Hummingbirds

DoctorIt · June 4, 2004

Those little birds sure are tough buggers to photograh! We put out a feeder just a few days ago, and already we were treated with a visitor:

This shot was done late in the day, and it was raining slightly, so all I could manage even at ISO400 was f/5.6, 1/100 second. Still, 1/100 is pretty fast - imagine how fast those wings are going!!! Personally, I think his little tongue is the best part. I never knew until i was watching him TTL and saw him sticking it in and out. Cool little creatures!

DoctorIt · June 4, 2004

I just remembered why I was orginally staring at that photo today... before I posted it, I was wondering: what do hummingbirds do in winter? They seem so tiny and delicate. I'll admit, I don't know anything about birds other than what I've read in my newly aquired Audobon Field Guide (for IDing the birds at the feeder). I reckon there's a few bird afficionados here that might know before I google the heck out of it.

dugmar · June 5, 2004

Nice!

I was just about to start the same topic. I got these over Mem. Day weekend, Washington, Connecticut. Most were shot at 1/1250 using a 300mm telephoto set on a tripod. I was about 5 feet from the feeder, using my remote shutter release so I wouldn't scare off the little guys. These are good subjects if you use those tools because you can sit still and listen for them come in. Hear the "burrrrrrrr" sound they make and start shooting. The shutter click would sometimes scare them off however. It did take some patience waiting for them. I sat there for about an hour, sipping a glass of wine, making slow movements. It paid off I think. Next time I will move the feeder so it has a brigther background, hoping for a better contrast. These are a bit on the dark side, but I think the sunlight highlights them quite well. Comments welcome.

-Doug

fish · June 5, 2004

digismile · June 6, 2004

DoctorIt wrote:

I just remembered why I was orginally staring at that photo today... before I posted it, I was wondering: what do hummingbirds do in winter? They seem so tiny and delicate. I'll admit, I don't know anything about birds other than what I've read in my newly aquired Audobon Field Guide (for IDing the birds at the feeder). I reckon there's a few bird afficionados here that might know before I google the heck out of it.

My parents have had hummingbirds at their house for years, and we're way above the 49th parallel. No winter holidays here!

If I remember correctly, most hummingbirds migrate to Mexico and farther south for the winter (some well into Soth America). Hard to believe for such a tiny bird. But they sure come and go fast, don't they. Their wing speed should be 10-15 beats per second while hovering.

I think your photo is a great shot. I tried several times in past (pre-digital days) and was terribly unsuccessful. At least with digital, you can keep trying until you get one you like!

Brad

DoctorIt · June 7, 2004

dugmar wrote:

Nice!

I was just about to start the same topic. I got these over Mem. Day weekend, Washington, Connecticut. Most were shot at 1/1250 using a 300mm telephoto set on a tripod. I was about 5 feet from the feeder, using my remote shutter release so I wouldn't scare off the little guys. These are good subjects if you use those tools because you can sit still and listen for them come in. Hear the "burrrrrrrr" sound they make and start shooting. The shutter click would sometimes scare them off however. It did take some patience waiting for them. I sat there for about an hour, sipping a glass of wine, making slow movements. It paid off I think. Next time I will move the feeder so it has a brigther background, hoping for a better contrast. These are a bit on the dark side, but I think the sunlight highlights them quite well. Comments welcome.

-Doug

Love that silhouette - very cool!

DoctorIt · June 7, 2004

digismile wrote:

My parents have had hummingbirds at their house for years, and we're way above the 49th parallel. No winter holidays here!

If I remember correctly, most hummingbirds migrate to Mexico and farther south for the winter (some well into Soth America). Hard to believe for such a tiny bird. But they sure come and go fast, don't they. Their wing speed should be 10-15 beats per second while hovering.

I think your photo is a great shot. I tried several times in past (pre-digital days) and was terribly unsuccessful. At least with digital, you can keep trying until you get one you like!

Brad

I read up more on the migration - you are right. It is amazing that those little guys travel so far!

BTW - that was the first shot I took, minor post processing. Lucky.

dugmar · June 8, 2004

DoctorIt wrote:

Love that silhouette - very cool!

Thanks, me too. A few JPEG artifacts around that one. I prefer the larger version:

http://dugmar.smugmug.com/photos/popup.mg?ImageID=4844271&Size=Original

Doug