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About the Hummingbird Photographs

The first hummingbird I captured was with a digital camera using flash and a remote cable for a tripod mounted camera in 2004. The results were mixed, but even in the best shots the birds had a "flat", artificial look and getting everything timed and lined up made the shooting more of an engineering project than a pleasant artistic experience. In any case, it was satisfying to get and keep a short moment of a hummingbird's delicate flight. 

In 2005 the digital was replaced with 35mm film using no flash and remote shooting off of the tripod. These results were slightly better than with the digital, but overall there was more to be done. Somehow light and shadow had to be more prominent for the sake of my art. In 2006 as the hummingbirds returned testing with a couple different camera and lens combinations showed that photographing hummingbirds using only sunlight was possible, but it was going to be difficult. To increase the odds of a good shot and to shoot the birds in different flying "poses" the camera was taken from the tripod, then to the monopod and finally to free hand-held shooting. 

The Hummingbirds are very fast in more ways than a 20 millisecond beat of the  wings, they can move at speeds of more than 60MPH! Needless to say, they didn't stop to pose on command., there was a lot of shooting to be done. NEXT PAGE.........