I really like that first shot! Did you crop it?
Yes I did. I usually crop the hummer photos so you can get a better look at the bird, instead of the surroundings.
PtoAV8R said:
How are you getting these shots? What kind of remote? Do they scatter when the shutter trips?
The first one is through our dining room window. For the other two, I was sitting outside in a lawn chair. No remote used in any of them. They're all hand held. We only have 2-3 or maybe 4 hummers, that we can tell, so about the only time that there's more than one at the feeder, is when one comes to run another one off. That happens in a split second, and I cant get a picture of it. At least I haven't been able to so far. When the shutter clicks, the bird will usually back up 3-4 inches, look at me, then go back to drinking nectar. Last year we had only 2 hummers (1 male & 1 female) most of the season. Towards the end of the season, we had four. We figured the other two were their babies that had fledged. They usually have just two babies at a time.
I've tried setting up on a tripod, closer than usual, to get more detail of the bird's feathers. I'll have the camera in standby and my wireless remote ready to fire a shot. But, not knowing exactly when the bird will show up, it hasn't worked out very well for me. When the bird does show up, I try to snap the pic, but it doesn't work, because by that time, the camera has gone out of standby, so nothing happens. So, I reset the standby and try again. The same thing happens. I finally give up, because standby also kills the battery(s) much faster. It's as if they know what's going on, and wait to come...........on purpose!
They are not easy to photograph. Out of 100 or more photos, I may get two decent ones. Sometimes, the head will be in focus, but the wings are moving so fast, that they cause their body to vibrate, and their body will be out of focus. And they are just so fast, that by the time I get the camera up to my eye, to focus it, they are already gone. They are amazing little critters.............