Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hummingbirds

It turns out that it isn't so easy to photograph hummingbirds. Oh, they are very cooperative, casually feeding just a couple of feet from where I was balanced on a step stool. The trick is to get them into focus. I tried focusing the camera on the spot where I figured they would show up, but you know hummingbirds--all that darting and moving around at an incomprehensible speed.

I took almost 60 photos the other morning, standing on tiptoe and trying not to move. After downloading the pictures, I tossed out at least half right away because the birds were a blur, or were behind the feeder, or had left the frame by the time I pressed the shutter.

I plan to practice a lot more.

The background music for these photos features an African drum called a ngungu that mimics the sound of a wild pig. It also reminds me of the hum of hummingbird wings.



Just a few more days to vote (every day, as many photos as you want to vote for) in the New Mexico Day of Enchantment photo contest. Thank you for your support--the vote count is going up and up!

3 comments:

Sandy ~~~ said...

Great job! I did some hummer pics last year and really surprised myself...they turned out pretty OK. Fun to try anytime though.

EG CameraGirl said...

It's definitely NOT easy but you did very well!

becky said...

That top one is great! Yes, it's tricky... but fun, isn't it?