A Flash of Hummingbird

Hummer, with flash and cropping

Hummingbirds are turning out to be the bane of my photographic existence. I don't know how many times I've encountered one of these tiny little beauties and completely failed to get even a remotely decent picture.

First off, they're small. Very small. Tiny even.

Second, they're quick. Even though one of their most remarkable characteristics is they're ability to hover in the air, hummingbirds don't hover very often, usually flitting from place to place in rapid movements.

Third, hummingbirds rarely land and rest. At least when I'm around.

And fourth, hummingbirds are skittish little things so that any attempt to get even a little bit closer with your camera makes them fly off into the distance.

So I end up trying to take them from at least twenty feet away so as to avoid scaring them. That forces me to use a long zoom (they're about two inches tall, remember) which makes simply getting them in the view finder difficult.

I try to keep the shutter speed as high as possible, in order to try to freeze their speedy wings, but also need to keep the aperture small so that the depth of focus remains good in case they move.

The hummingbird in context

And then, of course, there's that ruddy autofocus which, at twenty feet, is more likely to find the pole to the left of the bird or the leaves down below than the hummer itself. Ugh.

So last night, we're out in our backyard having dinner with some visiting friends and a little hummingbird shows up at our honey suckle bush. We get our cameras and try, try, try to get some decent shots.

The fact that daylight was fading proved both a curse and a blessing. A curse because it meant there was little light to work with, forcing shutter speeds down and apertures wide. A blessing because, well, it actually convinced me to try shooting on the Olympus' automatic settings, using the built-in flash.


I'd never thought of doing that before but, surprise surprise, it worked pretty well. These are the best hummingbird photos I've ever taken. Not that I'm saying much with that but still...

November's photo favourite is...

November's Favourite Photograph: "Impermanence"

"Impermanence". Surprise surprise.

I honestly believe that "Beer Taps" is the best, most interesting photograph of the bunch and yet not one person voted for it nor even mentioned it as being among their favourites.

"Jumpy Lights" is also an interesting photographic experiment but received little support while "Magic Pods", with its interesting shapes and textures, was also mentioned by only one person.

I find this amazing. And yet, I can't disagree with the support that both "Dog Days" and "Impermanence" received. I love both pictures, for their simplicity and their beauty. Maybe I can learn something from this: complexity and technical brilliance does not necessarily make a good photo.

And poor, poor "Waiting for the Wind". I don't think people even noticed it, despite the fact that it was the first shot on the list. I hope New Brunswick isn't insulted by that. And... I think it's a pretty good photo!

Photographic favourites from November

#1: Waiting for the Wind (308)

 So here we are. Trying to choose our favourite photograph from the month of November. I'm sorry to say it but November was not a stellar month and it wasn't easy coming up with shots for this selection.

That being said, I know very clearly which is my favourite. I'm just interested to see if you like the same one I do.

So please use the "Comments" button below, email me or find some other way to contact me to cast your vote for the best shot from November. And please don't hold it against me that I can't seem to get the hang of the new Blogger photograph placement rules.

#2: Dog Days (330)

#3: Magic Pods (312)

#4: Beer Taps in the Sky (332)

#5:Jumpy Lights (334)

#6: Impermanence (317)

Favourite Photo for October is...

Red Sky at Morning.

Although a number of photos received some support, this subtle but beautiful image of the morning sky was loved by many and at least mentioned by most. Thanks for voting and watch this space for the next chance to contribute, when I post the selection for November's favourite photo.