Betty this is fantastic

[Shari]

What a shot - great photography. Thank you for sharing.
Shari
http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/gallery/view_img.php?id=11471

[billz]

Betty - Wow ... what a great photo!!

Bill

[jo]

Betty, your hummingbirds are always beautiful, and this one is more so!

[ktnoon60]

Wonderful shot Betty!

Terry

[mottcru]

Beautiful shot Betty. What's the story behind it? How long did you have to hold your breath to get such a breathtaking shot?!!

[juneandbob]

the picture sure looks great.how lucky do you feel. maybe a trip to vegas is in the stars:D EXCEPTIONAL BETTY:) :) boB

[Robyn]

Excellent shot Betty. Great work.

[Wendy]

Betty ...

Oh that is just beautiful !! :)

Wendy

[karen donnybrook]

Betty,

Beautiful shot. You must very very patient to get bird shots like that - well done.

Karen

[NMarti]

Ok Betty - that's it - I demand you send my hummers back to Illinois.:D
Still only one here who visits very sporadically. I think they all moved to your house. That is a FANTASTIC shot. Have you ever submitted photos to Birds and Blooms magazine? That would be an excellent one to send in. It's published by Rieman Publications and they have the most beautiful bird shots you will ever see in there - right where this one belongs!

[BettyC]

Oh, thank you so much, everyone! I prepared this additional pic for Pixentral in case I had to explain myself this morning. I know what I did was honest, but in my haste to get that shot with his beak opened, I cut off his feet and the shot was badly composed. So I put his head on the one where he was just sitting there for me. (Shall I take a bow or hang my head in abject shame?!?
Nancy—I take Birds & Blooms and my neighbor wants me to send a pic in, but I guess this combo PSE’d one wouldn’t qualify.

This little guy sat so calmly on his customary branch by the feeder that he'd let me get so close that my 300mm wouldn't focus. They can really get used to being around you!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/17rgDClbsIe0gvO92qomqxKZ4cH7Sd1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=17rgDClbsIe0gvO92qomqxKZ4cH7Sd1)

[mottcru]

Betty - Who would have known? I applaud your honesty!!! Still, even the one with his mouth closed is beautiful!

[mel]

I just love bird photos and this one is marvellous Betty!! :)

[Dorrie H.]

Betty, Very well done....I would not even have thought of combining the two photos.. I too like the closed beak one as well, but the open beak is really nice.

[BettyC]

Thank you, Betsy, Mel, & Dorrie! (I just preferred the one with the beak opened because I'd never caught that before.)

[kroberts]

Wow, amazing photos--both of them! I wish I could get the hummingbirds in our yard to sit still for even a few seconds:eek:

[NMarti]

Betty
I looked really, really close at them and I absolutely cannot see where you combined the two. The background looks the same - I see no odd feathers, nothing to give it away. What a fantastic job you did on it.

[snooze]

Betty, that is a great photo. I've been trying all summer to get a photo of a Humming bird. I have four of them at the feeder all the time. If you like Bird photos here is a site to visit. Great photos of birds and wild life.

Dennis
http://wildlifeshots.net/thumbnails.php?album=6

[BettyC]

Thank you, Kim.

Thanks, Nancy. I post processed both pics as nearly the same as I could, then moved the opened beak head selection on top of the other pic. I lowered its opacity a bit so I could see exactly where to move it, and then erased the beak of the lower pic(I know, should use mask, but my mind was failing me then!) I remembered how Butch said to expand selection a few pixels, then feather by a little less amount of pixels. Seemed to work out fine.

Thanks for the website, Dennis! I put it into my faves!