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Hummingbird Approaching Cardinal Flower Blooms
Taken from our back patio in Abington PA
Taken from our back patio in Abington PA
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SONY ILCE-6000
Aperture 5/1 ISO 2000 Shutter 1/2000 Focal Length 50/1 
Abington, Pennsylvania, US
Aug, 2020Views
220
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NatureLoverJJWal
March 25, 2022
Wow amazing captured in flight. BTW I have been gone for so long but now I am back, still arranging all my capture and I will visit your gallery.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird (sans ruby throat because bird was in non-mating plumage) while seated on our patio overlooking our backyard. We had decided to stop mowing that yard and let it go to natural meadow this year. As a result, Red Cardinal flowers were in abundance and blooming fully on 18Aug2020 when this and several other hummers were migrating through our Pennsylvania area en route to South America.Time
We were sitting in partial shade having a late lunch at about 2 PM when this hummer showed up. Photo opportunities are always happening so I’ve taken to nearly always having a camera within reach.Lighting
Lighting was nice with the bird flying away from the mid-afternoon sun and the backyard in good indirect sunlight as well. I typically set up for bird photography anyway so my Sony Alpha6000 camera was already in aperture priority set to 1/2000 sec @ ISO 2000.Equipment
These were good combinations for a portrait shot at about 8 feet with Sony’s E 55mm F1.8 OSS portrait lens. I set the iris to F5.0, boosted my EV to +0.7 and took a “spray and pray” panning shot in rapid burst mode.Inspiration
I love to see these beautiful tiny birds as they spend a few short weeks in our backyard. I was hoping to freeze the bird inflight on its way to another red blossom. My results didn’t disappoint. The colors are true. We had had rain that morning and everything was fresh and vibrant.Editing
I use my iPhone Xs Max for all my post processing either with the native photo app tool provided by iOS or the Camera Plus app for iOs. I shoot exclusively in jpg @ Extra Fine, 24M and 3.2 aspect ratio. The Alpha 6000’s crop factor renders my 55mm prime lens at at 35mm Equivalent Lens focal length of 75mm. Having deliberately “exposed slightly to the right” in the histogram, I was free to post process to my liking without worrying about over or under exposure. I just needed to sift through about 25 shorts I had taken in a few seconds.In my camera bag
My wife and I share our kit, so we have both Sony Alpha6000 and Alpha 6400 camera bodies plus four Sony lenses (the E PZ16-55 mm f3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens, two primes: the E 55mm F1.8 OSS and the E 35 mm F1.8 OSS, a wonderful E 70-350mm F4.5-6 G OSS zoom the only brand new asset in our entire bag) also a used prime wide angle (Sigma’s 16mm F1.4 DC DM “Contemporary 017” which is not an OSS lens but works quite well without it). Additionally we have a Celestron Regal 16-48X 65mmED spotting scope mounted on a Celestron Regal video-head tripod with a Kite Optics tripod bag for our photo bag. That monster also contains a GoPro 7 action camera, Celestron’s XYZ Digiscoping Universal Mount for smart phones, Vivitar’s T2-NEX d-ring to E mount adapter so tgat either a smartphone or one of our Sony camera backs can be directly mounted to the spotting scope for an effective 10,000 plus mm zoom lens for planetary and long-range birding at a fraction of the weight (and cost!!) of an equivalent super-telephoto zoom lens. We also use a car-mounted window clamp by Oben with a Manfroto Ballhead which has a quick-release plate compatible with PeakDesigns Dual Capture Clip and various straps and mounts. The PeakDesigns Lens Capture allows one to confidently change between three lens while hiking.Feedback
I cant stress enough four things: 1) A high quality array of good lenses are forever, while camera backs come and go. Invest in your lenses. 2) Don’t kill your budget — photography is supposed to be fun not a financial hardship. Everything I mentioned above (including all but one lens and most accessories) we purchased used mainly from B&H photo or on eBay. The spotting scope was a gift from part of a 35th year service award at my research lab (we’re Janssen, in stage III on a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine!) but can be had for $600 new. 3) Try digiscoping for affordable and amazing long-range shots. 4) think about what matters: getting the shot! Always have a camera near you and set to capture what you think will come next. 4) Don’t bother with Raw format or full sensor cameras unless you are shooting pro for enlargements. Even then, JPEG works just fine if you keep the digital noise under control. Shoot as bright and as close to your subject as you can with as fast a lens as possible. But even then GET THE SHOT!
