Hummingbirds: the Story Behind the Pictures
Hummingbirds are small birds in the family Trochilidae, native only to the Americas. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings, 15–80 times per second (depending on the species). The Giant Hummingbird's wings beat 8–10 beats per second, the wings of medium sized hummingbirds beat about 20–25 beats per second and the smallest beat 70 beats per second. Capable of sustained hovering, the hummingbird has the ability to fly deliberately backwards (this is the only group of birds able to do so) or vertically, and to maintain position while drinking from flower blossoms. They are named for the characteristic hum made by their wings. (source: Wikipedia article)
It is extremely difficult to get a good picture of a hummingbird, for a number of reasons. First, the birds are very small (several centimeters beak to tail). Second, they move very fast, and I mean VERY fast. Third, they flap their wings so fast that it is impossible to freeze the motion with a camera shutter.
It took me months to get decent pictures of the little birds. I set up a feeder on our balcony, which let me set up a tripod in our living room, with the window blinds partially closed. That formed a sort of a hideaway. Then I had to do something about the light: the strong California sun (this was in San Diego) was providing plenty of backlight, but my viewpoint was in the shade, so I'd see the shaded side of flying birds. The solution? Cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil (the plain normal kitchen-use variety). Lots of cardboard. Our balcony was quickly covered with aluminum reflectors, which I had to readjust every 20-30 minutes or so, so that they reflected light on the feeder as the sun moved. If you look closely, you can see reflections of the aluminum foil in the bird's eyes in some pictures.
There was so much light concentrated in the area right next to the feeder that it was difficult to hold a hand there, because of the heat. Even then, the only way to actually freeze the wing motion was to get lucky and catch the wings in one of the extreme positions, where movement is slowest.
With a 300mm lens at a 2m distance it took quite a bit of framing and focusing work to actually get a reasonable full-frame picture of the birds. Did I mention that they move really, really fast?
A better approach to photographing these birds is to use a number of flash units, each set to 1/16 power (or less). That way the flashes provide a very brief and strong illumination, shorter than any achievable shutter speed. The problem with this approach is price: I can't afford several flash units.
I plan on going to Arizona some day and doing some more work on these fascinating creatures.