Whether or not it appeals to you aesthetically, it’s an interesting phenomenon.
For the last few days I’ve been making adjustments to my camera gear in an effort to sleuth out a problem with sharpness I’ve been having. I’ll report those results when and if I get it all figured out (I’m making progress) but I thought one of the test shots I took yesterday morning was good enough, and interesting enough, to warrant its own post.
1/8000, f/5.6, ISO 2500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
For most of the early morning my vegetable garden is in deep shade cast by some huge neighborhood trees to the east but occasionally I get very brief, filtered, patchy light on a few of my zinnias. That makes for some highly challenging shooting conditions. Usually I’m shooting at high ISO’s to get more shutter speed in the shade. I use aperture priority so when a hummer, usually a Black-chinned Hummingbird, visits a well-lit flower my shutter speed skyrockets. As it did here.
Despite some minor imperfections, including a flower slightly past its prime and a couple of spots on the flower that are overexposed, I really like this shot. The hummer and flower are sharp, I like the bird’s flight posture and I actually got a clean background that doesn’t include any out of focus tomato cages. Those rusty old cages are less than attractive.
And for me the color of the flower reflected on the bird’s belly and throat is a bonus. It’s a natural phenomenon that I see occasionally with feeding hummingbirds but in the past the reflected color has never been this intense. And no, I didn’t do anything during processing to enhance that color. All I did was crop, adjust exposure and sharpen.
And by the way. Earlier that same morning I saw my first Rufous Hummingbirds in my garden, two of them, since the late summer of 2022. Now, if I can only solve my intermittent but persistent sharpness problems, things will be looking up.
Ron
Both are lovely – and aren’t intermittent problems the worst. I hope you get on top of yours.
EC, “intermittent” is one of my least favorite words when camera gear or vehicles are involved.
Lovely photo Ron – and a Rufous!!!! Finally!!!! SO happy for you 😀
Kathleen, the other Rufous was a very colorful adult male. Never got any shots of him though.
Beautiful photograph of the reflected light, Ron!
Thank you, Ed.
The reflected orange light is delightful! If you remember when I was having trouble with my camera, I played with it’s settings, taking photos of hummingbirds. I wanted to know if I was expecting too much in low light, if the camera had limitations or with focus issues. Hope you get is solved, it will be interesting to see what you find.
Thanks, April. Yeah, I remember well the problems you were having with your R5.
It’s never too late to take an art class! 🙂 You have such a wonderful eye for images, Ron! Love both of these for so many reasons. Lots of comments about the first shot, so I’ll give the second one some love. The wires of the tomato cage perfectly frames the Rufous and the rust complements and enhances the color of the bird so well.
Many bird (and foster puppy) adventures around here — it’s been an interesting August!
That should have been “….wires…perfectly FRAME…” Sigh, subject/verb agreement is our friend. 😉
“Sigh, subject/verb agreement is our friend”
Made me smile. I’m sure glad that I have the advantage of being able to go back and correct the errors and typos I make. I do so regularly.
“It’s never too late to take an art class.”
You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks, Marty. Besides, after 33 years of being ‘the boss’ in my own classroom, I may not have what it takes to become a traditional student again.
I understand the second concern — once a teacher always a teacher and I’m right behind you at 30 years. As for your first sentence, I’ll remind you that you mastered the R5 and that’s no small feat. 💜
Beautiful. You are an artist in my book.
Thank you, for these outstanding photos.
Take Care,
Kaye
“You are an artist in my book”
Thanks, Kaye. I try but I sure don’t have the background for it.
The birds are always special, but your camera and photography show off so well in the rusty old cage and the fading beauty of the zinnia.
Excellent as always.
Much appreciated, Everett.
Interesting! Something one might not notice with the hummer in motion! 🙂
Hope the camera issues get solved without having to send it in. Fingers crossed!
Mouring Doves have had a banner year reproducing this year – about a dozen grouped up yesterday and seeing/hearing many around despite the Asian Collared Doves around – their numbers seem to have decreased – YES!
Thanks, Judy. Our Mourning Doves seem to have done better this year also. But there’s still more than enough Eurasian Collared Doves.
They’re both beautiful! #2, with the rusty wires framing the bird, mirroring the colors in the bird, and the green background punching up the little green on the wing, just wow and serendipity!
Glad your tech issues may be resolving.
Thanks, Carolyn. Fingers crossed.
I agree with Michael–both of these shots are “real gems” ! Shot #1
reminded me of one of my painting professors, who brought
swatches of intensely-colored fabrics into class to hold near the model’s skin so we could see how the color was reflected on their flesh…….
Kris, part of your comment provides further evidence that I should have taken an art class in college. And a Latin class. I never took either one, in college or in high school. A Music Appreciation class in college fulfilled my art requirement.
Yep, so you have some buggy camera issues that would drive anyone mad. But you know, those two photos are real gems. They capture not only the light, but the awe that are these incredible little birds. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Michael. I think I may have solved my sharpness problem. I’m not sure about its cause but at this point I care less about that than I do about resolving the problem.