{"id":85445,"date":"2020-05-22T06:07:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T12:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=85445"},"modified":"2020-05-22T07:43:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T13:43:45","slug":"hummingbird-takeoff-shots-a-progress-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/22\/hummingbird-takeoff-shots-a-progress-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Hummingbird Takeoff Shots – A Progress Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some goals just aren’t worth pursuing and hummingbird takeoff shots may be one of them.<\/p>\n

I like the dynamics of takeoff shots, especially when a bird has its legs stretched out and is pushing off with its feet to complement the mighty first beat of its wings. For years I didn’t think it was worth even trying for such shots with hummingbirds because they typically don’t push off with their stubby little legs and feet – instead they simply lift off their perch using only their whirring wings to provide lift and acceleration which doesn’t provide the visual dynamics I so enjoy. .<\/p>\n

But a little over two weeks ago I posted a photo of a hummer that looked like it might actually be pushing off with its feet and legs<\/a><\/span><\/span> so I told readers that I was going to attempt to get better shots of them doing exactly that and that I’d report back on any progress.<\/p>\n

This is that report. .<\/p>\n

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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Three days ago I took quite a few photos of this male Broad-tailed Hummingbird while he was perched on a bare twig near a stream in the Wasatch Mountains. He’d been feeding on Black Twinberry Honeysuckle flowers in a bush below him but occasionally he’d land on this twig to rest. I think he liked that perch because the wind was gusting hard and unlike most perches in the area this one was stiff enough that it didn’t bounce around as much in the wind.<\/p>\n

Hummers are incredibly speedy little devils when they take off so the photographer has little chance of capturing actual liftoff but with this bird I decided to give it my best effort.<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/p>\n

I caught his first wingbeat at its apex and 1\/10 second later in the burst he had…<\/p>\n

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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/p>\n

already left the perch.<\/p>\n

I can’t be absolutely sure but I see no evidence suggesting he pushed off with his feet and legs in either shot. It appears that he simply used his wings to provide all the lift and acceleration he needed. Several other recent attempts with other hummingbirds have given me similar results.<\/p>\n

So at this point I’ve decided that attempts at getting dynamic hummingbird takeoff shots are probably mostly wasted effort so I’ll concentrate on other types of hummer photos instead. Live and learn, at least I now know where my efforts are unlikely to be rewarded.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I’ll close with another very different photo of possibly the same hummingbird.<\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/p>\n

Four minutes after the previous photos were taken this male landed on barbed wire so close to the end of my lens that I had to be within millimeters of my closest focusing distance. Believe it or not this is one of the most difficult photos I’ve ever taken of any bird and I paid for it physically for several hours after.<\/p>\n

The wire he landed on was on an extremely steep slope below me and right next to my pickup so it seemed like I was shooting almost straight down out my window. To get him in my viewfinder I had to lift my butt off the pickup seat which made my head hit the roof so I had to bend my neck and hold that extremely awkward and uncomfortable position for long enough that this old man with a bad back was in pain for most of the rest of the morning.<\/p>\n

But I like the shot for two reasons:<\/p>\n