Humming bird resting

[Brian Lowe]

Here is a humming bird I found resting on a branch, then he did a few stretches and flew away. These were taken with a 1DMKIIn and 600MM f/4 IS L



Enjoy,
Brian





http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/176016054-L-1.jpg




http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/176015113-L-1.jpg



http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/176015962-L-1.jpg

[Asher Kelman]

These are amongst the most beautiful pictures of a humming birds I have ever seen. There appear to be two, as one picture shows bright red neck feathers. Also I have mostly seen the birds flitting so fast and my images are blurred and as small as a dragon fly, it seems, with my modest 70-200 2.8 IS L.

The birds so rarely visit that I have to rush off to get a camera and there's just no time. I think the birds visiting my garden are on some psych-pharmacological mix as they are totally crazy and unpredicatable!

Again, this is awesome Brian and so are you!

Asher

BTW, the Canon glass aint bad either!

[John_Nevill]

Lovely shots Brian, great poses, rich and natural colours set against a smooth and creamy bokeh, thanks for sharing. My favourite has to be number 3.

[Steve Saunders]

Wow Brian, those are great shots, perfect in every way you could hope for. It's so rare to get a look at those little birds actually sitting still and the few I've seen were all flying about at a hectic pace.

[Brian Lowe]

Thank you all for your kind words.

I purchased Arthur Morris's CD "The Art of Bird Photography II" and got inspired, LOL.

I found the CD to be a very good refresher and inspirational, on bird photography technique especially with a long lens. With the 600mm lens you must practice shooting with it as I find it a very challenging lens to use and practice with it pays off ....


Brian

[Asher Kelman]

Brian,

Since you are hand-holding the 600 mmm lens, how long can you hold it at a time? Seems that you can't do this a walking hike!

Asher

[Brian Lowe]

Brian,

Since you are hand-holding the 600 mmm lens, how long can you hold it at a time? Seems that you can't do this a walking hike!

Asher

Yes I do hand hold the 600mm but for the record the humming birds were taken with the Wimberly II head on a Gitzo CF 15xx tripod.

When hand holding the 600mm f/4 I can shoot for a few min then I have have to rest my arms. Most of the time I just through the setup over my shoulder like this. (Me on a trail in Costa Rica)
http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/125393062-L-1.jpg

Here is what the 600mm f/4 setup looks like (On the Tarcoles River CR)

http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/119941861-L.jpg


And here is a example of shoot taken while hand holding the 600mm f/4. How I held the lens for this, was by kneeling down and keeping good balance and keeping everything dry, LOL

Brian

http://brianlowe.smugmug.com/photos/150288883-L-1.jpg

[Kathy Rappaport]

http://www.pbase.com/chatkat/image/84116580/large.jpg


Here we are - story later....

[Angelica Oung]

Amazing. I've never seen those critters sit still. Good job.

[Kathy Rappaport]

This was just a gift borne out of my impatience with my husband. We went to the Getty Center to see an exhibition of Edward Weston's Photography. Go see it if you have a chance - and if you do let me know so I can take off work and join you!

Anyway, he (my husband) was taking forever to frame a shot in the gardens and I was waiting when I saw the hummingbird fly into the tree, land on the branch and then he posed for me. He stayed for several minutes. The sun was setting and the tree was in a garden area where I couldn't get any closer to zoom with my feet. I had taken the 24-105 4.0 on my 5d and I already was standing in mud (in dress shoes no less). Most of the shots he silhouetted because I was shooting into the sun. So this, even though I cropped in, was a gift. Oh, and my husband ended up waiting for me.

A few years ago, when I was new to digital, I went to a friends home to shoot the many hummingbirds that visited her every day. No matter what I did, I couldn't get any photos of them. Then I went and spent a weekend and tried again. No images worth anything. They are really hard to photograph - unless you have really long glass and a fast shutter and some flash to freeze the motion.