illuminationby
BarronessComment by spiritualspatula: Hello and greetings from the Critique Club-
Since I voted on this challenge, I will provide you with my vote and an explanation as to why I voted how I did.
For your entry, I gave you a vote of 4. While hummingbirds are undoubtedly one of the more difficult objects to capture, the bar has been set very high by other members in this arena and it isn’t unusual for them to take Top 10 placements in the Free Studies. Regarding your photo, the centered composition makes the photo feel very static. This feeling is increased by the lack of other subject matter. Technically speaking, the sharpness for this photo is below what is demanded by wildlife photos, which are expected by the very sharp. I think part of this is due to the aperture of 5.6, assuming you were shooting at the tele end of your lens. Knowing that the 5D is not known for focus speed, I would suggest you stop down significantly, for two reasons. First, it will expand your depth of field and make it more likely for you to catch the bird in focus, and secondly, because it will make your lens sharper in any case. Do not be afraid to crank the ISO of the 5D up- it performs very well in this regard. I would also recommend using a higher shutter speed as 1/250 for a 300mm lens is going to be pushing the limits for a sharp shot anyway. If you have external lighting at your disposal, I suggest you peruse this tutorial as well- (
DPC Tutorial
Be aware, however, that the 5D often does not actually sync at 1/20 and frequently down towards 1/160 instead.
You’ve obviously got the most important thing for wildlife photography- patience- so I suggest you keep with it. There are few people who can muster the patience to sit around trying to focus on such small speedy creatures.
Photographer found comment helpful.
