Bird Photo Competition 3 2020
Results
Winning Photo

Hummingbird photos have now become so cliched that many bird photographers won't even bother taking them. For those that do, it's essential to be extra creative to avoid 'more of the same' images. This image is a great example of such creativity, combining a backlit plant with the bird in a composition masterclass. Composition is as much about what's left out of an image as what's included: the strongest compositions almost always have the minimum number of elements. In this case, photographing the hummingbird as it fed from an elegantly-curving plant against a black backdrop effectively reduced the composition to two complementary elements. Backlighting has accentuated the wing feathers and the green leaves and red flower. Finally, square framing with the plant emerging from a corner and the bird off-centre complete the composition.

Photographer: Charley Wraight Photography Location: Roseville, California, USA. Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: Nikon 200-500mm I had trimmed the bushes back so that this solitary honeysuckle branch was showing against a dark fence backdrop. I knew that the hummingbirds fed on this branch, so set myself up when the sun would backlight the subject and branch. I further darkened the fence in photoshop.