Annas Humingbird
Aug, 2015Views
1540
Likes
Awards
Featured
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Love it
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
In the front yard. I bought a basic hummingbird feeder and set it up in an area with a clean background.Time
Afternoon. I had the feeder in a spot out of direct sunlight.Lighting
These birds have some iridescent feathers and nice coloring so I used a flash to bring out both of those features.Equipment
Canon 5D Mk II, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L lens, and Canon flash. Shot at 200mm from a distance of about 9 feet or 2.8 meters. Exposure was 1/160, f/5.0, ISO 400.Inspiration
I had seen hummingbird photographs from other photographers and was captivated by the beauty of the images. After reading how one of those photographers had set up an area in his yard just to photograph the little jewels, I decided to try it myself.Editing
Definitely some post processing here. This is actually three images. The bird is one, the flower another, and the background is the third image. I blended them in Photoshop. The bird was approaching a feeder I had set up and was just a few inches from it. I replaced that with the flower. The background was shot out of focus on purpose to create a bokeh effect for this image. In PS - Fill Light, Brightness, Clarity, Blacks, and Contrast were increased with a big increase in Vibrance too.In my camera bag
I shoot landscapes mostly and for that I don't need much. My most used lens is the Canon 24-105mm L and I keep a 70-200 with me in case I run into something else and for occasional use for a landscape image. A tripod, a cable release for the shutter, an 8X ND filter, a 10x ND filter, and star filter for shooting the skyline after the lights come on.Feedback
These birds are so much fun to watch and be around. Go for it! They're pretty brave and tolerate people well. I was only nine feet away for this photo. Set up a feeder in your yard in a spot where you have a good background. Add flash. If you shoot in direct sunlight you run the risk of having the highlights washed out. Be patient. They are really fast! After awhile you'll see their rhythm and be able to anticipate their movements. In my case they would approach the feeder and hover, move in and feed, back away and hover, then repeat. I focused on them as they hovered just back from the feeder. Experiment with different shutter speeds. You might like some motion blur of the wings.
