The Chase

This was taken the moment the male hummingbird jumped off the limb as he was chased off by the female. This happens all day long. Very hard to single out and capture.

The Chase

The Moment of Attack

An impossible shot. All it took was observation, a couple of hours and over 1,000 frames. Very happy with this image. This happens so fast it is impossible to observe with the naked eye. What you are shooting at is the percentage, knowing that the conditions and the signals of the perched bird point to it.

A lot is made of fancy rigs to get these pictures. Usually complex flash setups and the like. I shoot these hand held at ISO 1,250 and F8 or F13 if there is enough light at 400mm. I like to have the exposure around 1/2,000 of a second. I take test shots for exposure, often settling at 1 stop over exposure. I don't like flash because it washes out nuance. To me the animation of this photo by shadow is part of its appeal. If flashed, it would be relatively flat.

The Moment of Attack

Locked and Loaded Hummingbird

Something different. When hummers are getting ready to fight, tail flares are the standard move.  I shot this one intentionally as a silhouette in direct backlighting without exposure compensation, roughly +2 stops.  Anyway, I like the effect, and I like to take it to black and white with the contrast kicked up, and a blue filter to improve the sky.

Try Black and White Hummer Photos

Fun With Hummingbird Photography

These photos are challenging with a lot of misses, but the cool thing is that you get photos that are impossible to time. That is what I am going for. Note that in the second photo, the perched male hummingbird's tail is fanned out. He knows the attack is coming. He vanished in an instant, gone in the very next frame, replaced by the female. 

As you learn a new subject, you find the compositions that please you. For me multiple hummingbirds in one photo are that preferred compo, ideally with one or both birds flying. I much prefer the first and second photos below, and especially the second because the two subjects are connected by the attack.