Hummingbirds out in the open

[Loupey]

Visited a park near where we will be moving soon. Found many ruby-throated out in the open (there were feeders next to the visitors center nearby). Noticed that they tend to return to the same perch after they fed. Waited around (about 2 hours).

Bev, that last one was shot with your recommendations. I popped off the 2x and used 1/1500s at ISO 400. However, it still wasn't fast enough to freeze the wings

The others were with the 2x on the 300mm and all at ISO 200. First 2 at f/9.5 at 1/90s and the 3rd at f/11 at 1/125s.

Sorry if these images seem academic. I'm kind of excited as this was my 2nd attempt at shooting hummingbirds and the 1st time I got them out in the open (not near feeders).

[Bevb]

Loupey you dont mention how far you were from the flight shot, youve done a good job just getting it in the frame! I have never had the chance to photograph these little beauties but probably wouldnt of even attempted to try unless i was really close to it or had a "whooper" lense.

The static ones are great!:thumbsup:

[Loupey]

Loupey you dont mention how far you were from the flight shot, youve done a good job just getting it in the frame! I have never had the chance to photograph these little beauties but probably wouldnt of even attempted to try unless i was really close to it or had a "whooper" lense.

The static ones are great!:thumbsup:

That shot was with the 300mm alone and the bird was right at 10 meters distance. I didn't mention that out of 8 attempts, I only got two within the frame :mad2: The 6 non-keepers just had a blank sky with a blank tree - I was either too slow or he flew in the wrong direction.

[Old Timer]

Nice first attempt. I'm betting that we get some great ones form you before the summer is over on these little birds. We put up a feeder early this spring but have not been able to lure any hummingbirds to our back yard. Have it close to red flowers and all, just no takers.

[julsoph]

I love that first shot, Loupey...his little head looks so tufty... I've only seen ONE hummingbird in the open, and it was at the butterfly show we went to several weeks ago. I couldn't even get the camera up to my eye in time before he took off.

OT...I've heard that it can take up to a month to lure hummingbirds in to your feeders...so maybe just a little longer before they start visiting ya?

Emily

[terryger]

loupy, those are excellent ruby pics. its hard to get the light on the gorget just right as most often it comes out dark.

we don't have rubies here but i do have 3 other varieties.

my favorite subject



your speed was more than fast ebnough to freeze wing action. it was the forward momentum you didn't capture. panning a hummer is "like gnarly dude!"

get them to hover and your speed is plenty:thumbsup:



to get your subjects close it takes a little while but is evry easy. buy some cheap feeders($5), be sure to get the ones with perches so they learn to stay realxed and eat frequently, hang them out in several locations as hummers can be fiercely territorial on food sources, and give them some time.

make necter using 1 cup white sugar to 4 cups boilibg water and keep feeders filled. make sure ants and bees stay clear. bees like the yellow flowers more than red so buy accordingly.

before you know it you'll get shots like this. though not as good as i like to get the colors to all show at one time is rare.

[paulnj]

Good job Loupey! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 1/1500th is to slow usually to stop a hummingbirds wing beat. To stop them usually takes 1/2000th or better! Frozen wings isn't always the best anyway, I like images in the 1/500th range (that show motion) the best.

OT... you need to change out the nectar atleast one a week(preferably every few days) because it ferments and get a bit nasty. Keep trying and eventually You should get some.

[terryger]

you're right paul. i guess that shot i took below was a fluke at 1/1200

[paulnj]

That's a shot of a hovering hummingbird.... flight shots take a fast SS, as you already mentioned You can stop a hoving wing beat with just over 1/750th usually depending on the species. Personally, I go for 1/250th -1/500th when shooting hovering hummers.... I have amazing slides of a caliope that made it to NJ at 1/90th

[terryger]

ya know paul, that's a pretty interesting postulation, though i would have to disagree with you due to areodynamic theory. it takes more wingbeats per second to hover than to fly in a strait or curved line and even less when in a dive.


here are a few links that discuss this theory.

https://depts.washington.edu/nwst/is...05&storyID=742

this link gives generalities though some of its theorums have been recently dispelled by the first.

it does however say this, which helps explain my
point.

