Jewels in the Sun

[Loupey]

Spent 3 hours standing in the same spot (more or less) in the direct sun (more or less) waiting for the hummingbirds to come close enough to shoot.

There were 3 territorial females which would come to feed about every 10~15 minutes on average. Problem was, when any one hummingbird would get to about the right spot, either of the two other females would zoom in and chase it away. Wait for another 10~15 minutes.... Repeat.

Came away with only a few OK shots. The focus is off on the last one (across the base of the bill instead of the eyes) but the scene was unusual for me so I posted it.

[Vreyens]

Very Nice shots.
Thanks for sharing
Barry

[AmberC]

I think those shots are better than ok!! Very nice! Must have been fun to watch them

[AgingEyes]

Yep, better than OK.

Looks like you have to go practise your MF more, eh?

What lens you used to shoot these BTW?

[Loupey]

Vreyens - thank you for looking and commenting!

AmberC - thanks, and yes, very cool as always to watch them feed, fight, and flight. It was funny to watch them buzz up to the Japanese beetles and chase them away. But they didn't want anything to do with the bumblebees or the hummingbird moths.

AgingEyes - LOL, ok will work on the MF some more All these with the 500mm. Some with the 36mm extension tube to get beneath the 15' minimum focusing distance.

[scott-devon]

Great shots Loupey. I love the capture in that last shot, it definitely makes it a keeper.

[Loupey]

Great shots Loupey. I love the capture in that last shot, it definitely makes it a keeper.

Thank you for looking and I appreciate your feedback.

[Loupey]

OK people, please help me out...

Stopped by the park again last night to shoot some more. I'm pretty comfortable that I've got the technical aspects dialed in. But still trying to find the right combination of POV, background selection, bird attitude, lighting intensity/quality/color, ....

In addition to the original 4 shots, which image has what elements which give it more interest/intensity/impact? Looking for your valued advice as I'm too close and can't quite see the big picture anymore.

Thanks in advance.

[AgingEyes]

For me, the one with the bee is the most interesting one because it has something besides the visuals. It's like the hummingbird was say: "Hey, buddy, what you doing here?" But it would be better if the bee did not overlap the bird. You probably didn't have a choice though. Not sure how you're going to take another shot like that.

[paulnj]

Well worth that 3 hours huh ? Very nicely shot!

[Cassie1]

They are all awesome shots Loupey, weII worth your 3 hours spent in the sun. But if I just had to choose a couple that I though would stand out more than the others, then I would pick #2 because I love the angle of the hummingbird in that shot, and #7 because it's got a lovely clean background (no other flowers or birds in it) and I like the space above the hummingbird.

Cassie.

[Loupey]

AgingEyes - thank you for your feedback. Yeah, I think it would be difficult to get another shot like this. I saw it happen only twice. In this particular sequence I had gotten off 3 shots of it but this one was the best of the three. In the other shots, I can see my focus was between the bee and the hummingbird as I was unsure, in the heat of the moment, on which critter to focus on.

Paul - thanks for looking. Combining both days it was more like 5 1/2 hours though

Cassie - thank you so much for commenting. I found your reasons for liking those two shots very informative. Thanks!