HOW TO SET UP- hummingbird photography

Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
255
Location
Grants Pass, Or
Kieth, thanks for taking the time to detail how you do it, for providing equipment set up shots, and for the actual bird shots. Your info will be invaluable next summer!

Pat
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
381
Location
Huntsville, Alabama
Keith,
Thanks for the great information. I have only recently been able to attract hummingbirds and no joy yet of making good photos. Will attempt you follow your guidance.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
162
Location
San Diego
I'm late to this thread, however, thank you very much for this detailed write up and examples of your setup. The photos are amazing as others mentioned! I've put up a feeder and was delighted to see a few hummingbirds use it. What a delight to see these birds fly and maneuver so quickly. Hopefully, I'll be able to capture a few photos.
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
343
Location
Eastern NC
A couple from today...............


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Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
17
Location
Arizona
Also late to the party because I am just returning to Nikon after being away for a while.
I love shooting hummers because they are such amazing birds. Here is one of my favorite hummer shots from last spring

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Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
1,653
Location
Greater Seattle area (WA)
The article was written in 2006 and it's 2014 ... I am still thanking Keith. Great article and thank you for unselfish sharing of information.

I guess I should get my old SB-800 repaired to add to the orchestra of speedlights for Hummers.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
3,424
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
Wow, how time flies LOL. Been a long time since posting here. Im glad many of you found the tutorial informative or atleast give you a starting point. Still luv to do hummingbird photography, they are fascinating little birds with a ton of personality. I haven't changed a whole lot over the years except work on better backgrounds for the most part!
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R

Richard Jones

Guest
Keith, I tried to find your email address so I could send you the following:-

Hello Mr. Rankin;

What a delight to visit your site and to get all the information on Hummingbirds. I live in Fort Saskatchewan and get the occasional hummer in my backyard. I believe the waterfalls attract songbirds to my garden and missed the chance to shoot a male Goldfinch bathing in the top of one of the falls flumes. My camera was in the house. I was better prepared on a later occasion and got a rare chance to get a great pose of a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak, the first and only one I have seen in my life. I have seen many more females and think this coming summer will see more.


I took a camera safari last September through the inside passage in Haida Gwaii aboard the SV Maple Leaf, a 92’ schooner. We got some incredible wildlife viewing and I got as close to a Grizzly so as to smell his breath (I exaggerate a little); unfortunately my shots were not the best with all the excitement and being so close.


I invite you to visit my Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aeros4/sets , you won’t see anything of the standard that you produce, but may be interesting none the less. I am thinking of making a trip to a raptor rehab facility in Southern Alberta run by one Owen Slater, he may be the son of a man I met in Ontario who was managing the raptor section of African Lion Safari, a park near Toronto, If it is the same family, then we have a shared history, one that good screenplay’s are made of. I have included my contact information bellow and invite you to phone or write (I want to pick your brains). I was doing wedding shoots with My Pentax 645 for more than twenty years, two years ago I got the Pentax 645D with the new 25mm and stock 55mm, I have some old 6x7 glass adapted to the 645D but not very happy with the 400mm and doubler, too much chromatic aberration. My recently acquired Canon 7D with a 100-400mm plus doubler has proven to be a great and sweet piece of glass; I have some nice bird shots from my backyard.


I just went crazy on my seventieth birthday and sprang for a Nikon D800E. After buying this camera I feel the same sense of complete calm and satisfaction as I did with the purchase of the 645D, I may sell the Canon system and invest in a 500mm telephoto for the Nikon, such a well designed camera, a joy to use. From this point on I vow to never do another wedding, will concentrate on improving my landscape and wildlife work and explore as many other venues as I can. Best phone No. to reach me is 780-998-9707. email aeros@aeros.bz



Happy shooting,

Richard Jones.[/quote]
 

JPS

Joined
May 7, 2005
Messages
9,284
Location
North-East of Brazil
As we do not have hummers in Switzerland, I solved the problem by "expatriating" to Brazil ! Alas, I live in town and on the 10th floor, so my wife, as she's frightened one of the grand-children fall off, insisted to put a safety net on all windows and balconies, like that:

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...hence, exit hummingbirds feeders: I don't want to have mesh appearing in the images :mad: !

BUT.... I noticed that, right in front of our apartment-block, on the other side of the road, there's a park with trees and bushes, where hummers spend a lot of time ! So I grabbed my D800, screwed the 300 f/2.8 VR II on and, mostly hand-held, got quite a few pics of them birds, ON THE WILD !

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Sorry for the signature, which has a wrong -of course- date: I had ready-made sigs, and mistakenly added the one of 2015 instead of 2013 :banghead: !

:D
J-P.-
 

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