Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

[Eric Patdu]

Tried hummingbird photography last week before the hummers migrate. Also my first time to use manual mode in order to freeze the wings (I always shoot in AV mode). Taken at my backyard and had to be contented with the feeder shot.


Shooting Info: Canon EOS 60D, 300mm f/4L IS + 1.4x, 1/800 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1250, manual mode, tripod + gimbal head + shutter release cable

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Eric,

Wow,..lots of good stuff here and lots to like about this image. Great field technique using tripod, Manual mode to control exposure, high ISO for shutter speed and a release cable to mitigate vibration - well done. There are two ways to get good hummer shots you are using one way and doing it well. The other involves a more mature setup with controlled background and flash. The strobe of a flash actually pulses which is great for freezing action the pros often use 3 to 6 flashes all controlled remotely. I could tell you more but just Google the subject and the pages will flow.

This is a nice image, the opportunity here is to get the entire subject and not the feeder. The bight red device tends to dominate the image, keep on trying and next time isolate the subject and control the frame by not including the feeder.

[Kerry Perkins]

Eric, while you have utilized excellent techniques to get your shot I must be the Grinch here and say that it is simply not possible to "freeze" a hummingbird's wings with shutter speed. To truly freeze the action and maintain any detail in a hummer's wings would require a shutter speed that is beyond most camera bodies' capabilities (including pro bodies). Even if you had a shutter speed of 1/10,000 second, you wouldn't have enough light for the scene. The only way to get those frozen wing shots is with high-speed flash, and the shutter speed chosen is typically below the sync speed of the camera - typically 1/125 or so. It is generally suggested that multiple flashes are used for even illumination and the setup needs to be well-controlled in order for the flash to be the primary source of light. What you have captured in your image here is the moment in time where the wings are changing direction, so their motion is drastically slowed down for a brief time. Notice that the wings of your hummer are not frozen at all, and in fact are quite blurry. Google is your friend here, there are lots of resources available to explain the technique and there are some very good workshops out there.

[Eric Patdu]

Hi Jeff and Kerry,

Thanks for the comments and very informative advise. And Kerry, you were never the Grinch, your comments surely clarified a lot of thing. I would have to say that I have used the word "freeze" kind of wrongly as I really didn't froze the wings but rather captured it at the moment it was changing directions and it is still not that sharp compared to using strobes.

I did this for 5 consecutive days of trial and error before I was able to capture an image I like. Three of those days were on AV mode until I decided on the 4th day that going manual was the way to go in order to capture more details. Anyway, I don't have any chance to try this again this time as my lone hummer is already gone for the winter. Would have to try again come spring.

Again thanks for the comments.

[Kerry Perkins]

Eric, thumbs up for trying manual mode. You did an excellent job of accomplishing your goal. Hope to see some more in the spring! I am lucky to have Anna's and Rufous hummingbirds living year-round at my house.