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"Lil Man"

Male Ruby Throated hummingbird

Male Ruby Throated hummingbird
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NIKON D7100

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 100 Shutter 1/250 Focal Length 300/1

upload_date

Apr, 2016

Views

307

Likes

+12

Awards

Fall Award 2020

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Peer Award

Behind The Lens

Location

We live in Wallace, a small rural town in South Carolina close to the North Carolina line. I managed to get this shot sitting in a lawn chair in our backyard between our barn and house. I placed the chair between the two feeders near the tree the birds were using for nesting and would take my shots as they were feeding.

Time

This is one of my favorite shots of the hummingbirds taken last summer. I would sit out in the lawn chair every morning I had off and every evening after work in the hot summer sun and wait patiently until they birds felt comfortable to go to the feeders to feed, and that is when I would strike! This shot was taken in the evening around 6:00 pm in the summer of 2015 with f5.6, 100 ISO, 1/250 shutter speed, and a 300/1 focal length.

Lighting

Having to take this shot in the bright sunlight I would position myself so the sun would be at my back to bring out the radiant colors of these beautiful birds

Equipment

I used a Nikon D7100 with a Nikon 55-300mm 4.5-5.6 G ED Kit lens to get this shot. I was was not using a tripod but propping on the arm of the chair to stabilize the camera and taking as many continuous shots as the camera would allow.

Inspiration

I am always looking for a reason to get my camera out and noticed that we had hummingbirds using our new feeders; wanting to try something new, I started the daily ritual of sitting and waiting. My wife and I love hummingbirds and as I started to get some good shots and these birds quickly became part of my life and family one of my favorite subjects to photograph.

Editing

Some basic editing was performed using the PhotoDirector software that came with the camera. With me being very new to editing at the time the only processing was with the highlights, shadows, blacks, and whites as well as some cropping.

In my camera bag

My camera bag has grown since this photo was taken! My bag is a Jealiot backpack I purchased In Milan, Italy in 2015, I have the Nikon 55-300mm 4.5-5.6 G ED, a Nikon 18-55mm 3.5-5.4 G II, and a Nikon 50mm 1.8G Prime for lenses, a Pro Master FL90 for Nikon flash, Afaith ball head tripod, cable and wireless release, Ranger ND filters, a BlackRapid cross body strap, a wrist strap, cleaning kit, extra batteries, a knife, flashlight, battery charger and extra memory cards.

Feedback

The best advice I can give to anyone that wants to photograph hummingbirds is to be very patient, use as fast a shutter speed as you can and a tripod if possible. You will have to take a lot of pictures and you may only get one or two that are usable. I was taking close to 100 shots every time I went out and only having one or two shots can be disheartening but never give up until you have the shot you want.

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EReep

"Lil Man"

Male Ruby Throated hummingbird

Behind The Lens

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