Hummingbirds Pre-flight Yoga
The fight to get the coveted spot on the feeders can be an intense one, so a little stretching before zooming off to secure some more nectar is essential! Parti...
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The fight to get the coveted spot on the feeders can be an intense one, so a little stretching before zooming off to secure some more nectar is essential! Particularly aggressive when fighting for this spot are the beautiful rufous-tailed hummingbirds. Cayo, Belize 2017
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Nov, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured at a one-of-a-kind location in Belize, atop my friends home nestled in the Western interior of Belize towards the Maya Mountains. This ecosystem hosts a rich diversity of flora with bright, vibrant flowers that in turn attract an even brighter community of hummingbirds, such as this one: the rufous-tailed hummingbird.Time
I took this photo in the early afternoon, however it was a fairly cloudy day. Under the thick jungle canopy, there is very little light that makes it through all the foliage, meaning I was lucky this bird was comfortable enough to get close and save me from losing light to zoom in!Lighting
Shooting wildlife under the jungle canopy can be particularly challenging, as light is a scarce resource in most places- but where it does make it through the dense foliage, it often becomes too high contrast, a real challenge to shoot. However I was lucky in this circumstance due to the cloudier weather evening out the light, meaning I had less of a harsh contrast to mitigate, which gave the backdrop a nice, even smooth green tone.Equipment
Shot on my Canon 70D with a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens (at about 200mm focal length). I was without a tripod or any other equipment, this shot was stabilized by holding the mounting bracket of my lens tightly against a log I sat behind,Inspiration
The bird itself is inspiring enough. The hummingbirds can be particularly fun to watch, if a little voracious when it comes to defending their food from other species or individuals. It must get a bit tiring, and this photo captures the rare moment between bouts of movement, in which we see the importance of keeping those wings stretched in hopes to keep up flying and defending his flowers from competitors.Editing
Due to the harder shooting conditions, and the tendency of hummingbirds to move quickly, I needed to use a high shutter speed to be sure to capture any quick movements. This unfortunately left my photo sharp, but rather dark, leading to a simple exposure adjustment, followed by my typical upping the contrast to give the photo a higher depth of color range.In my camera bag
As a field biologist, I carry a lot of instruments outside those for my photographic passion, meaning I unfortunately limit what camera goods I can carry. To this end, my kit is reduced to my zoom lens, standard 50mm, 16mm, and 60mm macro lenses, and a ball-head tripod.Feedback
Having your setting primed for a particular goal and focusing on that goal is key to captures like this, as well is knowing your animals. Spend some time observing an individual, learn where they like to perch and be ready at that spot! Even wildlife that is fairly accustomed to humans remain somewhat flighty when you begin moving around too much - animals are generally not keen on the predator-like gaze of a camera lens. Learn the popular perches, frame your shot, try to think like a hummingbird, and wait.
