# 1st Hummingbirds w/HSS Flash



## z06-jim (Jun 8, 2009)

Here are a few shots I took of some Hummers trying _'High Speed Sync Flash'_ using my _'580EX II'_ to fill in the shadows.
This time I included the original size and the cropped version to compare.
Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8
ISO 200....1/800....f/5.0 ~ f/8.0...HSS @ -2

#1










#2











#3









#4


----------



## Samanax (Jun 8, 2009)

Great shots!


----------



## Bitter Jeweler (Jun 8, 2009)

WOW!


----------



## manaheim (Jun 8, 2009)

Holy snark!  Nice!

Maaaaaan... I gotta stalk my hummingbirds and try to get some shots.  They're so NOT daring here for some reason.  My mom (out in Oregon) has hummingbirds that will fly around her head and check her out while she's out reading and such.  They even dive-bomb the cats.  Ours see you and they're GONE.

Really neat little buggers though.

Anyway, REALLY awesome shots- the total freeze on the wings is DAMNED impressive.


----------



## paulpippin29 (Jun 8, 2009)

I can only repeat what has been said above... absolutely breathtaking shots here.

I have the same hummingbird issue as manaheim does... if you even breathe, they fly away!


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 8, 2009)

Samanax said:


> Great shots!





Bitter Jeweler said:


> WOW!


Thanks...:cheers:


----------



## Nolan (Jun 8, 2009)

Now these are great! Bravo!


----------



## benlonghair (Jun 9, 2009)

z06-jim said:


> Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8



Awesome shots. Hummingbirds are cool as hell to watch and even more fun to photograph. 

Seeing the lens you used, I'm even more excited about my 70-300mm coming in the next day or two.


----------



## paulk_68 (Jun 9, 2009)

_"Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8
ISO 200....1/800....f/5.0 ~ f/8.0...HSS @ -2"_

??? You have a 5DII and you shot them with an ISO of 200, and a flash?... The pictures are nice and sharp but, have the "flash look" and are a bit under exposed. You could have come away with much nicer pictures by using a higher ISO and no flash. Your camera is very capable of using higher ISO speeds without too much noise.


----------



## tirediron (Jun 9, 2009)

Well done!


----------



## docphotog (Jun 9, 2009)

Love it.


----------



## inTempus (Jun 9, 2009)

Dude, these rock.  Nice work with the high speed flash.


----------



## ben306 (Jun 9, 2009)

They really are amazing shots


----------



## Montana (Jun 9, 2009)

Not sure what impresses me more, the shots themselves or the quality of those massive crops.  Great shooting!


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 9, 2009)

manaheim said:


> Holy snark! Nice!
> Maaaaaan... I gotta stalk my hummingbirds and try to get some shots. They're so NOT daring here for some reason. My mom (out in Oregon) has hummingbirds that will fly around her head and check her out while she's out reading and such. They even dive-bomb the cats. Ours see you and they're GONE.
> Really neat little buggers though.
> Anyway, REALLY awesome shots- the total freeze on the wings is DAMNED impressive.





paulpippin29 said:


> I can only repeat what has been said above... absolutely breathtaking shots here.
> I have the same hummingbird issue as manaheim does... if you even breathe, they fly away!


Thanks guys...Here's a shot of my hummingbird _'Blind'_ on my deck at the back of my house...
I started out about 15ft from the feeders and gradually moved closer each day...Now, after just a couple days, I'm able to sit 6ft from them.
They seem to have finally got used to me sitting there and will _'buzz'_ all around me at times....(still can't make any sudden moves though or it scares them off)
I'm fortunate to be able to get so close....:cheer:


----------



## Dylan-Fishman (Jun 9, 2009)

AMAZING! I _*love*_ your deck.


----------



## Montana (Jun 9, 2009)

I could easily imagine myself sitting there with a cold beer and the camera.


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 9, 2009)

Nolan said:


> Now these are great! Bravo!





benlonghair said:


> z06-jim said:
> 
> 
> > Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8
> ...





tirediron said:


> Well done!





docphotog said:


> Love it.





ben306 said:


> They really are amazing shots


 Thanks very much....


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 9, 2009)

paulk_68 said:


> _"Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8_
> _ISO 200....1/800....f/5.0 ~ f/8.0...HSS @ -2"_
> ??? You have a 5DII and you shot them with an ISO of 200, and a flash?... The pictures are nice and sharp but, have the "flash look" and are a bit under exposed. You could have come away with much nicer pictures by using a higher ISO and no flash. Your camera is very capable of using higher ISO speeds without too much noise.


Thanks....these shots were more of a test to find out what _'HSS Flash'_ was all about since I haven't used that mode before...they do have somewhat of a 'flash' look to them but it sure helped fill in the shadow areas _vs._ no flash at all that I have taken of them before..
Been thinking about adding another feeder, in a less shaded area, to get better natural light shots of them...:cheers:


----------



## paulk_68 (Jun 9, 2009)

z06-jim said:


> paulk_68 said:
> 
> 
> > _"Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8_
> ...



Ah, understand now. I forgot to mention that I am super jealous of your rig (it's a great set up),... soon


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 9, 2009)

tharmsen said:


> Dude, these rock. Nice work with the high speed flash.


