![\"black-chinned](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/black-chinned-hummingbird-9298-ron-dudley1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMany photographers\u00a0use elaborate\u00a0setups and flash when photographing hummingbirds.\u00a0 I prefer au naturel.<\/p>\n
Typically, flash has a harsh and unnatural look because it fills in the tiny shadows in\u00a0fine detail (such as in\u00a0feathers and\u00a0flowers)\u00a0and besides\u00a0I just don’t have the heart to flash unsuspecting birds as they go about their business – to me doing so seems\u00a0downright\u00a0rude.\u00a0 Elaborate setups where attractive perches are placed in front of the camera and birds are lured to the perches by food and electronic calls\u00a0seem more akin to studio photography\u00a0than nature photography and it leaves me cold.\u00a0 All one has to do is google “bird photography setups” or “hummingbird\u00a0photography setups” to see how pervasive the practice is.\u00a0 Some\u00a0photographers make their living by teaching\u00a0such\u00a0techniques to\u00a0dozens of others annually\u00a0in paid workshops so the practice is spreading.<\/p>\n
To each his own I guess but if I can’t photograph hummingbirds in a natural setting and without flash I won’t\u00a0photograph them at all.<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/5000, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n My latest opportunity to photograph hummingbirds in a natural setting came this week on Antelope Island\u00a0when I found several species\u00a0of them (and sphinx moths)\u00a0feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.\u00a0 This female Black-chinned Hummingbird (I think) was gorging herself on nectar as she flitted from flower cluster to flower cluster.\u00a0 One of the reasons folks use setups is to get clean backgrounds but as you can see it\u00a0can also be done in a natural setting if you’re willing to work at it.<\/p>\n For me the yellow beetle in the\u00a0flower was a serendipitous bonus rather than a distraction.\u00a0 I didn’t even see it until I put the image on the screen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’d really like to know the species of the beetle but considerable time spent researching it came up empty – it’s widely accepted that there may be over a million species of beetle so it’s not surprising that my efforts were fruitless.\u00a0 If anyone knows what kind of beetle it is I’d love to hear from you…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Ok, back to hummers.\u00a0 This female Rufous Hummingbird\u00a0was feeding on a different patch of bee plant two days ago.\u00a0 She was very protective of\u00a0“her” patch and chased off other hummingbirds, bees, moths, butterflies and even a juvenile Loggerhead\u00a0Shrike.\u00a0 She spent much of the rest of her time feeding – all that aggression requires lots of energy.<\/p>\n The background in this shot isn’t\u00a0clean like it would likely be if the image was a setup but nature isn’t “perfect” so I just deal with it.\u00a0 Besides, everything behind the bird is\u00a0out of focus and I don’t think it distracts much from the subject anyway, if at all.\u00a0 The colors in this image are pretty vivid but I’ve done nothing during processing to enhance them – all I did was crop, resize, selectively sharpen the bird and the flower and then add my copyright watermark.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many photographers use elaborate setups and flash when photographing hummingbirds. I prefer au naturel.<\/p>\n![\"black-chinned](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/black-chinned-hummingbird-9298-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"rufous](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/rufous-hummingbird-9963b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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