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Challenge


Challenge
Photo Information
Copyright: Selen Ediger (SelenE) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2249 W: 65 N: 4205] (13972)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-30
Categories: Birds, Rain Forest
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM, Hoya UV 77mm
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Hummingbirds - Colibris - Oiseaux-mouches, Birds of South America, Birds of Ecuador, workshops photos with minimum 3 points [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-06-01 4:27
Viewed: 9712
Favorites: 2 [view]
Points: 80
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
BUFF-WINGED STARFRONTLET (female)
Coeligena lutetiae

Photographed in our birding tour to Yanacocha Reserve in the high montane cloud forest on Volcan Pichincha at around 3500mt.

I named this one "Challenge" because having seen the hummingbirds for the first time in real, it was a total challenge for me to photograph them in-flight. They are so small and so fast,they can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings, 15 to 80 times per second (depending on the species).

With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings. Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute.

Besides their small size and speed, trying to capture them in-flight in such a poor light in the Cloud forest was another issue. Most of the times the camera couldn't compete with their fast speed in poor light, and couldn't zoom at all. Having forgotten a small but an important part of my tripod in Turkey, I couldn't use my tripod. I tried so many different manual settings with and without the poor built-in flash of Canon EOS 20D. This is the one taken without flash with 1/1000 seconds at ISO 1600. More space could be left on the right behind the wing tip, but this was the full frame version.

Taxonomy
Kingdom ANIMALIA
Phylum CHORDATA
Class AVES
Order APODIFORMES
Family TROCHILIDAE
Common Name/s BUFF-WINGED STARFRONTLET (E)
Species Authority (DeLattre & Bourcier, 1846)

Major Habitat/s
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane

*What is a Cloud Forest?
·A cloud forest is a specific type of rainforest
·Cloud forests are found only in mountain areas
·Temperatures are much cooler than in surrounding lowland forests
·The forest is immersed in clouds most of the time, with water being deposited directly from the clouds onto leaves and other vegetation

Cloud forests are unique ecosystems that occur only in specific tropical mountain areas. The distinctive weather conditions make them suitable for thousands of plants and animals that can be found nowhere else on Earth.

Clouds and precipitation
A tropical cloud forest is a specific type of rainforest that occurs at relatively high elevations. The most clearly identifiable characteristic of a cloud forest is clouds! Low cloudbanks form over the mountains such that the forest is actually immersed in clouds much of the time. When this happens, the relative humidity is 100%, making cloud forests exceedingly wet places. Large amounts of water are deposited directly onto vegetation from clouds and light mist; the highest elevations of the forest are almost always dripping water from the leaves. This constant supply of above-ground water makes a cloud forest excellent habitat for epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants). To a visitor accustomed to drier temperate forests, the abundance of epiphytes is the most striking difference. Tree trunks are almost always covered with mosses, bromeliads, ferns, and other plants. Visitors are seldom able to view the whole forest because of the clouds and mists constantly drifting in and out amongst the trees.

*Source: Kenneth L. Clark, Roberts O. Lawton, and Paul. R. Butler - The Physical Environment; William A. Haber - Plants and Vegetation. In Nalini M. Nadkarni and Nathaniel T. Wheelwright (eds). 2000. Monteverde: Ecology and Conservation of a Cloud Forest.

Weather conditions: Cloudy and foggy
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Time: 1/1000
F-Stop: f/5.6
ISO Speed Ratings: 1600
Focal Length: 380 mm (full frame)
Date Taken: 2007-04-30 10:48
Metering Mode: Average
Flash: Flash did not fire
Monopod
Jamesp, Raptorman, egeerhan, Maite, Janice, Kathleen, Tamrock, ecem35, smitha, TAZ, GLEM, dew77, Argus, uleko, horia, lawhill, ciccio, spalaxtr, marhowie, meyerd, saguzar, delic, Mariol, CTP, shal, rousettus, elif has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Raptorman: grenSelenE 1 06-01 04:34
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1369 W: 9 N: 6334] (18906)
  • [2007-06-01 4:30]

Hi Selen

I really like this shot - fantastic action and the bird is isolated from the BG very well indeed. The very slight blur conveys movement well.

