Another G6 Hummingbird

--HI Gang, Well, I was waiting for this little guy. I think I'm going to need another camera for much better shots. I'm sitting on a stool about 3 feet away from the feeder. I have to sit and wait and wait with the camera pre- focused for about 10 min's at a time. Manual mode TV1250--5.0 --ISO 100-
white bal- sunny--flash on.
Cheers,
Dan

Sick!!! What shutterspeed? Settings?



.
http://www.pbase.com/schmugs50/galleries

--HI Gang, Well, I was waiting for this little guy. I think I'm going to need another camera for much better shots. I'm sitting on a stool about 3 feet away from the feeder. I have to sit and wait and wait with the camera pre- focused for about 10 min's at a time. Manual mode TV1250--5.0 --ISO 100-
white bal- sunny--flash on.
Cheers,
Dan

Hi Dan,

First off...Great shot & patience waiting on the shot!

This is a nice pic but you have a green hummer against a green background...tough situation.

Hope ya don't mind, this is about two minutes work in photoshop...

--Sick?? Shutter speed--1250
Cheers,

Dan

Great shot Dan

It is hard to capture the hummingbird and you did excellent!!

thanks for sharing

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Old Dan said:

--HI Gang, Well, I was waiting for this little guy. I think I'm
going to need another camera for much better shots. I'm sitting on
a stool about 3 feet away from the feeder. I have to sit and wait
and wait with the camera pre- focused for about 10 min's at a
time. Manual mode TV1250--5.0 --ISO 100-
white bal- sunny--flash on.
Cheers,
Dan

Click to expand...

--
my warmest regards,
sue anne
Pro 1
------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/sueymarky
http://sueymarky.smugmug.com/

--Thanks for the help with the PS fix. While setting up the shot, I tried several combinations of f stops and aperture settings but still could not blur the background. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Dan

--Thanks Sueanne, I just wish i could get the backgrouhd blurred.
Cheers,
Dan

Beautiful shot
Your patience paid off.

Re blur
You'd need a shallow depth of field
PP: If you have Photoshop elements 2/3 or photoshop

You can select the background and apply gaussian blur/ or any other blur you want to play with

Here's one -so so -example I was experimenting with, selecting different parts and sharpening or blurring, just to see

http://www.innerresources.org/PhotoGalleries/FlowersPhotoshopEl/slides/IMGblur_9360.html
--
JSL

--Thanks for the help with the PS fix. While setting up the shot, I tried several combinations of f stops and aperture settings but still could not blur the background. Any suggestions?
Cheers,
Dan

YW Dan, glad to help out!

If you shoot wide open (IE f2.0) it will give a shallow DOF & blur the background...however you run the risk of overexposure with the flash because your shutter speed is limited at the high end. So set the FEC at -2 to compensate for this & work your way up from there...But with this shallow DOF comes a much narrower window of focus...

So clear & sharp!!
Steve
--

with a 2x teleconverter for an effective f.l. of 200mm final (this is a crop from the original). If you have a teleconverter, it can help you get a shallower depth of focus (blurring the background). Also, if you shoot in the evening, you can highlight the bird with the flash, while leaving the background a bit underexposed.

I use my laptop to remotely control my camera for hummer shots (camera on a tripod)... using a 6' USB extension to move even further from the feeder. I prefocus the camera on the feeder, then offset the f.o.v. slightly to the side of the feeders that the birds favor. I then lock the focus... take a few tests to get the flash and background balanced, then wait. Since I am 8-10 ft from the feeder, the birds aren't spooked as much. Denpending on how active the birds are, I can get from 3 to as many as a dozen shots in a half hour of waiting.

Finally, I take most of mys hummer shots later in the season, when the young have fledged, and the birds are VERY active in feeding...

There are more of my hummer pics taken w S45 or S60 at: http://www.pbase.com/gard/hummingbirds I can't wait to try shooting them with my (new) G6!

Have fun... hummers are fascinating little birds. If I had to choose a bird to be, it would be a tossup between a hummer, a kestral, or a swallow (perhaps the hummer would win based on diet (nectar sounds better than rats or bugs!)
--
Dave Gard
http://www.pbase.com/gard

Step back and increase your zoom while using max aperture. This will increase the blur effect (decrease the depth of field). I do it all the time and it makes a big difference. I simply switch to portrait mode and it will max out the aperture for you.

I also recommend a tripod and use the remote with locked focus and exposure. It will cut down on the fatigue waiting for those birds.

Awesome shot, by the way. Looks better without the post processing IMO.
--
-Hatch

--Thanks again. I'll give it a try.
Cheers
Dan

--Thanks so much for the LINK.
Cheers,
Dan

--Thanks so much Hatch. I'll try your suggestions.
cheers,
Dan

--Thanks steve.
Cheers,
Dan

--WOW!!! What an awesome shot!! I think I'll quit while I'm ahead. Looking forword to viewing your gallery. Thanks for all the info. I will be trying your suggestions.
Cheers,
Dan

--Thank you for the Link.
Cheers,
Dan

Two things you can do to increase you exposure range with wide open aperture. Go to ISO 50 and if that doesn't work, turn on the ND filter. That will allow a wider aperture while maintaining exposure.

--Thanks for your help. Will give it a try.
Cheers,
Dan