Barbara Mallon
October 2026 - Rufous Hummingbird Flys Through Sage
About the Image(s)
The Rufous hummingbirds migrate through our area in the Spring. This one was enjoying some red sage in my yard last April. It was badly underexposed. I think it is speed and wind from his wings that have ruffled his feathers. Does that add or detract? Should I print it lighter? Canon r5Mark2 ISO 12800 f8 1/3200 sec..
5 comments posted
It seems to me that the feathers on the body of the bird lack sharpness. What about cropping the image and placing the bird on an intersecting point? Posted: 10/12/2026 15:17:24
What a great image of the hummingbird in flight. To me the image looks very sharp including the pollen on the beak. The wing tip is a bit soft, but that is because it is moving so fast. You even have a catch light in the eye. Being in the red sage really complements the story. I have a suggestion. I reversed the image, cropped a bit off the now right side and added a slight vignette. Posted: 10/13/2026 14:19:07
Wow....your specs are spot on. It is very difficult to shoot this species in flight and you did it well. The hero of the image is the bird and hence I tried to take away the bright red flowers behind it so that the viewer remains focussed on the bird. I darkened the background a bit to reduce the artifacts that I think were visible during processing. An almost imperceptible white border is still visible when you may selected the bird and done some processing. I also cropped the image a bit to bring out the subject more. Posted: 10/13/2026 14:49:53
Barbara,
Lovely capture and composition....I really like the image. looks like a difficult one to capture. What lens were you using ?
Given that it was very underexposed to begin with, is it possible that the body of the bird is a little over processed, maybe in reducing the noise at 12800 ISO ...I'm being picky with that comment and it would only be an issue if you decided to produce a large print....would you agree ?? Posted: 10/17/2026 15:09:10
Lovely capture and composition....I really like the image. looks like a difficult one to capture. What lens were you using ?
Given that it was very underexposed to begin with, is it possible that the body of the bird is a little over processed, maybe in reducing the noise at 12800 ISO ...I'm being picky with that comment and it would only be an issue if you decided to produce a large print....would you agree ?? Posted: 10/17/2026 15:09:10
Nice shot!!!! The wing and eye etc are sharp, it seems, except for a bit of movement in the wing which I like. Yes, I think the lack of much texture in some of the body is probably due to the high iso. Have you tried a different denoise method? I do find the variations that (old) Topaz can make quite a difference in cases like this. I also like Hoshedar's reversal of the image so the tall plant closes the image on the right hand side and pushes focus back onto the bird. Only one detail - on my computer the flowers are showing a tad oversaturated. Could be worth checking? But still, great shot! :) Posted: 10/27/2026 09:15:09