James

  • Great 
  • circae (152)
  • [2007-06-01 4:31]

Espectacular momento y nitidez sobervia.

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 2232 W: 10 N: 2971] (16891)
  • [2007-06-01 4:34]

Hola Selen,
preciosa captura,
optimo trabajo...
nitidez y bellos colores,
saludos

Hi Selen,
This is an absoloutely fantastic shot of this beautiful humming bird. The DOF is incredible as is the POV.
TFS,
Nick :-)

Gözdeki ışıltı ve ifade harika.bence nefis bir enstantane. ellerine saglık Selen.

Hi selen ,

Love this shot , the action u have captured with such great details makes my eyebrow go up , very well dont on this beauty.A good composed pic.

Tfs

Pawan

  • Great 
  • Maite Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 998 W: 65 N: 1270] (5199)
  • [2007-06-01 5:01]

Hi Selen
What a beautiful hummingbird! I like a lot the point of view and composition and the beautiful colors perfectly caught.
Greetings
Maite

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3277 W: 148 N: 6163] (18832)
  • [2007-06-01 5:02]

Hello Selen, this is good - so sharp and clear, and with good colours too. Well done
Janice

Hi Selen,

Wow, what a picture. You did really well capturing this. I love it and I wish it was my picture. Well done.

Jan-Hendrik

nice one selen!
sharp and with a very
beautiful pose,fine
pov and dof!
very good!

Merhaba Selen
Derinlik,kuştaki netlik ve gözdeki canlılık çok güzel.Tebrikler (senden kurs almam şart şu kurslara başlıyalım bir an evvel) :o))))))

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 988 W: 4 N: 3277] (14761)
  • [2007-06-01 6:56]

Selen, excellent action and lovely standoff picture. Well done and TFS Ganesh

Hey Selen,
I see you have captured a humming bird. I have always wanted to photograph them , but so far never come across one.Fantastic action shot with excellent sharpness and details and very nice background.
TFS, Smitha.

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2007-06-01 7:11]

Hello Selen,
I understand your word "challenge", I imagine how it is difficult to catch this speedy bird in a poor light of forest. You can be proud of this result. For me your shot is superb and the note very instructive.
BRAVO and TFS.
Christian

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2007-06-01 7:30]

Hello Selen,
Fantastic photo. Really sharp with beautiful colours. Great contrast with the BG.POV and composition are very good.
Regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • GLEM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 540 W: 87 N: 750] (10)
  • [2007-06-01 7:55]

Salut Selen
je dois dire que c'est un oiseau qui est photogénique, son vol permet d'avoir de belles lignes. La réalisation est de bon niveau dans l'ensemble, c'est simplement un peu sombre et il reste de bruit compte tenu du iso. Bien vu tout de même compte tenu des éléments.

bravo
gl

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2007-06-01 9:38]

Merhaba Selen,
Bunlar benim de görüp çekmeyi arzu ettiğim kuş türü.Sen de gördüğün anın hakkını verip çok güzel görüntülemişsin.Gözdeki ışığa,yüzdeki ifadeye,kadraj ve arka plana bayıldım.Selamlar,ellerine sağlık!

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2007-06-01 10:35]

Hello Selen,
Great in-flight capture of a female Buff-winged Starfrontlet. Considering the high ISO this is not that noisy and its is pretty sharp.
Nice to see!
Well done and TFS this and the excellent note!
Best wishes, Ivan

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2007-06-01 10:45]

Hello Selen,
This reminds me of how excited I was when I saw these pretty birds for the first time on Trinidad. They are very special and hard to photograph. I think you did extremely well here, it's pretty sharp and the colours are wonderful and the background match them too.
Well done!
Many thanks, Ulla

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1127 W: 254 N: 3161] (14464)
  • [2007-06-01 12:45]

Hi Selen,

A great capture of this challenging hummingbird,well captured with good colors and details,tfs

Paul

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2158 W: 224 N: 4749] (16656)
  • [2007-06-01 13:42]

Hi Selen

A splendid capture of this starfrontlet! What a great in-flight!
The details here are amazing and very impressive taking into consideration the high value of the ISO here.
The result is very good and the colors are reproduced very well.
The pose and composition are also gorgeous.

