Hey There!
Hey there!
Hey there!
Read less
Read less
Jan, 2015Views
505
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Botanical Garden in SF California. I picked this location because on my first visit I was able to shoot a humming bird in its natural environment. I love to shoot birds and flowers. This location has proved to have come through on every visit, as I have been able to capture amazing bird and flower images.Time
I believe it was later evening around 4:PM in the spring, because I shot it at 1000 ISO, but I usually try to shoot at 100 ISO if I can, in order to get the sharpest image possible. I shot this at F5.6 which doesn't let in as much light as needed, so a higher ISO was needed as well. I always shoot on spot focus so the subject is in focus, not the backdrop or the foreground, which explains why the flowers in the foreground are out of focus and my subject is in focus. My focal length was 240MM it brings in the backdrop closer but leaves it blurred out which make your subject pop.Lighting
If I recall correctly, I think what happened was I was in a dark wooded area, hence my ISO was at 1000, and came into this well lit garden area where I spotted this amazing ruby throated hummer, that just happened to be feeding on the pink bell shaped flowers. When photographing hummingbirds in their natural environment, you need to most importantly, quickly make sure you have your exposure right. I took an exposure on the flowers where it was feeding, then made sure I was close enough to get a good shot. Then I patiently waited very still for around five minutes, and sure enough it returned back to it's favorite feeding spot. Hummers expel so much energy that they usually return back to where they are feeding for a frequent recharge.Equipment
My camera was a Nikon D5100. I may have been using a Mono pod, but the lens was a 55-300 image stabilizer, which allows for a pretty good quality image hand held, without any restrictions, so your able to follow your subject around. Although, because hummers are so fast, I don't try to follow the hummer around, instead, I focused on the flower, and then when he returns and goes in for the pollen, I refocus on the closest eye. I shot off as many shots on continual shooting as possible, while keeping my focus on the eye, in that half a minute or so that I have while the hummer feeds. I always have a flash with a modifier on it to light up my subject if their face is away from the light. Since I shot this at 350/sec. my flash didn't fire because your speed has to be at 250/sec. or lower for the flash to go off.Inspiration
I am very inspired to photograph birds. I especially love the hunt of shooting hummers, because they are so fast that it presents a challenge to capture them in their natural environment. I've never cared for feeders or zoo caged animal shots. I believe if your out in their environment, you learn their habits and what their behaviors are. I can be sitting in a spot where absolutely nothing is going on, and then suddenly nature appears and never lets me down. That is what keeps my passion alive. Capturing that moment in time that will possibly never exist again.Editing
Yes, my favorite thing to do after capturing an image, is the post-processing of an image, and making it look exactly to my preference. I recommend everyone have some sort of editing program in order to make the best of their images. I use lightroom for most of my editing needs, and it is an awesome way to organize your images when you need to look them up again as in this case, when I had to refer back to this image for all the metadata that was recorded. Not only is it useful for finding images, it also has saved images that I would have otherwise chalked up as lost moments in time. You can sometimes recover under exposed as well as overexposed images by at least 2-3 stops. So if your exposure isn't spot on, not all is lost.In my camera bag
I always carry two cameras around my neck with the lens of choice depending on what my intent is when going on a shoot, for quick access and so I don't have to switch out my lens. I usually have in mind what I want out of a shoot before going out. I always have 1 extra lens in a backpack if I want to switch one out. I always have a flash on one camera with a modifier to light up my subjects, and a back-up flash in case I want to light up a background with 4 extra AAA batteries for them in my backpack. I always have one extra camera battery in case one battery goes dead, and I always have 1 reformatted clean san disc for backup. I usually come home with 500 images and up, depending on how long I am out shooting. I also carry a momopod, or a light tripod.Feedback
My best advice is to get to know places that your subjects are best known to be at. The more you know your subjects behaviors the better. If your out to photograph birds I recommend a 300 telephoto lens or larger. I always have my speed above 500/sec. to freeze very fast moving objects such as birds. Speeds above 250/sec. will not sink with a flash, which means the flash won't fire. I shot this image at 350/sec and that is why its wings have the appearance of movement. If I shot it at a faster speed like 1000/sec, the wings would have been clear and frozen in appearance ,their wings move at something like 500 beats per second. So, that leaves two ways to totally freeze your subject, a fast speed without flash or a slower speed under 250/sec. with a flash to light up the subject. If you use a slower speed with flash, your subject will be totally frozen because of the flash, not to mention you will most likely get more color as hummingbirds feathers only light up when light hits the feathers just right. Your also more likely to get a catch light in the eyes. Since I shot this at 350th of a second and my flash didn't fire as a result, the wings were blurry, the throat was lit up, and catch light in the eye were by luck, because the direction of the light. Thank you for your interest. and I hope this helps.
