Hummer

[mjs1973]

I took this shot last night, and my first thought was that this is a throw away shot. I didn't like how the wing position blocked most of the head/face of the bird. But the more I look at it, the more I like it for some reason. Just wondering what others think of it. Good or bad, I can handle it.

[geraldb]

Bird shot without bird head = No shot, you shouldn't have considered it.

[Frog]

I wondered before opening if I would see a bird or an obnoxious 4x4 vehicle.
Background is good and position withing frame. Probably better if whole head showed but it could also be viewed as a bit of a mystery or maybe it is a Muslim lady hummingbird?
I like how the beak pokes out between the wings.

[geraldb]

I wondered before opening if I would see a bird or an obnoxious 4x4 vehicle.
Background is good and position withing frame. Probably better if whole head showed but it could also be viewed as a bit of a mystery or maybe it is a Muslim lady hummingbird?
I like how the beak pokes out between the wings.

I don't buy that mystery thing. you could take a picture of a person and cut his head off to add mystery. Actually that could work sometimes because people look different from each other but not when it comes to something predictable as a hummingbird heads because they all look the same.
We sometimes try to justify things even disposable blurry pictures as "artistic looking", don't we?.

[draymorton]

Different in a good way, I think. The whole head showing would probably made for a stronger shot, but also a much more pedestrian one. There is just enough of the eye, head, and beak showing to add mystery and interest without totally ruining the shot.

Great colors and sharp focus, as well.

[geraldb]

Any picture could just get by in one way or another but that is not what the critique forum should be. Critique is to establish how it should have been. I have seen humingbird shots with wings in this same position but taken from higher level where all head showed.
When you say it is alright to have a headless bird shot you should also think alright for what?, book cover?, print?, brochure?, framing on my wall?.
If this forum is to make each other feel good about ourselves, then, this shot is just perfect, please give me more headless birds.

[Frog]

Any picture could just get by in one way or another but that is not what the critique forum should be. Critique is to establish how it should have been. I have seen humingbird shots with wings in this same position but taken from higher level where all head showed.
When you say it is alright to have a headless bird shot you should also think alright for what?, book cover?, print?, brochure?, framing on my wall?.
If this forum is to make each other feel good about ourselves, then, this shot is just perfect, please give me more headless birds.

All true. However 'critique' does not mean to just point out the negatgive but to give credit for the positive. Yes! It would be better with the whole head. Does mjs shoot lots of hummers...I don't know. They are not an easy subject and perhaps he does want to know how to make it better but he probably also wants to know what he did right.

[draymorton]

.......................

[draymorton]

While I definitely agree that a different vantage point might have yielded a more mainstream (and, therefore, more universally-understood and -appealing) image, "how it should have been" is a fairly subjective matter, no?

That said, I (for one) really appreciate that you're even asking these kinds of questions, because it shows that you care enough to ask them - and that you have too much respect for the artist to placate him.

[geraldb]

All true. However 'critique' does not mean to just point out the negatgive but to give credit for the positive. Yes! It would be better with the whole head. Does mjs shoot lots of hummers...I don't know. They are not an easy subject and perhaps he does want to know how to make it better but he probably also wants to know what he did right.

Sure, but some shots just fall from the first look and don't make to the next level, no sharp or good color would help them. If this shot was posted in the gallery, it'd would have been different.

[emoxley]

They are my favorite critters to photograph. I love them.
One thing that makes a hummingbird so interesting is the speed at which it's wings move. They are the only bird that can hover for period of time, fly backwards and upside down. The wings in this picture look pretty good in their position, and not just a blur. There's lots of pictures where you don't see the whole beak, because it's in the feeder or in a flower, yet people love those.

I know how hard it is to get a good picture of a hummer. I'll take 100+ photos, and maybe wind up with two decent to good ones. One thing I learned early in my quest of hummers, as well as other photos too............ I keep my camera set on "continuous high". It helps a lot. I even use that when taking a portrait shot, so I'll be assured of catching them with their eyes open, in one of the frames.

I think the picture is not great, but it is decent. Bokeh is good, tail is fanned out, and wings are frozen pretty good. Keep it up. You'll get plenty of whole head shots too.

[mjs1973]

Thanks for all of the feedback and comments everyone. The more I look at this image myself, the more interesting I find it. That being said, I highly doubt this image will make it past this post and wont end up as a print.

[Lava Lamp]

Bird shot without bird head = No shot, you shouldn't have considered it.

This statement is so harsh I thought you were kidding at first. There is offering critique and there is being rude. I don't think I'm alone in picking up on this tone here and in some of your other posts.

[rossi46]

I love the overall colours, especially the background colour. It is really first class.
I always do appreciate and admire such a well captured nature shots, its really beyond my skills and knowledge on such type of photography.

But I believe that the wing covering the head does not quite work out so well, I guess its because the wing is not the focal point of the picture.



Coming from someone who has got no clue at all about nature photography, just ignore my suggestions if you find it too irrelevant or rubbish. I am just trying to be creative.

My suggestions on this shot, what you are shooting is a very conventional angle, could it be really stand out and more unique if it is shot this way?

- shot from very low angle, may not directly below the bird, but quite close to below it so that you can capture the head.
And the background shows abit of plants close by and trees further away (with both being out of focus) ..... It is going to be tough to get the right blend colours of close by and further away trees in the background.
And also tough to still get some colored part of the bird in the frame, because if we get too low, all we will see is bland and plain color of the bird's lower part, making it hard to recognize that it is humming bird...sigh.
If you understand what I am trying to say here.

This may deviate from macro photography when composition includes some background scene.


- Second suggestion, if composition allows, how about shooting at a head on angle and closer?