Summah Hummahs

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hello All,

I haven't had much time to shoot since I returned from New York. But when I got home for lunch today I saw a couple of hummingbirds around the feeder. So I figured, since I hadn't tried shooting any hummers with the 20D, I'd give it a shot. I found out that they don't appreciate the 20D's shutter noise....lol

Anyhow, 20D, Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 @ F4.0, ISO800, Av mode and the EX580 with the wide diffuser pulled down.

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/29963702-L.jpg

I blew this one's head out a bit, but I like how I was able to capture detail in its eye :):

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/29963707-L.jpg


Not quite what I was looking for, but I only had a few minutes to shoot them. I hope to have some better ones to post in the coming weeks :D

Thanks for looking and comments (positive or negative) are always appreciated.

Steve

[Seamus]

The eye detail in the second photo is fantastic Steve. I'm going to look for a bird table tomorrow, it looks to be a good way to get close to the small birds.


Shay.

[WaterfallRich]

That 1st shot is awesome - one of the better hummer shots I have seen. Clever title to the thread also :D

[bfjr]

Glad to see a fresh post from you, Steve :thumb

And of course it's a couple of goodies, excellent exp. Just got an SB800 myself today so looking forward to shots like this myself :clap

[greggae]

Steve.....those are awesome......much closer and clearer than the ones I posted last week at: http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=15342 . I have played around with my Nikon 60mm and my 75-300mm lens but have not yet been able to get anything that clear and that close. Can you elaborate a bit on what "Av mode and the EX580 with the wide diffuser pulled down" means. I'm an amateur at this and I want to learn more. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

Also....different type here......ruby throated are the only ones we see regularly.

[photodoug]

Hello All,

I haven't had much time to shoot since I returned from New York. But when I got home for lunch today I saw a couple of hummingbirds around the feeder. So I figured, since I hadn't tried shooting any hummers with the 20D, I'd give it a shot. I found out that they don't appreciate the 20D's shutter noise....lol

Anyhow, 20D, Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 @ F4.0, ISO800, Av mode and the EX580 with the wide diffuser pulled down.



I blew this one's head out a bit, but I like how I was able to capture detail in its eye :):




Not quite what I was looking for, but I only had a few minutes to shoot them. I hope to have some better ones to post in the coming weeks :D

Thanks for looking and comments (positive or negative) are always appreciated.



Steve
got your timing down...focus is spot on...gues I'd like to see the feeder more in focus to "complete" the composition. that's the challenge I suppose. Your exposure is great too. Nice to see a nice hummer.

[jwear]

good to see you back very nice shots --- take a trip to so cal :thumb

[Steve Cavigliano]

The eye detail in the second photo is fantastic Steve. I'm going to look for a bird table tomorrow, it looks to be a good way to get close to the small birds.


Shay.Thanks for responding Shay :D

These little guys are pretty used to me being around. I have a covered patio where I go to smoke. They come down under the cover and hover about 5 feet in front of my face checking me out almost every time I go out there.....lol That's the sort of shot I was looking for, but nailing a hovering hummer, in the shade of a patio cover, is pretty tough :rolleyes I'll get them one day though....lol

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

That 1st shot is awesome - one of the better hummer shots I have seen. Clever title to the thread also :D
Thanks Rich :D

Having just returned from Upstate New York, I figured I'd give the title a bit of New Yawk accent :rofl

Steve

[ginger_55]

WOW!

ginger

[Steve Cavigliano]

Glad to see a fresh post from you, Steve :thumb

And of course it's a couple of goodies, excellent exp. Just got an SB800 myself today so looking forward to shots like this myself :clap
Hiya Ben and thank you :D

You're right, I haven't been posting much since I got back. Just some concert shots over in People, Candid and Portraits. I still have about 200 reunion shots to process and post too.....lol

If you can get the hummer in good light, you may be able to get a fast enough speed without a flash. But, I have to admit using a flash does help slow those supersonic wings down....lol You just need to make sure your flash (and/or camera settings) will allow you to work outside your camera's sync speed. For example thge 20D's sync speed is 1/250. So even in Av mode, it will restrict the speed to 1/250 when using the internal flash. The EX580 has a feature that disables this restriction.

Good luck on shooting hummers/small birds. It does require some patience, but it can be very rewarding :clap

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve.....those are awesome......much closer and clearer than the ones I posted last week at: http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=15342 . I have played around with my Nikon 60mm and my 75-300mm lens but have not yet been able to get anything that clear and that close. Can you elaborate a bit on what "Av mode and the EX580 with the wide diffuser pulled down" means. I'm an amateur at this and I want to learn more. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

Also....different type here......ruby throated are the only ones we see regularly.Thanks Greg :D

Yes, I saw your post and I even downloaded a few of your images and played around with them in CS. Your shots weren't bad, by any means. They all could have benefited from a bit of post processing (a touch of levels or curves and some USM after downsizing) that would have made them even better. The major issue was the light you had to work with. Some were a bit over exposed and the last one had a shadow in the head/neck area. That's one of the benefits of using a fill flash. You can dial in a bit of negative EV comp, so as to not blow the highlights, and fill those shadowed areas with the flash. Also the fill can help slow those wings down :D

