nana727 Loc: TN

Newbie wanting to photograph the hummingbirds swarming the feeders this morning in the rain. Nikon 7100 w tripod

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

fast shutter to freeze wing beats.. good luck :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

You don't say what lens, but I would say a fast shutter speed, 1/2000 or faster. An aperture of f/5.6-f/11. And bump up the ISO as needed.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

nana727 Loc: TN

Thank you.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

If your camera has the capability of high speed flash sync I recommend a flash with extender, camera on a tripod with wireless release, fast shutter with maximum DOF.

edit: wrong post but ...

nana727 Loc: TN

And I thought taking photos of a moving 3 year old toddler was difficult. These little fellows keep turning their backs to me. I definitely have much to learn, but here is what I came up with for now.

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nana727 Loc: TN

And I thought taking photos of a moving 3 year old toddler was difficult. These little fellows keep turning their backs to me. I definitely have much to learn, but here is what I came up with for now.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Good start. Practice, practice etc etc etc

Then get GAS for a longer lens and a long range flash set up.

Check out "Davethehiker" pictures of hummers, you have to go back at least 3 pages on his list of posts to get to last summer's hummers.
On August 24 he went into detail about his methods. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-238735-1.html

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Also, the use of a remote shutter release would aid in the stability of the camera during shooting. At 1/2000 shutter speed, any small shudder of the camera can blur the image.

Jim Bob

Is that the brother of Obi Wan?

billc987

I do not usually post anything: I just like to see what others are doing. In this case I will give some advice. To photograph hummingbirds you do not need to make a big elaborate setup. You do not need a super long lens. You need patience and planning. The equipment I use the most for hummingbirds is a tripod, good camera (I use a Nikon D600), macro lens and a remote trigger. We have been attracting the birds with plants and feeders. We encourage them to go to single flowers with sugar water then watch the bird's behavior. Plan out the photo you want and keep the background simple.
Set up your camera and remote trigger (use all manual mode – focus and exposure) and wait.
Use burst with the shutter. The birds will get used to the sound of the camera. If I need to add light to areas of the photo I use a white board to reflect light. This photo is at 1/1200. f/7.1. ISO 1600. The lens is a 28-105 set on macro and is about 10 inches from the flower. One piece of white board under the bird for a reflector – no flash. My wife likes to use a longer lens but then more care is needed to keep the background from being cluttered.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You will need a long fast lens to get working distance and an ISO that is high enough to allow you to shoot 1/4000 for frozen wings, 1/2000 for wings with movement, and 1/1000 for invisible wings. Sounds like a lens that would be sharp wide open, like a 300mm F2.8 or 400mm F2.8

strobe Loc: Central Iowa

Fasten the feeder so it won't rotate and then while you're shooting plug the ports directly in front of you and behind the feeder so they can only use the ports on the sides of the feeder. Then you'll get good profile shots.