Hummers w/105VR (some CLS) pics....

I've been using the 105/2.8 Micro Nikkor to shoot some
RT Hummingbirds (all we get!) for the last few days - some I tried using
a 2 flash setup (SB800/600) and some without. I'm trying
to capture the male but so far no luck! The flash shots were
1/250 @ f/16 ISO 125 while the natural light were 1/2000 @ f/4.5,
ISO 400. D200 set on commander mode for flash. All cropped 50%
or a little more.

Comments welcome - I think I tend to like the natural light better.









--
Lou

http://loutent.smugmug.com/

Nice captures, Lou. At the time of day I get to shoot I need the fillflash due to the shadows. I like the natural light also and use it when I can. Thanks for the comments.
--
Donny

Nikon D 50, 18-55, 55-200 VR, 70-300 VR, 50mm 1.8,Tamron 200-500 SP AF DI, SB 600, better beamer

Lou Tent said:

I've been using the 105/2.8 Micro Nikkor to shoot some
RT Hummingbirds (all we get!) for the last few days - some I tried using
a 2 flash setup (SB800/600) and some without. I'm trying
to capture the male but so far no luck! The flash shots were
1/250 @ f/16 ISO 125 while the natural light were 1/2000 @ f/4.5,
ISO 400. D200 set on commander mode for flash. All cropped 50%
or a little more.

Comments welcome - I think I tend to like the natural light better.

Click to expand...

Very nice shots,Lou. I also like natural light but with some flashes and a background,the image pops. I came back from the trip to Madera Canyon,AZ this week to shoot hummingbirds and I used 3 flashes. The SB600 as the master flash on the camera, and the SB800,SB26 as a slave. Since the SB26 doesn't work in CLS,I used manual mode in all flashes and it worked fine,

I bet you got quite close to the hummer.

http://www.pbase.com/coffee/madera_canyon&page=all

Hide
--



http://www.pbase.com/coffee

Very nice, Lou. By R.T. hummingbirds, do you mean Ruby Throated? I have a picture very similar to yours and I thought mine was an immatured Anna's, which we have a lot in Northern CA.

Here is mine:



Here is a male Anna's:



I'm not a birder. May be you or someone can straighten me out.

Can someone ID this hummer for me? I took this at a friend's feeder.



Thanks.
Guy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guywong/

Oh am I ever so glad to see your shots. How did you focus on the humming birds? I for the first time ever got to shoot some humming birds in my yard and was really having a hard time with focus using the 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. I also tried the 70-300mm f/3.5 VR lens but due to bad weather the lighting was not good at all. So I stayed with the 105mm f/2.8 macro lens and also tried manual focus without any success at all. Please share what you did.

Here is what I was able to do:











Donna

From what I've read, the RT is the "only" hummingbird found east of the Mississippi. Its certainly the only type I've seen in Tennessee.

George

Guy M Wong said:

Very nice, Lou. By R.T. hummingbirds, do you mean Ruby Throated? I
have a picture very similar to yours and I thought mine was an
immatured Anna's, which we have a lot in Northern CA.

Here is mine:



Here is a male Anna's:



I'm not a birder. May be you or someone can straighten me out.

Can someone ID this hummer for me? I took this at a friend's feeder.



Thanks.
Guy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guywong/

Click to expand...

Very nice, Lou. I use mainly sunlight with an on camera flash for fill.

Gotta try the multi flash setup though. I've seen some absolutely marvelous shots from Messers Kramp and Rankin using multiple flash setups.

I especially like number 3.

George

Lou Tent said:

I've been using the 105/2.8 Micro Nikkor to shoot some
RT Hummingbirds (all we get!) for the last few days - some I tried using
a 2 flash setup (SB800/600) and some without. I'm trying
to capture the male but so far no luck! The flash shots were
1/250 @ f/16 ISO 125 while the natural light were 1/2000 @ f/4.5,
ISO 400. D200 set on commander mode for flash. All cropped 50%
or a little more.

Comments welcome - I think I tend to like the natural light better.

Click to expand...

You are too modest as I think that your shots are
very close to Keith's and you are using a much simpler
set-up.

Next time you post, please send me a heads-up so that
my hummer shots don't wind up on the same page as yours!

Thanks for the kind words.

--
Lou

http://loutent.smugmug.com/

sonyfan05 said:

Oh am I ever so glad to see your shots. How did you focus on the
humming birds? I for the first time ever got to shoot some humming
birds in my yard and was really having a hard time with focus using
the 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. I also tried the 70-300mm f/3.5 VR lens
but due to bad weather the lighting was not good at all. So I stayed
with the 105mm f/2.8 macro lens and also tried manual focus without
any success at all. Please share what you did.

Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but I'd be happy to tell what I did. I think the most
important thing is observing the birds for a while to see how they behave.
Hummers tend to do exactly the same thing every time they come to our
feeder. I tape off (temporarily) all but 1 hole in the feeder. I set my lens
& camera on manual focus and pre-focus on the area the bird will be as
it approaches - about 3-4 inches out. I set the camera on a tripod and
using a remote release. I have the camera on C (continuous) shooting and
fire several bursts as it approaches/leaves the feeder. If using flash, it is
easier to get focus correctly because of the greater depth-of-field from the
smaller aperture (16 or 22). For natural light, there are more missed focus
shots because of the wide aperture. Although hummers are fast, they do
the same thing over and over so you always get another chance when they
return to the feeder - usually every 20-30min or so. Take a lot of pictures
and throw out most of them! Avoid the feeder in the picture or crop it out
for a more natural look.

HTH & good luck!

--
Lou

http://loutent.smugmug.com/

Thank you so much for the tips. That was a big help and I will have to get set up next time. I was caught off guard and did my shots handheld with a macro lens. Now that I know they are here and my feeders are up/ready, when I figure out when their feeding times are I can set up and give it a try. I have everything I need based on what you said so I am really hoping for some much better shots.

Thank you!!!!

--
Donna

Thanks, George. As Lou said, your hummers are excellent. I definitely agree with his comments that your set up is simpler but the outcome is as good as Keith Rankin's.
Guy

Thanks for the very favorable comments. And to be compared with Kieth's work is really an honor IMO.

Thanks,
George

Guy M Wong said:

Thanks, George. As Lou said, your hummers are excellent. I
definitely agree with his comments that your set up is simpler but
the outcome is as good as Keith Rankin's.
Guy

Click to expand...

Lou,
that's a nice tip (prefocus and use a remote. I've been
trying for a couple of days to get some flight shots but not much luck
except for some sitting ones:



Tomorrow, I'll try the tripod and remote.
:{)

Lou Tent said:

I've been using the 105/2.8 Micro Nikkor to shoot some
RT Hummingbirds (all we get!) for the last few days - some I tried using
a 2 flash setup (SB800/600) and some without. I'm trying
to capture the male but so far no luck! The flash shots were
1/250 @ f/16 ISO 125 while the natural light were 1/2000 @ f/4.5,
ISO 400. D200 set on commander mode for flash. All cropped 50%
or a little more.

Click to expand...

Those are very good! How did you get those with a 105?? Your working distance would have been incredibly limited (just a few feet unless you cropped dramatically, which it doesn't look like you did.

Doug