Hummer coming in for nectar

I like the pose and the flower. I find the large white background to be distracting, though it does show the hummer nicely.

Welcome to NPN.  Thanks for sharing your image.

I like the pose of the hummer.  The image isn't quite sharp on the hummer which hurts it.  It is also showing quite a bit of noise.  You mentioned ISO 1600, but no what camera body.  Depending on the camera, ISO 1600 could be pushing the camera, or this could be from post processing.  

The larger version looks like it is the same size as the smaller one.  The larger one can be up to 1600 pixels on the long edge.
 

Hi Ry,

I like the pose and comp.  The light/dark BG is somewhat distracting, but the hummer shows up well.  Have you sharpened this image? You may want to try some noise suppression and sharpening with your post processing.  Otherwise, I llike the results of your attempt at getting this challenging subject.................................Jim

Hummingbird images are not very easy and require a fair amount of technical skill.  Whether one uses a flash, a series of flashes, or no flash at all, proper lighting and proper background are crucial to getting the image as natural as possible.  While you have good composition in this image, as noted by others, the hummingbird itself is not as sharp as it could be.  That is also a crucial factor.  Sharpening may help.  I think your shutter speed is more than adequate.  Lowering the iso may help with the image quality.  Once again knowing what camera you are using would help one judge whether the iso you use is appropriate.  Looking forward to seeing more images and some comments.

Hey everybody!  This is my neighbor, whom I've convinced to join our group!  Hope everybody gives him a warm welcome!   Ry, I "did" warn you, that the Avian gallery is the toughest!

She's a precious little ruby throat!  You've done a much better job freezing her action, than I've done.   And, at least you've got some nice flowers.  My photos will all have to go into the Man and nature gallery!  They only hang around my feeders! 

Welcome to NPN Ry. The colors are beautiful with a nice composition and catch light in the hummer's eye. Hummers are tough to get with clarity. Camera body would be good information to have. Keep em coming.

Welcome to the Avian Gallery, Ry.  A nice catch of the hummingbird.  It looks as if you pre-focused on the flower, which is a pretty common way of photographing hummingbirds, but I think you needed more than f/9 to get the depth of field you needed as the hummer is a bit soft.  It's very difficult to stop the wings without flash, but the body can be surprisingly stable, particularly the head, so you can safely stop down your aperture and sacrifice some of the shutter speed to do it.  I've had pretty good luck as low as 1/500 sec.  The other option is to focus on the hummingbird itself.  If you set your camera to single point AF, it's actually not too difficult since they hold pretty still while they're nectaring.