Immature Ruby Throat Male Hummingbird


Posted by Juan E. Bahamon on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:11 pm

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Canon 1Ds Mark II 100-400 IS L lens 1/250 ISO 160 f22 Multiflash Technique, Rockport, Texas.

In Hummingbird Photography we should strive to present the subject as illuminated by a natural light source with an stronger "sun" that is giving us a diffused light. Can be accomplished using multiple flashes at different powers, the idea is to create shadows so we have texture, volume and a 3-D look.

In this case the immature male was approaching the flower and the nascent gorget was matching the red colors of the petals. Also the flowers were a little OOF but the bird was sharp just to give a more depth to the entire scene.

The background got a "graduated" look by aiming the flash sideways instead of frontal.

I hope you like it, all brutal comments are welcome. Thanks for looking.
Juan E. Bahamon
www.birdsofcorpuschristi.com
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by Christina Evans on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:17 pm
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Fantastic, Juan. Love the fanned tail and the whole composition is wonderful. You really know how to get the best from these birds.
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by alibenn on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:22 pm
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This is one of my favourites of your recent Hummer posts..the even BG looks more natural than some of the multicoloured boards.. The tail fanned and the feet puts this over the top for me...very nice indeed.

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by dhkaiser on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:41 pm
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Jaun, can't ask for more than this, superb!
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by AForns on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:55 pm
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Outstanding Juan !!! Do agree the bg looks very natural and pleasing !!! Big Congrats my friend !!! 8) 8)
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by KK Hui on Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:56 pm
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Wow! One of your very best hummer shots, Juan! :roll: :lol: :roll:
Incredible pose to start with ...
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by Wayne Nicholas on Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:36 pm
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Wonderful timing, Juan. I love the fanned tail.
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by jhapeman on Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:42 pm
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Great as usual, Juan. Can I ask how you get the focus so dead-on? Do you pre-focus and fire when the bird arrives (that would be my guess)?

Jeff
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by Chris Fagyal on Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:44 pm
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Juan, in my opinion this is the best one you've posted yet. This is fabulous.
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by Ofer Levy on Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:51 pm
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The pose and exposure of the bird are great with plenty details! :) I wish the flower would have entered the frame diagonally from the bottom left corner or even where it is with a shorter stalk. :wink:
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by whf4 on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:04 pm
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Pretty stunning. thank you for detailing the technique!
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by Juan E. Bahamon on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:04 pm
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Jeff:

I use the servo autofocus with the single sensor moved out of the center in this case to the right, the canon IDS is very reliable in that regards, I have tried manual prefocus but the hummer hovers so much and fast that is difficult to get the whole bird sharp.
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by jhapeman on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:06 pm
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Juan E. Bahamon wrote:Jeff:

I use the servo autofocus with the single sensor moved out of the center in this case to the right, the canon IDS is very reliable in that regards, I have tried manual prefocus but the hummer hovers so much and fast that is difficult to get the whole bird sharp.
Thanks, Juan, so you have it in AI-Servo with the focus point moved out, and then you trip manually?

I'd love to try this myself...these shots are just so amazing.

Jeff
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by Juan E. Bahamon on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:16 pm
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Jeff:

Yes, I trip it manually. I have been reading something about infrared sensors, that will be cool for other fast moving animals such as insects. With hummers if you are attentive you can usually snap 2 or 3 frames before they leave. The secret here is to use a very fine syringe with a needle and fill with extra nectar the calix of the tiny flowers so they find plenty of food so they hover longer. (Since I am a neurologist I "borrowed" from the hospital a superfine needle that I use to do spinal taps), Also to get these flamboyant postures you need to have a fast flash recycling system since it is usually the second or third flash that spook them to back off with a fancy acrobatic maneuver.
Juan E. Bahamon
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by jhapeman on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:23 pm
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Thanks for the helpful, info Juan. My hummers are leaving up here in WI, but I will have to try this next summer. As for the needles...I have had a few spinal taps, so I would prefer not to see those needles again!

Jeff
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by cartgate on Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:33 pm
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This is incredible! And, thanks for your further technical comments. :)
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by Gerald J Romanchuk on Mon Sep 26, 2005 11:17 pm
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Very cool!! As several others have mentioned, I love the fanned tail.
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by mrhughj on Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:53 am
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The tail feathers fanned out make this one for me, Juan!!!
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by Kim Steininger on Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:38 am
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What a sweet pose you captured! Great detail and I also prefer this BG to the multi-colored ones you use. I just love those little feet! Really great image Juan! :)
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by Georgina Salup on Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:09 am
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Stunning image, Juan. Great timing and perfect composition.
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