I was out walking around the yard, camera in hand as always, and came upon this curious little guy. He buzzed me repeatedly, back and forth from all sides, to the point I chose to turn back and take a different route. It was 'baby season' and I didn't want to risk disturbing a nest or potential new-born hummers so I cleared out quickly.. I did manage to get a few decent shots during my retreat.
When I saw this contest was about speed I immediately thought hummingbirds because they are one of my favorite things to pursue with my camera and they are undoubtedly super-fast. The subject has sharp facial features (you can see me in the eye I believe) and enough motion-blur to almost be too much. It's one of my favorite hummingbird pictures and I hope you like it too.
Any advice or tips on how I could have done this better would be greatly appreciated. I'm a fairly new hobbyist and I'm always looking for ways to improve. Thanks in advance.
Canon 5D4 w/100-400L +1.4X III @ 227mm, f8, 1/250, ISO 800.
I like this one because it's a shot that can't be reproduced. Unlike cars or bikes going around a track, you only got one chance to get this one and it came out really nice. 1/250 is pushing it for a BIF, my whole shot would have looked like the tail or worse.
To pull that kind of separation in such a tiny moving target is really cool. They are only about three inches long, yes?
Thanks very much for your comment. I agree. One of the things I love about shooting wildlife is the complete unpredictability of the subject/target and the 'pressure' to get a decent shot because the opportunity is once and gone.