Few hummingbird shots I got

AEJustin1 · Jul 6, 2011

So I just got a Nikon D3000 a few weeks ago and am a major beginner at this stuff. I did manage to get a few good shots of some hummingbirds over the 4th of July holiday. These 2 were out of several I took using the continuous shot with the 18-55mm VR kit lens.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The Empress · Jul 7, 2011

Good job on capturing the hummingbirds, they sure don't like to sit still very long lol
In the first shot the tilt of the feeder is very distracting and and the hummingbird doesn't really stand out from the background
I like the second shot much better but i would say crop it some since there is a lot of dead space towards the top and right, and also if that much of the feeder is going to be in the picture might as well have the whole thing, not some edges cut off or crop most of it out and have the focus on the bird.
Great start though, keep it up!!! Hope I helped even a little

AEJustin1 · Jul 7, 2011

thanks, you definitely helped. I haven't messed with cropping a whole lot yet so thanks.

flyin-lowe · Jul 7, 2011

I looked at the exif data, was the shutter speed at 1/60? That seem slow for this shot, unless the flash is what froze it.

AEJustin1 · Jul 7, 2011

Honestly I have no idea lol I used auto mode with flash turned off.

rdking647 · Jul 8, 2011

for humming birds I like using shutter priority at a speed on 1/1000 or so,and adjusting the ISO so I have enough light.

emoxley · Jul 30, 2011

Unless you have an awful lot of hummers drinking from your feeder, constantly, I wouldn't fill it up. The red dye also isn't good for them. Do a Google search, and you'll see. Do a four to one mix (4 parts water to one part sugar). As water starts to boil, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Take off of heat, and let cool. The hummers like the homemade mix much better. I promise. Also clean out and add fresh mix every four days.

You really need a good telephoto lens for getting good shots of hummers. I use a 70-300mm, and have only gotten a handful of decent pics out of a hundred or so shot. I usually use aperture priority mode, f/5.6, and ISO:1600. The shutter speed usually works out to be around 1/1000 sec. or 1/1250 sec.
Good luck! Hummers are a lot of fun.