hermit hummingbird
hummingbird close to a feeder in the rainforest of Costa Rica
hummingbird close to a feeder in the rainforest of Costa Rica
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Jul, 2014Views
710
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Awards
Staff Favorite
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
VIP Favorite
Jaw Dropping
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
One Of A Kind
Top Class Lighting
Emotions
Impressed
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PRO+
meshersmith
July 10, 2014
Absoluty Fantastic, what a gorgeous shot, POV, DOF, Focus, Light!!, details .......
Platinum
Flosno
October 12, 2014
WOW.....congrats on this award.....you've certainly mastered the art of shooting these guys.....excellent
PRO+
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this shot during a hummingbird photo workshop in Costa RicaTime
It was during the afternoonLighting
The picture was taken at ISO 200; f/18; 1/200. The motion was frozen with high speed electronic flash, not by a fast shutter speed on the camera. We used multiple flashes mounted off the camera.Equipment
I used a Nikon D800 with a Sigma APO 120-400 mm F 4,5-5,6 DG OS HSM on a tripod with multiple flashes.Inspiration
I love hummingbirds. While I lived in California I tried to take a good picture of them without much success. Then I had the opportunity to participate in a special workshop for hummingbird photography with Ralph Paonessa. The elegance of these birds, their colors, their biology fascinates me. I hope that will be able to do another workshop and see more different hummingbirds.Editing
I cropped the picture in lightroom.In my camera bag
It depends, where I go. In the city I usually take the Nikon D4 with a wide angle. For a walk in nature I always take a macro, in case an insect comes along. I use as often as I can my 600 mm lens in nature.Feedback
The flash equipment makes the difference for this shots. I cite Ralph's explanation on how do it (http://www.rpphoto.com/howto/view.asp?articleID=1031):" I'm often asked what shutter speed I use to freeze a hummingbird in flight. But in reality, the trick is to use high-speed flash, so that it's really not the shutter speed that stops the motion, it's the 1/10,000 second flash burst. You can get such short flash durations with a standard hotshoe flash, as long as it allows you to set a low manual power, like 1/16. These flashes reduce their power by cutting the duration of the already-short full-power flash burst (usually around 1/1,000 sec). You can then shoot at your camera's flash sync speed, usually 1/60 to 1/250 sec."
