Hummingbird & Cape Honey Suckle Flower - Click on image to view larger!

Thanks for viewing/comments! Taken with a 580 EX II flash at 1/16

power (should have been 1/32 to freeze the wings better)

Thanks Roberto! I kind of screwed up with the flash setting at 1/16 since I was shooting her against the sun perching on a branch and had dialed up the power to 1/16. At 1/32 power the duration would have been a bit shorter and the wings would have frozen better.  The best way is to have more than 1 flash at 1/32 power though.

On the subject of sharpness, that's the result of setting the AF to just the center point and aim at the bird. I've found that the quick/fast multiple point AF of the 1D Mark III is a handfull to work with HB since it will flip the focusing to the busy background as in this case, btw.

Great shot.  Love the hummingbirds and you have captured this one very nicely.  I like to shoot them as well but have hesitated to use flash for fear of scaring them off.  I have tried it in the past, but after the first light blast they took off.  Any problem with that?  Maybe my first attempts were with a timid bird and I gave it up too quickly.

Hi Alan, I've been shooting them the last 3 years with flash. I do see that if they never experience flash then that kind of scare them off but after a few times, they don't even flinch. I drained my four AA battery on my flash last night since I keep shooting for almost 2 hours (in the backyard). The light is not on my side in my yard, hence, I have to use flash. But, I also like to use flash after the sun gets real low since the low power flash and a closed-down f-stop will helps freez the wings better in the low ambient light (since low-power flash has short duration) . Happy ... bird shooting! :-)

The pro-HB shooters shoot with multiple flashes, btw.

http://www.photosig.com/go/users/viewportfolio?id=127093

Beautiful picture!

lovely background and colors

Wonderful image of perfect timing, wishing you all of the best.

Wonderful action shot with beautiful colors and perfect timing!

Great capture!