The Interloper

[Arlen]

I've been stalking our western Oregon humming birds lately, looking for the best lighting, backgrounds and opportunities for capturing them in camera. I posted one image of a "lady rufous" a few weeks ago. Here's another, which so far is my favorite. This bird was an interloper who had to drop in and get out quickly, or risk the wrath of the flower patch's rightful "owner" hummer that usually stands guard. Your comments and opinions, one way or the other, would be most welcome.

[gerafotografija]

I like the composition, and the colors are beautiful. There seems to be just enough sharpness at his eyes and the target flowers that it works.

Nice!

[Lloyd Mayeda]

+1"I like the composition, and the colors are beautiful."

Very engaging capture and interloper explanation.  Thanks for sharing!

[francois]

I agree with previous comments, the color palette is excellent. The placement of the wings is also pleasing.

Well done!

[Arlen]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. From your comments it seems that maybe you see what I was aiming for. I realize that hummingbirds are a pretty common (overdone?) photographic subject, and I (like many others) have shots that show them close-up and in detail. However my objective here was to concentrate less on the details of the bird, and capture instead a sense of its behavior by letting the motion show through. But even more important to me was its environment. I'm particularly fond of nuanced, out of focus backgrounds, and that sort of impressionism is why I picked this frame. Even so, it was important to get some detail in the bird's eye, without which the bird (and the whole picture) would seem unanchored.

[wolfnowl]

She's pretty!  And I'm partial to Crocosmia flowers.  Works well together!

Mike.

[brandtb]

I really liked what you were going for (your instincts) - and what you wound up with!  The tones of color in the bg are really beautiful and the relationship of that "softness" to the blur of the wings...as well. I would consider a couple of things to try out on this. One, bringing up the shadows or the darkest tones of the bird slightly.  Also, if this was cropped, maybe "reframing" image - everything as is, but with a little more on the left side, and a fractional amount on the bottom...so that the bird eye is in center of frame horiz. and a little more of the lower left flower is showing.

That you are thinking about the backgrounds and what is happening (sometimes a myriad of things) when they go out of focus is great. As an aside, I saw this image of a Mamba a few days back - just stunning - especially with the lens shallow depth of field effects on the shapes/color/highlights...surrounding the head.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/mamba-cameroon-klum/

[Arlen]

Appreciate the comments and suggestions. Brandt, I agree with you about the mamba photo, thanks for sharing the link. It's gorgeous. And a case where vegetation in front of the subject actually enhanced the image, rather than the opposite.