Hummingbird Experiment 5

Comments?

WOW !!!!

Excelente imagen, perfecta luz, color y gran composicion, bello encuadre, saludos cordiales Walter.

Hey, I thought 4x5 was for landscape only.. ha ha....I have had you bookmarked for a long time. Every now and then I go look at your gallery. great photos, great locations. Great Inspiration! Your "I wanna lay down like a tired child" photo is one of the best I have ever seen anywhere. I just sold my Arca Swiss Discovery. Just did not have the discipline to force myself to learn it. Damn small format is just too conveinant and too much fun. Oh'well maybe I will get back into it later. You do such great work with that Pentax, I cant see you using anything else.

Thanks Jay, that means a lot to me! The Pentax 6x7 will always be my first choice, but I just wanted to see what I could do in 4x5. Neither format is very easy to use when trying to capture one of these speed demons. A 135 format or a good digital, would be better choices.

Thanks for those kind words regarding my Tired Child. Best Regards.

PS:By the way...nice Iguana!

Walter, this is even better, if I understand well, it's more whan you intended... Very very well done, the "guy" is beautiful. Are you also planning to get the bird also with some flower? (meaning just one flower trumpet and the bill of the bird poking in...) Keep up and I'm looking forward for the next...

 

Jiri

Real nice shot. Bravo

I know how hard it is to get these guys in flight, so these postings are pretty darn good! Were you using a monopod or tripod? It's so much easier when these little hummers perch on a branch, but it seems not too many people have seen that. Did you have a set-up where you had an idea where the hummer might zoom in?

Hi again Kim. Well, I wish that I could impress you by saying that I was out and about hunting these and grabbed this fellow as he flew by, but nothing would be further from the truth. The 4x5 was on a tripod just over 6 feet high. There were two scrimmed flash units mounted on tripods to either side of the camera, about three feet back. The hummer is abut 12 inches from the lens, which I had prefocused. My secret weapon was the hummingbird feeder just out of the frame on the right. With the remote release inhand, I sat on my deck sipping some Cab and enjoying a stoggie, waiting for an opportune flyby. It was kind of like fishing for bluegills in the old farm pond. Thanks for the visit.

Great Job, Walter.... Thanks for sharing all the behind information!

Thanks Brad! Regards.

Really hard to make it with 4x5, your have done great job, and you are awarded with a great result...Congrat.

 

--darko

Walter, long time no see, but it is always nice seeing you coming up with great unique pictures, this is a different one from you, great capture, and nice details of how you have done this. Keep them coming Walter...regards, Rajeev. 7/7

Thank you Darko and Rajeev! Yes, using this format to catch one these fellows is indeed a bit different. This result is still not what I would like, but the weather is warm and the Hummers are still visiting my yard. Rajeev, I always like to post as much information about my experiments as I can, just in the event that someone else my like to try the same thing. Thanks again for the visit and the kind words. Regards.

I don't know what to say, Walter. It must be your charm that the bird will come so close. :-)

 

This has to be the boldest setup I've learned on PN. On the other hand, I've shot landscapes with 3 megapixels so why not! This isn't much of a comment, but here's a rig you might find interesting (if you haven't already seen) - adaptable to your situation, I'm sure. :-)

http://users.skynet.be/fotoopa/beestjes/laser_module10_E.htm

 

By the way, Becky's camera is Mine! I saw it first. :D

This seems like an expensive way to shoot hummingbirds!?! Your prefocusing seems to work quite well though and your lighting setup creates that nice iridescence in the feathers. My birds can never find the correct location when I try the prefocusing thing. Hummingbirds are so entertaining though. Regards!

These little critters are hard to photograph in motion, well seen and captured.

Excellent shot Walter, perfect focus and dof, and awesome detail.

Walt, sorry to be off topic, but I am taking off, and didn't want to go without saying goodbye. You've been a great and might presence here for me, both as an artist and, whether or not I agreed with you, as a man of principles and courage. Feel free to stay in touch.

Best,

Ben

we'll miss you around here, but I can not blame you for leaving. Some say that change is good, but it may take quite some time to see its fruition here. Best regards to you.