Hummers (image heavy)

[Barbara Ponder]

If I were a hummingbird wanting a really fine portrait of me, I'd hang around your yard! These are all exceptional, and for me, it would be presumption to attempt to pick a favorite.

Wow Tom what a nice thing to say! Thank you, you made my day!

[NorthernFocus]

Hey, Barbara. I'm no hummer expert, but to my eye, the first one takes top honors for overall esthetic and techs. Next would be the fourth image for the excellent BG, position of the bird, and good techs. Nicely done.

[Barbara Ponder]

Thanks Dan! #1 was my favorite as well and in fact just won me my first mini competition win here on CC, how exciting! As far as the techs, well I had a great mentor

[kernowbhoy]

Beautiful birds. Well shot. I only wish we had them in Cornwall !

[Barbara Ponder]

Beautiful birds. Well shot. I only wish we had them in Cornwall !

Thank you! Sorry ya'll don't have them they are fun to watch!

Barbara

[Tom Barry]

Barbara, your hummer shots are so good that I am emboldened to ask you if you would share your technique with us.

[Barbara Ponder]

Barbara, your hummer shots are so good that I am emboldened to ask you if you would share your technique with us.

Tom , I am more than happy to share with you how I shot these. Let me preface by saying that these were taken in 2 different locations but both had no less than 10 to 20 hummingbirds at any given time and sometimes as many as 30, which increased my chances greatly, which I highly recommend.

All of these birds were close to a feeder but had either fed and gone to sit on a branch nearby or had decided to try out the nectar of a nearby plant or flower. There are 2 shots that were taken as the hummers backed away from the feeder. One location was at the home of a fellow photographer and he had invited several of us out. He had a wonderful set up including branches and flowering plants strategically placed near his MANY feeders. The second location was up on a 3 story platform out in the middle of nowhere that is part of the Audubon Hawk Watch program. I had gone out to see raptors but they had feeders hanging on each end of the platform and lots of hummers, which lent itself nicely, providing a blue sky as a background but also wild flowers which attracted them.

All were shot AV mode (canon) with an aperture of between f6.3 and f/8 (I prefer the f/8 as it gives more wing definition) and varying stops of exposure compensation. I tried to keep my ISO between 400 and 1000 to keep noise down but still be able to stop the wings somewhat. SS speeds ran anywhere from 500 to 2000 for the most part. I was using my Canon 100-400mm II lens which I must say has been an AMAZING lens, I highly recommend it.

I find it easier to have my camera pointed at the spot that I want to capture vs. at the hummer itself. It takes a little more patience but I think it proves to provide a better focus and makes focusing easier. Flash was not used in any of these shots so the color was simply what was caused by the sunlight provided.

I am not sure that I answered your question, I hope I did. I am happy to share if there is something in particular that you want to know that I didn't answer.

[Tom Barry]

Barbara, thank you so much. It was exactly what I wanted to know, and very helpful. I had been experimenting for the past few days using remote flash near a feeder or flowers, but that is so confining and frustrating that I've gone back to using only on-camera flash (when the light is subdued) or no flash at all when the light is bright. I get only three or four hummers at my two feeders and numerous flowers this time of year. Most are native but I think some travelers are starting to come through en route south so my chances will, I hope, increase somewhat.

[Barbara Ponder]

Barbara, thank you so much. It was exactly what I wanted to know, and very helpful. I had been experimenting for the past few days using remote flash near a feeder or flowers, but that is so confining and frustrating that I've gone back to using only on-camera flash (when the light is subdued) or no flash at all when the light is bright. I get only three or four hummers at my two feeders and numerous flowers this time of year. Most are native but I think some travelers are starting to come through en route south so my chances will, I hope, increase somewhat.

Glad it was helpful! I hope to see some of your shots soon!

[Chrisclick]

Wonderful photos, a real pleasure to view.

I would love to try my hand at shooting these little gems. Alas, there are no hummingbirds in Oz.

[Barbara Ponder]

Wonderful photos, a real pleasure to view.

I would love to try my hand at shooting these little gems. Alas, there are no hummingbirds in Oz.

Thanks Chris! Sorry ya'll don't have them! You could always come here to visit them