# A Farewell to Hummers



## sm4him (Sep 26, 2014)

Last Friday morning, before all the wedding festivities began, I got a chance to sit out in the yard and get a few more hummer shots. I was really pleased with them; I knew as I took them they'd be some of my best hummer shots so far, but then with my niece's wedding and related stuff all weekend, I couldn't get them processed! THEN I saw Kris' hummingbird thread, and was reminded that he is just in a class all by himself!!

It seems to have been fortunate that I got some time that morning to take photos, because this past Monday morning, the temperature took a nose dive into the upper 40s (hey, that's pretty cold for us southerners, in SEPTEMBER!) and my resident hummers seem to have taken flight for warmer climes. Makes me wish *I* could take flight for a warmer clime for the winter!! I'm hoping to maybe get a few passersby as others migrate through, but mostly I'm just sad that my hummers are gone, reminding me that fall, and then winter, are upon us.  

At least I have pictures to remember my sweet hummers--maybe that will help me survive until Spring!

1. At the feeder



Hummer by sm4him, on Flickr

2. Hover



Hummer 2 by sm4him, on Flickr

3. Strutting His Stuff



Preparing for Takeoff 2 by sm4him, on Flickr

4. Balancing Act



A Delicate Balance 2 by sm4him, on Flickr

5. Wing Spread



Hummer Wing Spread by sm4him, on Flickr

6. Hummer Battle: I was a little surprised to actually get a shot with both of them in the frame!
Incredible how fast these little guys are! I was shooting at 1/1000 here and the wings are nothing but a blur.



Hummer Battle by sm4him, on Flickr

You know the drill--C&C, general comments and witty banter are all welcome here!


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## dannylightning (Sep 26, 2014)

Nice shots,  The last one is pretty cool..


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## baturn (Sep 26, 2014)

These are great, Sharon. Particularly the 3rd. I've shot them at 1/2000th and still got blurry wings.


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## JacaRanda (Sep 26, 2014)

1, 2 & 3 are my favorites.


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## pjaye (Sep 26, 2014)

Absolutely stunning, gorgeous pictures Sharon. I *love* that first one especially!


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## JacaRanda (Sep 26, 2014)

Sharon,

Did you get a chance to see these?  Long Time No See - Here are some Hummers | Photography Forum

Matthew is another guy that makes me sick    In a good way.


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## hamlet (Sep 26, 2014)

Looks great.


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## cherry harrison (Sep 26, 2014)

Beautiful captures


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## sm4him (Sep 26, 2014)

Thanks, all! I really appreciate the comments!



baturn said:


> These are great, Sharon. Particularly the 3rd. I've shot them at 1/2000th and still got blurry wings.



Yeah, those wings just move SO fast, it's amazing! I did shoot some at 1/2000, I think, but not sure if any of those got processed. It's that constant battle between fast shutter speed and keeping the ISO reasonable, you know?



symplybarb said:


> Absolutely stunning, gorgeous pictures Sharon. I *love* that first one especially!


Thank you! The first is one of my favorites as well. Normally, I try not to show feeders and other manmade objects, but sometimes you can't avoid it, and somehow, with the hummers, I almost don't even mind. I shot some at a friend's house in Nashville recently, and I was going through them with her, I was mentally either picking the ones without the feeder or "cropping" the feeder out in my head, but the ones she wanted were the ones WITH the feeder, and I realized that in that case, the context of being at HER feeders is what made the pictures special to her.


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## sm4him (Sep 26, 2014)

JacaRanda said:


> Sharon,
> 
> Did you get a chance to see these?  Long Time No See - Here are some Hummers | Photography Forum
> 
> Matthew is another guy that makes me sick    In a good way.



Aaaaaannnnnddddd.............I quit.

I'm done. Anyone wanna buy some camera gear? 

Kris and Matthew--and that Danny guy from New Zealand too, though he's not been around lately--they are just crazy good. It doesn't make me sick, it makes me HIGHLY jealous. LOL. And slightly depressed. 

