Colorado: Frisco: Hummingbirds

There are trees in this image but they are blurred in the background. I

am desperately looking for a fence shot to show in support of Jim and

all his hard work regarding the new ratings. I'll let you know if I

find one.

Very very good work!!!

Nice shot you must tell us how you did this.

Well, there were so many birds about for a two week period and I had the new camera... I would hate to say it was easy as I shot over 200 frames to get maybe 12 good ones but they were unafraid to return after as little as 5-10 seconds after I set up to shoot. I shot over three days in July. I used my 75-300 and got as close as it would focus at 300mm (about 5 feet). I used ISO 400 and got shutter speeds in the 1/7501/1000 range for most of the shots with aperture at f/8. Since the activity was so intense I would simply do a base focus on one spot and wait for a bird. When a bird landed I would touch up focus if possible and shoot. My success rate was about 5-10% but since it's digital camera I could delete as I went along to save space.

 

Next summer I'll be better prepared with extension rings and, hopefully, a longer lens. I'll also rearrange the feeders for better access and light. We have seed-eating birds on the other side of our deck but they require much more patience and the light isn't as good there. I have to work on that too.

Excellent shot. You got the focus right where it should be.

I tried this kind of shot with a swallow but I'm not satisfied with the focus:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1055456

Jim: I gotta 'fess up. I used my good old Leitz Tiltall tripod for these shots. It's about all there is left of my old equipment. My arms would get mighty tired if I had to do it handheld. Sorry to disillusion you.

 

All my fence shots are in the files at home so I won't get any more in until later tonight or tomorrow.

You have to love this shot! Great technique. Wonder how many frames it took to get this winner?

I think this is as close to perfection as photography gets. I really like the catchlight in the eye. Wonderful shot.

Absolutely stunning! Amazing sharpness, very nice lighting, and above all amazing sense of volume. I love the way the background is rendered and how the bird pops out. Clean and immobile yet very dynamic shot.

Very nice capture. Aren't you glad that you were shooting digital instead of film??? I have seen a sitewith pretty good idea on shooting Hummingbirds:

http://www.photosafaris.com/PhotographingHummingbirds.asp

Good composition in this one.

One of the best in-flight photos i have seen. Did you actually frame it this perfectly or did you have to crop? You have inspired me to point my D60 at the smaller things in life - thanks for sharing this photo.

O a honningbird. This is really a shoot that get the charactere of the bird.

Perfect.

Calvin: The image is cropped to about 60%. I had to leave some room when shooting in order to assure getting the birds entirely within the frame. He was coming into a flat saucer-shaped feeder which is why his feet are starting to extend for a landing.

Perfect focusing

I couldn't even imagine how to take a photo like this--I'm just learning how to shoot stationary objects at this point. Although I like this photo very much, I would have liked to see a more symetrical crop selection. I know I'm being picky, but this caught my eye.

very good job!

I wonder if we'll ever see those wings in a shot. Remarkable creature, though. I love this in-flight photo. Bravo!

Hey, a lot of people would just hang it up after taking a photo this good, figuring they's never be able to match it ever again!

Thank you, to share with us this incredible fairy tale capture. Such a fast flying little bird, and you did not miss it, very dramatic operation. You are a "VIRTUOSE",I Have to say it in French.My English is too fair.But my admiration immense., Jana

Excellent shot .

excellent!

what a shot! I can Imagine how hard to get this. Congrats!