Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA
October 2026 - Hummingbird on Gaura
Original
About the Image(s)
During the humming fall migration I found numerous juvenile Rubythroat hummingbirds feeding on Gaura, an Arkansas Native plant, along a back road near my home. The plant grows tall so I was able to capture the flower and the bird against the sky.
Canon R5; Canon 100-500mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter; handheld
ISO 1600; f/10; 1/4000 sec/ Spot metering
I deliberately underexposed a bit to avoid blowing out white highlights. First step was DXO Deep Prime noise reduction. Then I removed background distraction, dodged the white flowers and the front of the bird in PS. I used the Color Mixer in LR to selectively enhance the color and adjust the luminosity in some areas. I added a very slight vignette.
I will look forward to your suggestions for improvment.
12 comments posted
Beautiful shot at a wonderful angle where we can see the beak going into the flower. Nice job in postt. I might try dodging the bird a bit more as, to my eye, it still looks slightly under exposed. Great shot. Posted: 10/05/2026 19:53:55
Good advice. I am always a bit hesitant with dodging - afraid I will push it too far. But in this case I believe you are correct. Thank you. Posted: 10/13/2026 18:08:41
Very pretty flower and nice distraction free photo of hummingbird. I like the catch light in the eyes and the feeding behavior. Even with 1/4000 there is quite a bit of softness in the wings. I'm not sure why. I wonder if you could bring out the color on the hummingbird even more. I do like the composition itself, with our attention squarely focused on the hummingbird's beak going into the flower. Posted: 10/06/2026 17:17:09
Thanks Tracy. I know there are different opinions about how sharp a hummer's wing should be. My husband likes them much less sharp than I do and I have heard other bird photographers say the same. I will admit that I was hoping for total sharpness, but I also think that some blurring of the wings indicates motion. Compositionally, I liked the angle created by the bird and the flower. I thought that drew the viewer's eye right to the point of contact. Posted: 10/13/2026 18:12:35
Very nice capture of the hummingbird. The low perspective you chose works well in placing the hummingbird against the sky. The bird's head and body are nice and sharp. The slight blur at the wing tips is not a bother to me as it does indicate motion. I'm not sure how high the shutter speed would need to be to completely stop the wings. I have only done it using flash. I think your post processing works well. To me the flower and the hummer seem a bit flat and dark. Maybe increasing the exposure, vibrance and contrast a bit on the flower and hummer. Posted: 10/10/2026 22:31:32
Thanks for your suggestions. I have tried to add some brightness and vibrance and I think you are correct. Posted: 10/13/2026 18:13:44
Lovely capture of a Rubythroat focused on her nectar meal. I like the fluorescent green under the wing and on its back. The breast does look a bit flat and you could consider brightening it and adding contrast. I seem to want to see a bit less of the flower stem. This is a sweet image. Posted: 10/13/2026 17:17:37
Thanks, Polly. I may try to rotate the image a bit to eliminate some of that stem that is out of focus. Posted: 10/13/2026 18:15:05
Lovely image. I also felt the need for a little more vibrance and found the neck area a little distracting as well as the underside of the body/tail.
I used Photoshop raw, and increased the vibrance to +35.
I used the burn tool brush with highlights to 13% and checked the boxes - texture, transfer and smooth. I then went to dodge - highlights 16% and checked the boxes of texture and smoothing. I think it helps to bring out the colors a little better. As for the wing motion I honestly think that the 1.4 extender might be slowing down the shutter speed a little bit as I am finding this true in many of my faster shutterspeed images when I use the 1.4. Posted: 10/19/2026 20:02:43
I used Photoshop raw, and increased the vibrance to +35.
I used the burn tool brush with highlights to 13% and checked the boxes - texture, transfer and smooth. I then went to dodge - highlights 16% and checked the boxes of texture and smoothing. I think it helps to bring out the colors a little better. As for the wing motion I honestly think that the 1.4 extender might be slowing down the shutter speed a little bit as I am finding this true in many of my faster shutterspeed images when I use the 1.4. Posted: 10/19/2026 20:02:43
You are likely right about the 1.4 extender - I have observed the same effect. However, personally I do not think wing action always has to be completely stopped. You suggested edits work well in my opinion. Thank you. Posted: 10/24/2026 17:15:39
Lovely image that holds my attention. Flower and Hummer are both tack sharp which is particularly impressive given the speed of the Hummer and your having hand-held the heavy camera. The angle of the shot places the subject against the clear blue sky for a very pleasing minimalist look. The triangles, both real and implied, and the diagonal running from the flower up through the wing tip add to the excellence of the composition. I love the pale green and beige colors against the blue sky. This image illustrates well the relatively large size of the Hummer's head in comparison to its body. Posted: 10/22/2026 15:35:51
Judith, I always appreciate your thoughtful comments and especially that you pay so mch attention to composition. I think impact and composition are often the most important factors in how an image is assessed, although technical accuracy must also be demonstrated for a truly high quality image. Posted: 10/24/2026 17:18:40