Tongue Stretch - Click image to view larger!

I've found it nearly impossible to get any kind of hummingbird shot -- they move to fast. This is compounded by their small size and the problems you run into in macro photography. That you got a crisp, clear, detailed shot with the tongue out is a marvel. Great catch.

I wondered how you could have done it, knowing that the shutter had to be closed down to f/22 or so which would have given you too slow a shutter speed, even with a speedlight, and the answer was in the photo details - three flashes!

Thanks M. Hayward! It's the short duration of the flash (I shot this at 1/16 power) in low ambient light (take at dusk) that frozen the bird.

fantastic shot and quality in any aspect!!!!

The timing, clarity and comp are perfect. Well done! I live in The Bahamas and have humming birds in my garden but I have never, as yet, dedicated the time to trying to get some good shots. It is on my "must do" list, but I'm sure I'll never get one as good as this.

Absolutely Perfect 7/7!

wow... fantastic.

Excellent image very sharp, viewed enlarged is fantastic, I like the dark background, ciao Giangiorgio

Thank you very much for stopping by Folks!   This was taken before I've solved my flash setting to freeze the wings, hence, I will try again to get a frozen wings. However, I don't believe  I can get this sharpess and freeze the wings at the same time with 3 flashes since that only give me F16-F18. This one got much higher power than I had though (and that's why the wings are not frozen)  and was taken with F29. 

Wonderful

Ali

Thanks Ali!

Very beautiful shot!  Wonderful detail on the body and the flower is lit beautifly as well.  Tm, you have provided so much information about how you have done these shots.  I may have missed it, but did you say you used a blind, or are the birds used to you now?  And do they react to the flashes?

Thanks Phil! No, I don't use a blind even though I've been thinking about getting one for my outdoor birdshooting forray :-) - You don't really need a blind for Hummingbird since they are 'almost' domesticated if you train them by doing incremetal steps that get you closer to them. For example, if I don't shoot them for a few weeks then I can get as close as 15 feet, I start showing up everyday at the flower where they feed every day then I can get down to 10 feet by moving closer each day. Once they feed, they don't care much if you move real slow with no sudden movement. Sometimes I find my little guy perching and I would move closer very slowly to get him to get used to me and many time he would feed 2, 3 feed right on my side and I would just stand still to look (I don't even turn my head) to get him used to the idea that I am not a threat. I now can get within 3 feet and photograph him at time. This is also the reason I use the tripod since I don't want any movement, I barely move my lens a few inches to either side of the small spiked flower to shoot.

They don't care about the flashes much at over 2 feet away from the flower. At 1 feet away, they back off a bit (hence the tail spread) and continue. You want to wait till they feed some before you shoot though.

As you can see, it's not really all about equipment or shooting technique but it's also about common sense in approaching wild animal. I am quite sure others will have different experience but for me  that what I got after 3 years of shooting these guy in the backyard. Just notice their habit and devise a way to get closer or to what you need. I move, rearrange flower with tape, string to get them to show the side that I want in the direction of light that I need to get the shot I want also. It's easy with potted flower but not with planted bushes though. In fact, up to two months ago I don't even own a HB feeder and the HB only been feeding from the feeder the last 2,3 weeks

OMG !! simply outstanding composition, exposure, and DOF.  

Thanks Joel!

I've tried this too but with no where near this success. This is awesome. I never thought about flash but will now. I'm curious about the black background - how did you do this. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful image.

Amazing Tm, thank you so much for the detailed information.  You are a master at so many aspects of bird photography, and it is so valuable to all of us to read your detailed explanations.  Very interesting to read all the details above about your technique for approaching the HB and their reaction to flash. 

Thanks Frank! the background is automatically black (without any filled flash) because the low power flashes can only go so far at that small of an f-stop.

Thanks Phil! Appreciate the kind words  :-) - If you look at Walter Nussbamer hummingbird's images (who I consider my internet HB mentor) then ... you will see that I got a long way to go :-)

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=952131

From 1 bird to 2 birds with sharpness there's a long gap, I think!  .. Happy birdshooting!