Capturing Hummers

[bob williams]

Well, Its almost that time of year again so I thought I would revive this thread. Since I don't have any new H-Bird pics yet I thought I would ask a couple of questions and fill you in on recent preparations I have been making in anticipation of the arrival of my favorite subjects.

First, after a dissapointing year (last year) primarly due to problems with ghosting, I decided I needed two things to overcome these problems; More flash power and a means to isolate my birds and backgrounds from as much ambient light as possible. With this in mind, I decided to give up on the Vivatar flashes since they will only go down to 1/16 power. Don't get me wrong---these are great flashes and have served me well, but I just wanted the option of faster flash durations, so I purchased another 430 EXII and hopefully one more before the birds arrive. This will increase my flash inventory to 4 430's and 1 580 all capable of 1/64 flash power or 1/30,000 flash duration which should get me where I want. My intent is to use two 430's on the background and the other 3 on the bird at no more than a 3 foot range---the birds seem to be fairly tolerant of this type of set up. With all of this in mind, I spent this weekend building my "hummingbird studio" . The intent is to isolate most of the ambient outdoor light from the background while still retaining versatility in the types of backgrounds I can use---I'll try to post photo's and explanations of this "engineering masterpiece" sometime this weekend.

Second, Zenfolio now offers a blog service for thier members and I thought I would give it a try but I have never operated or even participated in a blog before. So here are my questions:

1. Would an open discussion on the trials and tribulations of H-bird photograpahy be a good subject?
and....
2. Would any of you be interested in participating in a blog like this?

Just curious, please let me know what you honestly think?


Bob

[ddt0725]

Well, Its almost that time of year again so I thought I would revive this thread. Since I don't have any new H-Bird pics yet I thought I would ask a couple of questions and fill you in on recent preparations I have been making in anticipation of the arrival of my favorite subjects.

Bob

You and I must be having the same thought process as of late!!! I too have been planning my strategy for getting better hb photos. Looking at photos from last year the Orioles and hb's were in my yard around May 10th but I am already planning for their arrival! With the extremely mild winter we have had, I am wondering if it is safe to assume they will arrive slightly earlier this year(?)

Anyway, I have made a few purchases in anticipation of their arrival although I will still be limited to space and to only 2 flashes so I will have to make it the best that I can. I have no choice but to hang the hb feeders off of my garage because of where the sun hits my yard but I have purchased some clamps that I will be nailing to the siding which will make it easy to put up & take down a variety of different background cloths and colored foam boards, which in turn will make a much better background than siding! Also, I am hoping the Manfrotto flex-arm & clamp will work well attaching to the gutter and then I can bend into position the direction of the flash where I need it depending on the time of day. The other thing I am thinking is since I only have 2 flashes, I could use the Vanguard utility arm to hold a reflector and my lightstand for the other flash. Lots of trial and error coming up for me!

As far as your blog goes, I too have never had the chance to partake in one but I very much would like to see yours up and going ...I would find it very interesting.

Cheers to an up and coming good HB season!!

Denise

[bob williams]

I am wondering if it is safe to assume they will arrive slightly earlier this year(?)

DD, I am wondering the same thing---and hopeful we may see some activity a little earlier. I saw a pair of songbirds building thier nest this weekend which is what motivated me to start the h-bird preps. Good luck with your setup design, sounds like it might work pretty good--I look forward to seeing your shots. When you get your setup like you wanted it, make sure and take photo's of it as well and please do share. I always enjoy seeing how other people approach this craft.

[Dave Throgmartin]

I'm exciting to give taking hummingbird photos a try, but expect lots of trial and error during the learning process. I'd be very interested in your setup. I'm curious how this will work only using one flash.

Dave