorite perching spot for the Anna male. The magnolia and the hummer didn't disappoint me!

Ned - I've been wanting to move over to an LCD for some time now. Which make and model did you spring for?

Absolutely wonderful Anna's shot Geoff! The flower makes the photo; it's one of the better ones I've seen that don't show a large amount of red reflected from the gorget. Very nice.

I think the sharpness looks good on my monitor. I'm suspicious that there is a wide variation in monitor sharpness in the group (my LCD has a setting on the monitor that allows me to set a wide range of sharpness), as well as a wide range in luminosity. Hitting the sweet spot is a moving target IMO.

Thanks, John! I do have quite a few images of this male where the gorget is absolutely flaming in color. I'm not sure I like the effect because it seems to overpower everything else in the image. The The best shots I have of the gorget are when the angle to the sun is such that instead of appearing as a flaming red-violet, it takes on hues of bronze.

I'm sensitive to the amount of sharpening because I've been dinged on another forum for posting images that are too crispy. Those same images looked great on my CRT monitor and it was obvious that those other people were viewing on an LCD.

So, I looked at this the other day and since all I could say is WOW, I did not post. Now that I have had some time to think about it, I have determined that it is only proper for me to take the time to say something about this image . . .


WOW!!!

I feel better now!

AJ - you're too funny! But I like your funniness...

Thanks!!!