Still working on hummingbird

No image here, Amigo.

Sorry. I can't figure out how to make the photo show up. Here is the link to it:
Hummer

Betsy,

Send a PM to me or to one of the moderators in this forum and we can help you with the posting. Tell us what you are doing to try to post.

I'm no bird photographer, but I would definitely go to 400 if I was working with birds in flight. Take a look at some of the specs on other images posted here especially on the hummers. I suspect a flash will help out, too.

Betsy the image is not showing !!! Regarding ISO do bump it up What camera are you using? on some you can get good images at 800 on others 400 is pushing it but better than soft!!!

Let us know if you have trouble uploading !!!

One of the moderators is trying to figure out why the photo isn't showing. It shows for me from both of my PCs and from both Netscape and IE. My camera is a canon rebel XT. I am using a canon 75-300 is zoom lens.

Go for the 400 !! That is an IS lens so it will give you an advantage Stalking will bring good results !!!

I know you are trying to absorb a lot of info right now and you will have to prioritize what you do first, second etc.

An IS lens can only compensate for so much shake so the tripod is the logical first choice. A good Bogen and ball head will run abot $120 and up on ebay. A Bogen 3021 or 3221 is a pretty good start for a tripod until you can buy better. I still use mine.

Your pics are very small "as posted". Are they cropped a lot? Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? Are you using all the picture size capability your camera has? If they are cropped heavily it will be harder to get a crisp image. That's the reason for big lenses - they allow you to fill the frame with the subject at the time the shot is taken. With hummers you should be able to get really close so fill that frame up. If you are resizing to post here then you are resizing too small and that also makes the pic fuzzy and full of pixel artifacts. You might e-mail one of the moderators your original file attached (if they are willing) and see if that's part of the problem. If they are coming out this size due to the crop then your camera file size setting may be too small.

Lots to learn but it's fun learning it. I've been at it for about 9 months and what I learned here and at other similar sites has cut years off my learning curve. Get your basic equipment (good tripod and flash) first. Then work on technique and pay lots of attention to the techs listed with photos posted by others that you like. You will start noticing similarities in their settings and equipment. A big lens will not help you much unless you have done those things anyway.

Thanks Mike. I am going to login to ebay right now and look for a tripod.


Again, the hummingbird is about 15 to 20 feet above the ground in a big oak tree. So he fills up a tiny, tiny part of the photo. So I am doing a LOT of cropping. My camera is an 8 megapixel camera so I thought that I should be able to enlarge it that much without losing quality. Like you said, I have a lot to learn. Both about my camera and about the software.

I am currently shooting at the largest file size 3456 x 2304 in jpg format.

Now I have to go figure out what kind of flash I would need to get it to be effective with a bird that high in the tree. Back to the books!

Your first image tag was not with the rest of the line, so I edited it to work. Sounds like your getting all the info you need to go to the next step. To get the best critque, you should post your images at 650 pixels on the longest side. That way the members can see detail, sharpness a bit better. Keep at it.