Landing Male Allen's Hummingbird With Feet Out And Wings Back
TECHNIQUE:
When at the UCSC Arboretum, I pre-focus on the branch. At this time of year, the Male Allen's hummingbirds guard a patch of cape heath blossoms. They have favorite perches where they can see other males entering their established territory and females feeding so they can engage them to mate.
When they are perched, I try to anticipate their flying off of the perch to catch the takeoff. I view through the camera's eye screen to capture this action. When they are off, I still focus on the branch, and by using a remote cord connected to my camera and held in my hand, I watch for them to come to the perch. Now, I am not looking through the camera but scanning the cape heath patch, watching for movement. When I see movement and that the hummingbird is headed for his favorite perch, I trigger the remote long before he arrives.
Yes, I get a lot of perch images with no hummingbird, but once in a while, I nail the hummer as he lands. This is how I captured this image. I use a fast shutter speed with a high ISO. I use exposure compensation in bright sunlight to under-expose the image one stop.
ABOUT:
Allen's hummingbird is a species of hummingbird that breeds in the western United States. It is one of seven species in the genus Selasphorus.
"The secret is not to find the meaning of life, but to use your life to make things that are meaningful." ~ James Clear from a John Paul Caponigro thread.
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