Hummingbirds-- A Work in Progress

Yesterday I stayed late after work to try and photograph the hummingbirds. We luckily have a pretty brazen little crew working three feeders at this building (maybe they know we are animal-friendly!), so it wasn't hard to get close. I opted for my macro lens, which I now regret since I think my mid-lens would have been slightly better. (I was thinking the macro would be great for bringing out the details in their feathers.)

Unfortunately, at 4:30 p.m., the feeder was already in the shade, with only the feeder in a ray of sunlight. I opted to go without the tripod, and stood as still as I could waiting for the hummingbirds to get used to me.

Luckily, it only took five minutes for that to happen, and they seemed as interested in me as I was in them. About three females and two males zoomed in and out. I concentrated on photos of them landing on the feeders, due to the lighting. (Since it was not as bright as I hoped, I needed to keep my shutter open longer. However, this downside means that the shutter speed couldn't be fast enough to stop-action their wings.)

As I clicked away, the birds took great interest in the sound my camera was making. Soon, one of the males got a great thrill of flying right past my right ear, almost daring me to move! Surprising myself, I didn't! (This is from the girl who will flail her arms and run away from the hum of bees--though I am getting better with bumblebees.)

While I'm not entirely 100 percent satisfied with what I captured, I am happy that my luck with hummingbird photos is improving. I think the ideal situation is to have the feeder in direct sunlight, in order for me to shoot quickly. And I really should break out that tripod, to take less pressure on NOT moving whatsoever.

I decided to desaturate these photos to a -32 value. I had best luck photographing the females.

Ah! The elusive hummingbird tongue!

A little stop action on the wings.