But see, here's the thing: They cheat. They HAVE to be cheating somehow. I don't know HOW they do it, but that's GOT to be the reason they get these absurdly awesome shots that blow the rest of OUR stuff out of the water. I mean, it can't just be that they are THAT much better than me, can it???


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## MystrE (Sep 26, 2014)

Those are nice shots Sharon. I like the challenge of trying to get shots of hummingbirds and have spent the last 3 months working at it from the confines of my patio while recovering from serious neck surgery. I'm better than when I started and realize I still have a ways to go but the journey is a heck of a lot of fun! Who knows, maybe some of the hummers passing through here could have been up there earlier! All I know is we all will have something to look forward to next spring and summer when our friends come back for a visit; my feeders will be waiting for them.


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## snowbear (Sep 27, 2014)

_Hummer Battle_ nominated:
September POTM Nomination Thread | Page 2 | Photography Forum


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## Designer (Sep 27, 2014)

sm4him said:


> Aaaaaannnnnddddd.............I quit.
> 
> I'm done. Anyone wanna buy some camera gear?



That's not how it works.  

That's not how any of this works.

You're just supposed to keep on practicing.


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## Raj_55555 (Sep 27, 2014)

sm4him said:


> But see, here's the thing: They cheat. They HAVE to be cheating somehow. I don't know HOW they do it, but that's GOT to be the reason they get these absurdly awesome shots that blow the rest of OUR stuff out of the water. I mean, it can't just be that they are THAT much better than me, can it???


Maybe they've figured out how to make a pet out of the hummers! 
You're jealous of them, and me of you.. if only my pics were half as good as you 
These are some real awesome shots,and the last one is just incredible. I'd have nominated it if it wasn't already nominated.


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## coastalconn (Sep 27, 2014)

LOL, I never cheat   I think you did great Sharon.  These little buggers are tough.  Although the only time I photograph them is out in the wild.  Maybe next year I will get a feeder...


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## sm4him (Sep 27, 2014)

Thanks for the comments, everyone!



snowbear said:


> _Hummer Battle_ nominated:
> September POTM Nomination Thread | Page 2 | Photography Forum





Raj_55555 said:


> sm4him said:
> 
> 
> > But see, here's the thing: They cheat. They HAVE to be cheating somehow. I don't know HOW they do it, but that's GOT to be the reason they get these absurdly awesome shots that blow the rest of OUR stuff out of the water. I mean, it can't just be that they are THAT much better than me, can it???
> ...



Wow, thank you--both of you--for the nomination, and the "second."


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## sm4him (Sep 27, 2014)

coastalconn said:


> LOL, I never cheat   I think you did great Sharon.  These little buggers are tough.  Although the only time I photograph them is out in the wild.  Maybe next year I will get a feeder...



Last year, I only got photos of them in the wild. This year, I haven't had much time to GO out in the wild, so it's been a blessing that I put those feeders up.


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## kundalini (Sep 27, 2014)

Good work Sharon.  Really like these.

BTW, it looks like you have a dust bunny on your sensor.  I'm pretty sure that's not a fart cloud coming out of the hummer on the right in #6.


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## sm4him (Sep 27, 2014)

kundalini said:


> Good work Sharon.  Really like these.
> 
> BTW, it looks like you have a dust bunny on your sensor.  I'm pretty sure that's not a fart cloud coming out of the hummer on the right in #6.


Those things are diesel-powered, you know! 
Thanks for noticing that; yes, I have several bad dust spots (MUST. Clean. SOON.)  and now that you say that, I realize that in my rush to process, I forgot to look for them in all the pictures.  I'll have to fix that!


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## BillM (Sep 27, 2014)

Beautiful shots as always Sharon


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## MSnowy (Sep 27, 2014)

Nice set Sharon. some of the best Hummers I've seen on here.


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## avraam (Sep 27, 2014)

gorgeous shots, is that kiwi?


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## pjaye (Sep 27, 2014)

sm4him said:


> Aaaaaannnnnddddd.............I quit.
> 
> I'm done. Anyone wanna buy some camera gear?
> 
> ...



No, you dont get to quit.  Nope, not happening.

And yours are just as good.


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