Dangerspouse
Senior Member
My apologies for my ongoing absence. Work is still nutty, and I haven't had much time to play. Although the COVID-19 situation here in the NY/NJ area is not quite as challenging to cover, we now have all the protests and political machinations replacing it following the death of George Floyd. On top of that, those of us who are still broadcasting are covering extra shifts to make up for announcers who have been furloughed or laid off. So, often not much time to sleep even, let alone pick up my camera.
To relieve some of the tedium however, I hit on the idea of trying to capture one of the hummingbirds that frequent our area. Some may recall that last year I decided to try my hand at it, but it turns out it was on the very last day before they migrated south. I captured this:
and never saw another hummingbird again.
Until this year. This year I also did my homework, and bought a hummingbird feeder instead of hoping they'd land on our hanging flower basket that's in an awkward spot for taking photos. I set it up on my back porch rail with a chair some 10 feet or so away, and hoped that one of the little buggers would show up when I plopped my butt down between newscasts.
And some did! These are the first ones I shot, but didn't realize the morning sun back-lighting them would look nice, but dull their colors:
The next time I tried I set it up so the birds were more front lit (I taped over every hole except one, so the birds would have to use that one and be lit correctly).
Before I set my tripod up though I did manage to get this one incredibly lucky handheld shot just before the sun was fully up:
Then:
Funny how the feather coloration can change in an instant as the bird moves. This is the same bird, from the same burst:
A little later that guy showed up again, but the light was different so I spun the feeder once more:
Finally, I had the bright idea to place the feeder between me and the camera, firing the camera with an IR remote. But this little bugger showed up first, as I was setting up, so I just pressed the shutter while I could:
After that I set up the chair across from the feeder, and...............waited.
Quick note: my wife advised me to wear all red, since apparently hummingbirds find that color irresistible. I'm not normally this monochromatic
A short while later a different hummingbird showed up, but as soon as I fired the shutter release he got scared and turned and shot off in an instant. This was the only picture I got - a Silence of the Lambs poster:
I didn't see any more hummingbirds that morning. Figures.
In the afternoon I sat on the other side of the feeder, hoping to see them as the sun set. Unfortunately there are a lot - LOT - of trees on that side of my house, so the sunlight filtering through the leaves casts numerous, and shifting shadows. But the birds were much calmer, and actually stayed while I fired shot after shot. Of the several dozen I took a few actually had the bird illuminated in shafts of light while I remained in relative shadow:
I even had time to mug for a shot or two:
So that's what I've been doing in my few moments of downtime lately. I hope to get some better shots than this in the days to come, but for now I'm just happy that I got something other than merely a fleeting section of wing for the entire year again!
I hope you are all doing well during these, er, "interesting times". My best to you all.
To relieve some of the tedium however, I hit on the idea of trying to capture one of the hummingbirds that frequent our area. Some may recall that last year I decided to try my hand at it, but it turns out it was on the very last day before they migrated south. I captured this:
and never saw another hummingbird again.
Until this year. This year I also did my homework, and bought a hummingbird feeder instead of hoping they'd land on our hanging flower basket that's in an awkward spot for taking photos. I set it up on my back porch rail with a chair some 10 feet or so away, and hoped that one of the little buggers would show up when I plopped my butt down between newscasts.
And some did! These are the first ones I shot, but didn't realize the morning sun back-lighting them would look nice, but dull their colors:
The next time I tried I set it up so the birds were more front lit (I taped over every hole except one, so the birds would have to use that one and be lit correctly).
Before I set my tripod up though I did manage to get this one incredibly lucky handheld shot just before the sun was fully up:
Then:
Funny how the feather coloration can change in an instant as the bird moves. This is the same bird, from the same burst:
A little later that guy showed up again, but the light was different so I spun the feeder once more:
Finally, I had the bright idea to place the feeder between me and the camera, firing the camera with an IR remote. But this little bugger showed up first, as I was setting up, so I just pressed the shutter while I could:
After that I set up the chair across from the feeder, and...............waited.
Quick note: my wife advised me to wear all red, since apparently hummingbirds find that color irresistible. I'm not normally this monochromatic
A short while later a different hummingbird showed up, but as soon as I fired the shutter release he got scared and turned and shot off in an instant. This was the only picture I got - a Silence of the Lambs poster:
I didn't see any more hummingbirds that morning. Figures.
In the afternoon I sat on the other side of the feeder, hoping to see them as the sun set. Unfortunately there are a lot - LOT - of trees on that side of my house, so the sunlight filtering through the leaves casts numerous, and shifting shadows. But the birds were much calmer, and actually stayed while I fired shot after shot. Of the several dozen I took a few actually had the bird illuminated in shafts of light while I remained in relative shadow:
I even had time to mug for a shot or two:
So that's what I've been doing in my few moments of downtime lately. I hope to get some better shots than this in the days to come, but for now I'm just happy that I got something other than merely a fleeting section of wing for the entire year again!
I hope you are all doing well during these, er, "interesting times". My best to you all.
