YES! FINALLY!

"macanamera" (macanamera) 08/10/2015 at 13:37 • Filed to: None

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I’ve got this hummingbird that’s always behind my house, and I’ve been trying to hard to get a good shot of it but it’s SO DAMN DIFFICULT to get a good photo of a hummingbird...they are just ridiculously fast and erratic. And when you do get them in frame, it’s completely blurry. Finally bit the bullet, turned up the ISO, waited for like two hours, and shot these on some insanely fast shutter speed like 1/3200 or 1/4000. Bingo!

Now I just have to do this again on a day when it’s actually sunny so I can turn the ISO below 800 and get cleaner shots. It was totally overcast today. But here’s the catch: hummingbirds are way less active on days where it’s directly sunny; it’s harder for them to thermoregulate. So...yeah.

itschrome > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:39

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wow those are beautiful man!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:39

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That top one is pretty awesome man. Nice work

Sneaky Pete > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:40

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Great shots. Hummingbirds are awesome little creatures.

macanamera > Sneaky Pete 08/10/2015 at 13:41

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They really are. Dude, they have hollow bones, to be light enough to move as fast as they do. They are basically the race cars of the bird world.

macanamera > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/10/2015 at 13:41

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Thanks dude. I feel like I deserve a beer.

macanamera > itschrome 08/10/2015 at 13:41

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Thanks much.

Party-vi > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:42

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Swan-dive bitches

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:47

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That’s bloody awesome.

macanamera > Party-vi 08/10/2015 at 13:48

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Party-vi > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:50

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Fantastic.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:51

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Looks like it was earned

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Party-vi 08/10/2015 at 13:52

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Too fabulous, must re-name as Hummingbird-Dive

macanamera > Party-vi 08/10/2015 at 13:52

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lol

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:55

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That top one is amazing.

Noah - Now with more boost. > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 13:57

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Nice shots!! Congrats on catching the guy, that must have been so gratifying. I like the bokeh. So smooth!

macanamera > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/10/2015 at 14:01

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Thanks, the bokeh is actually not even intentional, it’s just that even on ISO3200, I have to shoot like f/5.3 to get shutter speeds around 1/3200 decently exposed. I could never get shutter speeds that fast on like f/16 or f/22, unless I was on the surface of the sun, lol.

BigBlock440 > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 14:03

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Don’t all flying birds have hollow bones (maybe even non-flying birds too)? I thought that was a thing.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 14:13

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I saw a hummingbird for the first time on a recent camping trip. The thing moved so fast that at first, I thought it was a bigger than usual dragonfly. But then it paused in mid air and got a good look at it with the kids. We loved it.

Noah - Now with more boost. > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 14:17

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LOL. I can’t wait to play with non-stock lenses... and big boy cameras! I’m still on my first DSLR, it was very entry level - not full frame (UGH even my 1980s Olympus is...) and the light meter is a liar! Damn you Canon

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 14:37

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Damn, great shots!

macanamera > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/10/2015 at 15:17

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I shot these with a D5300, not full frame!

Noah - Now with more boost. > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 15:24

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My framing OCD is 100/100 lol. I have a thing for stationary stuff since I’m a control freak. So I truly appreciate photos like these!

DasWauto > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 18:43

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Nice shots. Did you set the focus manually and just wait for one to come into the shot or was the camera on autofocus?

macanamera > DasWauto 08/10/2015 at 20:17

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Single point center focus AF-S, they are too fast for manual focus.

DasWauto > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 20:43

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Oh yeah, if you’re trying to get them as they come up for sure but I meant more like focusing on where the bird is going to be, a specific area of flowers, and just waiting for one to come into that view. I’m impresses the camera managed to focus quickly enough to catch those. Probably a better camera than mine.

I haven’t played with the AF modes on mine, not past normal multi-point and manual focus. In Montreal for F1 I was focusing on the area of the track where the car would be and grabbing shots as cars went by. The autofocus would keep focusing on the fencing or crowd closer in front of me when I was using it. With the focus already set that wasn’t a problem anymore and the only thing ruining my shots was my shitty panning.

macanamera > DasWauto 08/10/2015 at 21:33

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Problem is I was shooting on like f/4 and f/5.3 so even a few inches of focus distance would have made the pic totally blurry, so I couldn't do a manual prediction of where they would be...

DasWauto > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 21:54

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What kind of lens are you using? My standard 18-55mm isis definitely getting too short for most Motorsport stuff so I’m thinking of picking up a zoom of some sort and a 35 or 50mm prime for dat sweet depth of field control.

macanamera > DasWauto 08/10/2015 at 22:02

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18-200, it's a great all purpose

Nymphicus Hollandicus > macanamera 08/10/2015 at 23:12

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As a bird lover, these fascinate me. Plus they’re adorable.

Anyways great shots!

macanamera > Nymphicus Hollandicus 08/10/2015 at 23:18

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Thanks!