 Thanks...I read about _'HSS Flash'_ here and on another forum and had to give it a try... 
This is a great place to learn about photography and is much appreciated...:cheers:


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 9, 2009)

Montana said:


> Not sure what impresses me more, the shots themselves or the quality of those massive crops. Great shooting!


Thank you......I've been pleasantly surprised, & quite amazed at times, with the IQ of this lens/camera combo...:thumbsup:....
I've really been enjoying shooting birds lately and hope sometime in the future to graduate up to one of the bigger primes.... :cheers:


----------



## Baaaark (Jun 9, 2009)

OMFG those closeups are amazing!

*Jealous of your setup*


----------



## gravity0 (Jun 9, 2009)

Is there a shutter speed fast enough to completely make a H. Birds wings still life??


----------



## gravity0 (Jun 9, 2009)

gravity0 said:


> Is there a shutter speed fast enough to completely make a H. Birds wings still life??


 
Nevermind  


Humming birds wing beats per second 38-78

1/38 = 126 milli-seconds

1/78 = 12.8 milli-seconds


----------



## LBoogieOnTheNik (Jun 10, 2009)

Amazing!  These are the type of photos I want to be able to produce!  Great job!


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 10, 2009)

Dylan-Fishman said:


> AMAZING! I _*love*_ your deck.


Thank you....I'm particularly proud of the deck as it was one of my first major remodeling projects I had ever taken on myself. Built it about 12yrs. ago...


----------



## Chairman7w (Jun 10, 2009)

Stunning!!  Wow - that is some seriously amazing photography!  Great job!


----------



## ShotGunNik (Jun 10, 2009)

First off, amazing and wonderful shots!  Second, BAD ASS deck and back yard lol.  Damn, I really need the lense for this since I have somewhere I live, yet they're hiding right now for somereason.  I'll have to get those feeders for em' I guess.


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 10, 2009)

Montana said:


> I could easily imagine myself sitting there with a cold beer and the camera.


 Yep, one of my favorite evening pastimes....


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 12, 2009)

Chairman7w said:


> Stunning!! Wow - that is some seriously amazing photography! Great job!


 Thank you....


----------



## Breanna (Jun 12, 2009)

WOW. Amazing shots! 

And "wow" again at the view from your deck! That view would cost ya $3 mil here in CA  Gorgeous!


----------



## kundalini (Jun 12, 2009)

These are very good and the crop of the 5DII is quite impressive.

Last year was my first go at trying to get Hummers (get your mind out of the gutter dudes). Did some reading and found these little tricks really helped. The Hummers are fairly consistent in their behavior around the feeder. They hover, go in for a drink, back off for a few seconds and go back for a double dip. When they back off, that's the time to fire. If you prefocus (then turn AF off) and stop down the lens enough (looks like you did) you can catch them without the feeder in the frame. Another tip was (on the day) tape over all ports of the feeder except the one you want to shoot with the best background. It takes them a few minutes to figure out, but they WILL go to that one. They are greedy little buggers. 

As you've already discovered, little by little, you can get closer with your setup. They don't care as long as they can "get the juice".

Looking forward to more.


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 12, 2009)

gravity0 said:


> Is there a shutter speed fast enough to completely make a H. Birds wings still life??


The only way I have gotten close to stopping the wing action was when I lucked out and caught them on the very upswing or downswing motion...but still havent stop them completely doing that
Here's one with no flash at _'1/1600th'_ shutter speed that didn't even come close to stopping the action!


----------



## kundalini (Jun 12, 2009)

Not a Hummer, but a *bee in flight at 1/8000 shutter speed*.    sorry, no highjack intended....)


----------



## z06-jim (Jun 12, 2009)

kundalini said:


> Not a Hummer, but a *bee in flight at 1/8000 shutter speed*.  sorry, no highjack intended....)


 No problem at all, feel free to post any pics/comments you would like.... 
The only problem I have is that I'm at work and they apparently have your picture hosting site blocked here... 
I'll have to wait until I get home in the morning to view your bee in flight shot...:er:...


----------



## photosoto (Jun 12, 2009)

newb question here, but how did your pics not turn out dark with such a fast shutter speed and low ISO?  just from being outside?

...amazing pics btw


----------



## kundalini (Jun 12, 2009)

photosoto said:


> newb question here, but how did your pics not turn out dark with such a fast shutter speed and low ISO? just from being outside?
> 
> ...amazing pics btw


 
As a Nikon shooter, can I take a crack at this?




z06-jim said:


> Shot with my 5DII & 70-200 IS 2.8
> ISO 200....1/800....f/5.0 ~ f/8.0...HSS @ -2


 


:lmao::lmao::lmao:


----------



## photosoto (Jun 12, 2009)

kundalini said:


> photosoto said:
> 
> 
> > newb question here, but how did your pics not turn out dark with such a fast shutter speed and low ISO? just from being outside?
> ...



I googled the camera model... nevermind:blushing:


----------



## kundalini (Jun 12, 2009)

photosoto said:


> I googled the camera model... nevermind:blushing:


 Oh crap, I did it again, sorry dude....... wasn't pointed towards.....


----------