"Variety in Flight
The top speed of a bird depends on its design. The vulture flaps its wing once per second. A small bird flaps its wings 4 times per second. The hummingbird flaps its wings 10 times per second and flies at 60 mph. Every bird can change their speed, but has a top speed during flight."

since the hummer beats its wings 80 times p/sec during hovering and only 10 time p/sec during top speed the ss loupy used would be more than sufficient to stop the wings.

since the hummers top speed is only 60mph, at which i capture ducks all the time, the problem is not the ss but his panning skills as i mentioned.

a faster ss may indeed capture the bird quicker as it moves through the target space if panning skill is slow but is not needed for stopping the wings:thumbsup:

[Loupey]

That's a shot of a hovering hummingbird.... flight shots take a fast SS, as you already mentioned You can stop a hoving wing beat with just over 1/750th usually depending on the species. Personally, I go for 1/250th -1/500th when shooting hovering hummers.... I have amazing slides of a caliope that made it to NJ at 1/90th

Speaking of 1/750s, here's one I took the same day landing (instead of taking off) at 1/750s. 300mm with 2x.

[paulnj]

your mentioned""Variety in Flight" comment was nowhere to be found

http://www.photosafaris.com/Articles...mmingbirds.asp

http://www.hummingbirds.net/rubythroated.html
(Anna's and Rufous are larger, therefore wingbeat is less)

http://www.hummingbirds.net/about.html#wingbeat

[quetzal]

Great hummingbird pics! There's one that sometimes comes to my backyard and the feeder i put out and I so badly want to get a good shot of it!

[Knight]

Without a Doubt all good Captures

Heres one i heard dont know if it`s true but im told that if you use red food coloring in your nectar the young hummers are most likely to be born blind . Any truth to this Paul ?

[terryger]

that's good stuff paul. thanx for sharing.
got a great shot of a hummer tounge in action.

as was pointed out by your article the lighting is critical and hard to make it look natural.i got some good pics the other morning, and hopefully will get more over the weekend now that i have my setup, that i will be posting next week. i used a 2 million candle power flood for illumination and they actually allowed me to do it.:thumbsup:

got a great shot of a hummer tounge in action.




the reason you couldn't find the reference i made is i didn't post the second link.:mad2:

it is really irrelvant as your articles said the same thing.

as one of the articles you posted suggested wing beat "may reach" 200 bps, you can see that it is easy to make claims no one can substantiate. the others alluded to the 10-80 range which can be seen.

fascinating, never the less, and i enjoy the banter between two folks that take their birds seriously though i do wonder sometimes where you ever found time for a life

knight,

to the best of my knowledge, that is a myth and one i never heard, though i have heard a lot. red food dye is not needed and has even been given bad credentials, in my opinion, more by the crowd that is petrified of red dyd for children also.

any article can say what it wants but it needs to make a firm commitment, backed up by scientifically proven facts, or it becomes "juink science" . words such as may, can or it is suggested, are pseudo terms used to bolster so much babble.

there is no real scientific proof that red dye causes any ill effects. since it is not needed it is generally discouraged.

[paulnj]

Who needs a life when I have this site???? :lol: I am like a sponge... I hear info about nature and suck it up It also helps to have friendsm a brother and a cousin who are extreme birders too.

The red dye sounds like a myth to me, but most feeders that are highly active use clear nectar. I seen a woman who has atleast 100 anna's alone and her 2 -1 GALLON feeders went empty every day... she was using nearly clear with a slight amber hue to it.

[Knight]

Heres something that came up with google .
http://www.paghat.com/reddye.html

Then theres hundreds of others that say its all BS

[paulnj]

I wouldn't use dye myself, nor would I suggest it.

Here is the holy grale of birding's thoughts...

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou.../document_view