Hummingbirds - a photographer's video game

Anyone who has ever tried to get pictures of hummingbirds knows it is a challenge. Not only are they fast and tiny, they are smart and learn fast. And this year may prove even more challenging than in other years since reports are coming in from most of my bird watching friends, as well as a local nature observatory, that hummingbird sightings are down this year. Possibly a result of the active huricane season in 2004.

First, find the little guys. Hummingbird feeders offer opportunities. Here is the catch 22 though. Hummingbird feeders need to be in the shade to keep the liquid fresh. When you are shooting pictures of something small in the shade, on a sunny day, what do you get? Backlighting. If your camera has a spot meter take advantage of it.

A natural setting is more appealing than having a feeder in the shot. So watch where they fly and land prior to and after feeding.

One great thing about busy feeders is that hummingbirds have a trait that is somewhat like a swarm of bees. When they are hungry and lots of them are fighting (yup, they do fight for feeding spots), they become less timid, not only of eachother but of people and cameras. You can get pretty darn close to a busy feeder and if you just hold perfectly still and wait a few minutes they will come back and pretty much ignore you. I even got some to land on my finger by putting my finger in front of a feeder flower and holding still.

You know that hummingbirds are fast, but how does camera speed compare and what can you do to freeze that frantic action? Hummingbird wing speed varies by size but for the mid sized, ruby throated for example, it is approximately 53 beats per second (see www.hummingbirds.net for more info). Makes a 3 to 5 frame per second SLR seem pretty sluggish by comparison doesn't it. Not to worry. You may not be able to take a pic of every wing progression, but you can still freeze the few that you do take, by cranking up that shutter speed. Here is the rub though, remember the shade? Shade and fast shutter speeds don't go hand in hand. If you set your camera to the Tv (shutter speed priority) mode, set the ISO setting as high as possible, crank the shutter speed up as high as feasible for the lens you are using and the available light (the aperature will start to flash when your shutter speed is so high it is underexposing the picture), you might be able to freeze the wing action. Try using a mid-range rather than a long telephoto because you will get more light into a shorter lens, allowing faster shutter speeds.

You may be wondering why I mentioned that hummingbirds are smart and what that has to do with photography. Think flash. Although flash can solve your backlighting issue by lighting up the subject, realize that once you flash an animal, not just hummingbirds, they are likely to avoid the camera in the future. So if you feel compelled to use the flash, use it very sparingly. Heck, the hummers who sat on my finger were so smart and fast that when they saw the pre-flash focusing strobe, they took off. Giving me only a picture of my finger with the retreating bird just above it. And I didn't use the flash on most of my shots.

You will get even better results by hiding near a sunny roosting place. Have fun and I hope you win a free game for your efforts (or at least win one great shot).

geopic
PS. Thanks to my friend Don for excellence in feeder management and putting up with my addiction to taking shots of the pleathora of birds that visit his feeders.