Photographing Hummingbirds (continued)
Success
Instead of setting the camera up to match existing lighting conditions the aperature was cranked down
to something small, f11 to f16. Then the shutter speed was set to the maximum speed possible with the
flash and the flash was turned on. Then just wait, positioned 12-18 inches away from
the feeder until a humming bird flies in to land on one of the feeding stations. With autofocus
on take the picture. The flash and shutter noise may cause the bird to fly away but it should return
shortly, especially if you have tasty hummingbird food in the feeder.
When the shutter is pressed the camera will sense the lack of
light and attempt to make up for it with the flash. The hummingbird close by is illuminated with a
strong fast strobe. Everything else in the frame is black since there is not enough light. This does
assume that there are no close objects behind the feeder.
Other Options
There are obviously many ways to get photographs of these fast little birds. I'm going to try some
alternatives next summer but for now my production rate is way up. Perhaps one acceptable picture
for every 10 to 15 snaps. You can see a few of the results of this method in the
"Hummingbirds"
album. Good luck with your photographs.
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