Not Becoming Greener
Hummingbird in the cloud forest of Ecuador. I was happy when I saw how sharp this picture was! It is a disaster to get this camera focussing right when there is...
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Hummingbird in the cloud forest of Ecuador. I was happy when I saw how sharp this picture was! It is a disaster to get this camera focussing right when there is not much light. And manual is... electronically done and an even bigger disaster :-)
Canon Powershot SX30is: f-5.8, 1-125 sec (handheld), ISO-400, 840mm.
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Canon Powershot SX30is: f-5.8, 1-125 sec (handheld), ISO-400, 840mm.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
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Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
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Outstanding Creativity
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
In Ecuador, in the Mindo National Park, when we did a two year 4x4 trip through South America.Time
It was halfway in the morning. We started to hike into the cloud forest when it was still dark, searching for a special bird, and we found a wildlife bird sanctuary in the middle of nowhere, where we socialized for a while with the scientists over there. And there were hummingbirds everywhere (this national park has the most different species of birds per square kilometer on the planet!). So from the porch of the sanctuary I could take lost of pics from these amazing animals.Lighting
Just natural light. Tha sun was still reasonably low and filtering through the canopy, so luckily no harsh shadows.Equipment
I had a simple camera with fixed zoomlens at that time, a Canon SX30is, but it had an amazing zoom of 24 up to 840 or something, which was great for shooting birds. But of course it had a very small sensor, so I needed lots of light. For this bird I used a tripod. No flash. I didn't even have one at that time. Just the inboard flash.Inspiration
I simply love hummingbirds. God must have had a great time, creating these flying jewels! :-) On YouTube I have a few videos about them, and also about all kind of different other birds.Editing
Yes, I pulled up the shadows a little, did a little sharpening. And as far as I remember. I removed some annoying little branch (but that could have been another photo).In my camera bag
Now I have a Canon 70D, 55-250mm IS-STM, Canon 10-18mm IS-STM, Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM, 12+21+31mm macro rings, Yongnuo 685 flash, Yongnua radio trigger for flash, very small "softbox" (15x15cms), circular ND-filter, polarizing filter, step up rings for filters, batterypack for extended filming, extra batteries for everything, strong glasses for macro.Feedback
Have patience. Move as little as possible. Sit in a shadowy area or shoot through a slit. Or use camouflage. Even just a camo cap already makes a difference. Just enjoy being there, wait for the right moment. Use a large aperture to isolate the bird from it's background. If birds often sit at the same spot (a certain branch or rock) you could install a flash with diffuser over there and use a trigger, so your flash doesn't have to bridge a long distance.
