Hummingbird

[Billy_Smith]

I took this photo along with many others a few months ago, when i first started really getting into learning photography. I thought i would share it, as many have not seen a hummingbird perched. I have shots of this one actually sitting there with eyes shut, catching some warm rays..

 

[WesternGuy]

Billy, great shot. Thanks for sharing as you are right, I have seen very few images of hummingbirds at rest. This is not a usual situation for them. The image is nice and sharp and you have captured a catchlight in its eye.

WesternGuy

 

[Billy_Smith]

Billy, great shot. Thanks for sharing as you are right, I have seen very few images of hummingbirds at rest. This is not a usual situation for them. The image is nice and sharp and you have captured a catchlight in its eye.

WesternGuy

Thank you. I have close to 400 photos of this girl perched, she came by almost every day to visit my garden. I will post another, better one here within the next day or so..

 

[Billy_Smith]

Billy, great shot. Thanks for sharing as you are right, I have seen very few images of hummingbirds at rest. This is not a usual situation for them. The image is nice and sharp and you have captured a catchlight in its eye.

WesternGuy

Thank you. I have close to 400 photos of this girl perched, she came by almost every day to visit my garden. I will post another, better one here within the next day or so..

Here are a couple more pictures of her. I wanted to share a little, short story, but one that made my day back then. I was taking pictures of her, looked down to adjust my camera settings as i was experimenting, looked back up and she was gone, a moment later i heard a load roar next to my left ear, as she touched down briefly for a second on my shoulder then took back off.. It was one of those precious moments.. As you will see in the second picture, she trusted me enough to get up close for photos even while she was resting, fully knowing and aware i was there doing so.

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice shots, Billy, but these do not seem to be as sharp as the first one. What was your shutter speed and which lens were you using?

Must have been quite an experience to have one land on your shoulder. Were you wearing green? (Just kidding - still, still an experience I have never heard anyone having.)

WesternGuy

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Nice shot, but I would say the sharpness and IQ need some work on these. The first one is the best though in that regard. These appear to me to be very heavy crops. Is that accurate?

Regardless of that, its a nice effort, and bird shooting takes some practice and patience.

 

[TATTRAT]

I agree with the sharpness, but considering the subject, and considering how odd it seems to see one still, I dig it. It's pretty amazing, the lives of hummingbirds, to catch one in a still moment seems as great as catching one in action.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Billy_Smith]

Nice shot, but I would say the sharpness and IQ need some work on these. The first one is the best though in that regard. These appear to me to be very heavy crops. Is that accurate?

Regardless of that, its a nice effort, and bird shooting takes some practice and patience.

Theses are not cropped actually, i was literally that close to her. I have a quick zoom feature on my camera, and was only like 5ft away from her. These shots were taken when i was first starting out, so really did not know very much at the time.

 

[Billy_Smith]

Nice shots, Billy, but these do not seem to be as sharp as the first one. What was your shutter speed and which lens were you using?

Must have been quite an experience to have one land on your shoulder. Were you wearing green? (Just kidding - still, still an experience I have never heard anyone having.)

WesternGuy

These are not as sharp.. These all were taken when i first started into photography 6 months or so ago.. I knew enough to turn the camera on and take pics with it..lol Of course it helped that this little one was willing to hold still and let me get close up on her..

The shutter speed: 1/147 sec
The Lens is a Ultra zoom f3.1 24-576mm I think i have that correct.

When i took these shots, i was still using everything auto... There is a feature of quick zoom on the camera, i would use this to bring her up close, then zoom the rest the way in manually.. I was actually so close to her, using the quick zoom, she would literally not fit into the are in the view finder, i would have to back it off some at points.. I now wish i would have known more before taking these, as the opportunity to take some really great shots was there.

And yes, it was an experience i will never forget, one i was not expecting and caught me off guard..

 

[hvyequipmentman]

Those are some great shots. I have a feeder out my kitchen window and take some through the window. Here is my favorite so far.

 

[qwertyjjj]

Nice shot, but I would say the sharpness and IQ need some work on these. The first one is the best though in that regard. These appear to me to be very heavy crops. Is that accurate?

Regardless of that, its a nice effort, and bird shooting takes some practice and patience.

Theses are not cropped actually, i was literally that close to her. I have a quick zoom feature on my camera, and was only like 5ft away from her. These shots were taken when i was first starting out, so really did not know very much at the time.

Nice shots.
What would make these less sharp? If it was roughly same zoom, same aperture, same shutter speed, then what would change?
Just a beginner question from myself...

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice shots, Billy, but these do not seem to be as sharp as the first one. What was your shutter speed and which lens were you using?

Must have been quite an experience to have one land on your shoulder. Were you wearing green? (Just kidding - still, still an experience I have never heard anyone having.)

WesternGuy

These are not as sharp.. These all were taken when i first started into photography 6 months or so ago.. I knew enough to turn the camera on and take pics with it..lol Of course it helped that this little one was willing to hold still and let me get close up on her..

The shutter speed: 1/147 sec
The Lens is a Ultra zoom f3.1 24-576mm I think i have that correct.

When i took these shots, i was still using everything auto... There is a feature of quick zoom on the camera, i would use this to bring her up close, then zoom the rest the way in manually.. I was actually so close to her, using the quick zoom, she would literally not fit into the are in the view finder, i would have to back it off some at points.. I now wish i would have known more before taking these, as the opportunity to take some really great shots was there.

And yes, it was an experience i will never forget, one i was not expecting and caught me off guard..

Billie, not sure where in the range of 24-576mm you shot these, but if you shot them a 1/147 sec and the lens was zoomed out to anything beyond about 150mm, then one of the possible reasons for the lack of sharpness could be a bit of handshake. The general rule of thumb, so to speak, if you are not aware of it, is that generally you need a tripod or other firm support if you shoot at 1/(lens focal length x crop factor). For example, if you are using a 200mm lens, then it is difficult to get a sharp image if you hand hold it at speed less than 1/200 of a second for a full frame camera and 1(200 x1.6) = 1/320 of a second if you are using a 1.6 crop factor camera like a Canon Rebel. If your lens or camera has IS , then you may be able to hand-hold at slightly lower speeds - depends on the camera or the lens, depending where the IS function is located. HTH.

WesternGuy