Magnificent Hummingbird #1
by Gregory Scott
Title
Magnificent Hummingbird #1
Artist
Gregory Scott
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
This is two combined photos: a high speed flash photo of a magnificent hummingbird, and a picture from the landscape a day or two before or after I took the photo of the bird. Hummingbirds can survive short periods of cold by going into a semi-hibernation called torpor. The temperature was above freezing when I took this photo, and the snow was rapidly melting when I took this photo in Madera Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. I performed some digital manipulations on the background to brighten colors and slightly posterize the color detail.
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Uploaded
October 29th, 2011
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Comments (6)
Hanne Lore Koehler
Wow!! Magnificent photo, Gregory!!! Your hummingbird shots are all amazing! Thank you for including my paintings in the SCHMALTZ AND GUILTY PLEASURES group.
Windy Mountain
Amazing. I have no idea how you snapped this if it's a natural photograph. Good job.
Gregory Scott replied:
Both photos, bird and snowy background, were taken in the same location, within a couple of days of each other. The flash photo of the bird is, in a way, very unnatural, since it is high speed flash. The background, is much more "natural", but has been subjected to alteration in a digital effects filter called "Topaz Simplify", which altered the detail and the color in a way that made it complement the bird, in my judgement. The Magnificent Hummingbirds go into topor when it is very cold, but will fly to nectar feeders even on snowy days, if they are available.
Gregory Scott replied:
The Magnificent Hummingbird species will overwinter in the location where I took this photo, which was in Madera Canyon near Green Valley, AZ.