Description: On the fourth night, a ruby-throated hummingbird gave me a 3 second chance for photos. I was able to fix the Z9 flash sync issue and everything worked out well. This bird made 3 trips down from its perch before deciding that the flower needed to be checked out. The flower is from canna seeds that sprout in our garden. The flower’s petals have reverted back to its wild type and this type of Canna can be found in SE United States.
Specific Feedback Requested:
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Z9 600mm f4 (1/200 sec at f18, ISO 250, 3 flashes on subject, 1 on background set at 1/16 power) Crop for comp, Topaz DeNoise AI, Levels, Brightness & Contrast. I used an out of focus photo of trees on the other side of our pond for the background.
A beautiful image. The flash setting is perfect, I thought this was taken outside in daylight! Nice and smooth background to show off this simple scene.
Wonderful!!! Sharp detail and a perfect pose. I never knew there was a wild canna, but I like its delicacy more than the hybridized ones. You have the flashes dialed in perfectly and a gorgeous BG piece!
Hi Jim
“I was able to fix the Z9 flash sync issue and everything worked out well.” Is an understatement. The Canna Seed, background and Hummingbird are perfectly framed. This is art.
Peter
Thank you @Donna_Callais , @Dennis_Plank , @Diane_Miller , @Allen_Brooks , @Mark_Muller , and @peter for the critiques. Hummingbird multiflash photography has been a pursuit of mine ever since I started at NPN. Each time, a major photographic flop, but improvements have been made via small steps and image quality is getting better. I wish that I was out in the SW US where hummingbird species diversity is high wuith much more chances for success than I get out here in the Midwest. We have lots of hummingbirds with a very small time window for ideal shooting. This one was taken at dusk and it would have been totally dark in another hour. Once again, Thank you.
Holy cow, this is exceptional, Jim. Tack sharp, terrific pose, a killer background and an awesome flower to feed from. Love the little feet hanging down. This one needs to be printed HUGE.