Bravo and TFS
Horia

Hello Selen,
Beautiful portrait, great colors and sharpness good BG,
TFS regards/LAwhill

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 8 N: 4240] (15809)
  • [2007-06-01 16:45]

Hola Selen.- Very nice photo of this "Colibri" I like his pose and also the beatiful colors. I also have a similar bird here in TN, but with other colors. Luis52.

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1659 W: 95 N: 2273] (8415)
  • [2007-06-01 16:45]

Hi Selen,
Beautiful colours and background and perfect pose.
TFS, José M.

Hola Selen. Te has pasado!! :-). Una maravilla en vuelo. Además a 1600 ISO!!!. Impresionante. Me encanta. Un saludo.

José Luis

Hello Selene,
Great title choice, because anyone who has tried to capture these little guys knows the "challenge". Harder still with an F/4.5 lens...Excellent post processing of the ISO 1600 image.
Howard

Hi Selen,
A marvelous capture,and better if you take it in poor light condition as I think. Colours and details are superb, like the blurred BG.
10 points
Hernán

  • Great 
  • delic Gold Star Critiquer [C: 440 W: 6 N: 310] (898)
  • [2007-06-03 2:02]

Merhaba Selen,
This is a fantastic shot. All the more so considering the adversities in your note. Color, backdrop, blur, sharpness are all perfect. Impressive ISO performance on the camera's part. Hosçakal,
Hakan

Merhaba
Muhteşem.
Kutlarım

  • Great 
  • Mariol Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 160 W: 15 N: 1654] (8221)
  • [2007-06-03 21:44]

Hi Selen,
Very good posting of this exotic bird . Original and instructive.The quality of he picture is also grate.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful picks from your incredible trip.
Regards, Mario.

  • Great 
  • krall Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 190 W: 0 N: 47] (1286)
  • [2007-06-04 0:46]

Hello Selen,Very good

Hi Selen,
I can imagine the challenge. Such a quick bird that hovers in strange patterns as well. You really need a fast lens for such photos because the speed of those wings are amazing. So respect for capturing it. The photo does look soft in focus, and on my screen it has distortion from oversharpening.
TFS,
Niek

Brilliant capture Selen with good timing and well framed. Great work..

  • Great 
  • CTP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 644 W: 6 N: 946] (2726)
  • [2007-06-14 0:52]

Merhaba Selen,
Great Hummingbird in motion photo.
I like your pov,colors,dof,exposure,note,eye,blurred bg and focus.
Eline Saglik.TFS
Chris Tolga

  • Great 
  • shal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 256 W: 64 N: 481] (2140)
  • [2007-06-15 14:18]

Wow brilliant details and B/G,
lovely inflight shot here :)

Cheers :D

Hi Selen. All this time I thought these were female rufous hummingbirds.Excellent depth of field and mid air stoppage.

  • Great 
  • pac Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 67 W: 13 N: 157] (1783)
  • [2007-07-08 7:42]

Hi Selen,

GREAT picture - it dwarfs my petty swallows by miles and miles! Good job indeed!

/Dan

...una foto increible!!

Selen merhaba , 1/1000 le kanat hareketininin donması ilginç , genelde daha yüksek hızlarda bu olabiliyor , güzel bir komp. biraz grenli ama bu ışık koşullarında normal , eline sağlık.

Hi Selen,

Amazing shot!

Sowmya

az önce anasayfa günün üyesi olarak yer alıyordunuz. bu sırada gördüm bu güzel kuşu. sanırım arazi çalışmalarındayken kaçırdığım bir kare. geç de olsa kutlamak isterim, Selen Hanım. son derece güzel bir çekim. açısı, zamanlaması, netliği ve kadrajıyla harika olmuş. elinize sağlık. iyi akşamlar, selamlar.

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