One of the main issues with shooting hummers is when you fill much of the frame with them DOF problems can rear its head. As another respondent points out, the feeder is out of focus in my shots. That's one of the tradeoffs of having to use a wide aperture to get max shutter speeds. For example, these were shot at F4 and ISO800 just so I could get speeds above 1/1000 (trying to slow those wings). Compounding the speed issue is the fact that I have to shoot the feeder from North to South. So the hummers are usually heavily backlit. I was about 10-12 feet away from the feeder using max zoom (320mm FOV). There's not much DOF at that distance/aperture. Sometimes not even enough to get both wings in focus. If I would have used a narrower aperture, the speed would have dropped too low, or I would have had to crank the ISO up to 1600. Which would have added more noise :dunno

Av mode is Aperture Priority mode on Canon cameras. This is the best mode to use for fill flash. You have the advantage of selecting a wide aperture (for reasons stated above) and you can "fill" some of the shadowed areas with light. The EX580 has a wide diffuser panel attached to the head. If you pull it over the head it causes the light to be diffused so you don't "fry" a small/close subject with the full effects of the flash. Similar to what you might do if you were taking a close in outdoor portrait using fill flash.

I believe the first one is a ruby throated hummer. I got one shot where he was facing me and his neck was a brilliant red color. That's another thing I was trying for and just didn't have enough time to capture :rolleyes

Anyhow, thanks for the comments and I hope you find my "hummer tutorial" helpful....lol

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

got your timing down...focus is spot on...gues I'd like to see the feeder more in focus to "complete" the composition. that's the challenge I suppose. Your exposure is great too. Nice to see a nice hummer.
Thanks Doug :D

I too would have liked a bit more DOF, but as you can see by my response to Greg, it just wasn't in the cards yesterday :dunno I was really trying for a hovering hummer shot, without the feeder in the frame at all. That also didn't work out....lol

These guys enjoy playing with me, so as long as my wife keeps the feeder filled I think I'll have many more opportunities to practice...lol They sure don't like the loud shutter on the 20D though. When I used to shoot hummers with the 717/828 I could rip off maybe 10 shots at a time. Even when using the F1000 external flash. With the 20D I get one maybe two shots fired and they get scared and leave :rolleyes

Thanks for your comments,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

good to see you back very nice shots --- take a trip to so cal :thumb
Thanks Jeff :D

I'd love to take a trip down South :lust That's where I grew up. But, after missing so much work due to my MIL's illness and the NY reunion trip, I've got to concentrate on making some $ first. I also volunteered to shoot landmarks in the Bay Area for Baldy :): So maybe in September :thumb

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

WOW!

ginger
Thanks Ginger :D

I don't know whether you have a place to hang a feeder, but it's a really inexpensive way to entertain yourself :clap $8 for the feeder, a cup of sugar to 2 cups of water and a coupledrops of red food coloring and these little cuties will keep you entertained for a month, or more. Even if you don't wind up shooting them, they can be as much fun to watch as tropical fish in a tank :thumb


Steve

[Harryb]

Outstanding shots Steve. I have to get a feeder up one of these days.

[bfjr]

Hiya Ben and thank you :D

You're right, I haven't been posting much since I got back. Just some concert shots over in People, Candid and Portraits. I still have about 200 reunion shots to process and post too.....lol

If you can get the hummer in good light, you may be able to get a fast enough speed without a flash. But, I have to admit using a flash does help slow those supersonic wings down....lol You just need to make sure your flash (and/or camera settings) will allow you to work outside your camera's sync speed. For example thge 20D's sync speed is 1/250. So even in Av mode, it will restrict the speed to 1/250 when using the internal flash. The EX580 has a feature that disables this restriction.

Good luck on shooting hummers/small birds. It does require some patience, but it can be very rewarding :clap

Steve
1st I'll go look for your concert posts :D
2nd lucky me the SB800 & D2Hs will hi speed sync all the way to 1/8000 :thumb :wow

[Steve Cavigliano]

Outstanding shots Steve. I have to get a feeder up one of these days.
Thanks Harry :D

Living right next to the wetlands, you already have more than your share of bird shot opportunities.......lol Knowing you, if you put up a feeder, you'd probably attract some rare South American hummers that none of us could match :lol3


Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

1st I'll go look for your concert posts :D
2nd lucky me the SB800 & D2Hs will hi speed sync all the way to 1/8000 :thumb :wow
Here (http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=15247) ya go Ben. If you are into older (60's and 70's) rock and roll, you'll probably appreciate the shots in that thread :):

Good news on the SB8000 :thumb Hook that baby up to a Better Beamer and you'll be in bird heaven :D

Steve

[greggae]

Steve.....thanks indeed for the "tutorial". It is just what I was looking for. I took a bunch more shots today after receiving a new cable remote that allowed me to do some angles that I could not do with the IF remote. The Nikon D70s wanted to use flash on some of the shots with the 60mm lens and I didn't quite understand.....but, when I looked at those shots I understood. (This was before reading your comments above) Like your situation, these shots were back lit and the flash really made a difference. As a matter of fact the ones without the flash were worthless. Next time try it this way, I'll make sure the flash is on manually as opposed to leaving it up to the camera.
As for the post exposure tweaks......yeah I hear ya' and know you are right. I've done next to nothing to the picts I've posted. I am just beginning to understand PhotoShop, but I'll get there.
Once again.....thanks for taking the time to respond. I do appreciate it.
I added one of the shots from this afternoon to my previous post at:
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=15342

greggae