Our Use of Color Challenge Winner - Capturing Natural Beauty

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Congratulations to @Katrina Thompson on winning our Use of Color Photo Challenge! 

Katrina Thompson is a passionate photographer who pursues her love for macro, landscape, and wildlife photography while caring for her two young children. With over a decade of experience, her work has been showcased in Carrousel Du Louvre, Canadian Geographic and Sony Alpha Universe. Her ultimate goal is to travel the world, capturing its beauty one photograph at a time.

We connected with her to learn more about how she made this shot. 

In Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, there is a serene marsh that plays host to a magnificent spectacle every spring. This tranquil haven becomes a temporary home to many migrating hummingbirds, drawing birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts alike. On a recent visit, I found myself captivated by the enchanting sight of numerous hummingbirds flitting gracefully among the wildflowers, their delicate wings creating a symphony of motion as they indulged in the nectar of the vibrant blooms. The air was alive with the soft hum of their wings, creating a scene of unparalleled natural beauty. I had to remain still and wait patiently for this little bird, who eventually became curious and approached me. It seemed to pose for me while fluttering in front of me. 

For this shot I used my Alpha 7III camera. I find that capturing beautiful and memorable moments is a breeze with this camera as it has all the features I need and is unwaveringly reliable. My settings for this shot were 1/5000, F7.1, ISO 800, and focal length 500. I also used a Manfrotto Element Traveler Small 5-section Aluminum Tripod with a ball head which helped in capturing a crisp, clear shot of this hummingbird. 

I carefully edited the image using Adobe Lightroom. First, I cropped the image to achieve the perfect composition. Next, I used a brush to create a new mask, allowing me to highlight the hummingbird and enhance the highlights of its wings as well as the saturation of its body. To make a more dynamic image, I applied a linear gradient to darken the foreground while boosting the greens and blues and adding blacks. I also added linear gradients to the top corners of the photo to create a framing effect around the bird, enhancing the highlights and whites. Lastly, I denoised and sharpened the image to ensure its overall quality.

Make sure you check out our most recent photo challenge, we’d love to see your work!