I have whinged before about the difficulty of getting good shots of hummingbirds; “good” here meaning “worthy of National Geographic.” An unreasonable standard, I realize.
I have only occasional access to hummingbirds, and then not usually in bright sunlight. That matters: To freeze the hummer’s wings I have to use a really fast shutter. If the light is anything less than extraordinary, that shutter speed makes for a poor-resolution shot. Oh, the horror.
And, of course, hummingbirds don’t stop. Ever.
As a result, I am unreasonably pleased when I get something passable: most of the bird in focus, with its wings apparently stopped at full extension. Indeed, the technical difficulties are such that I overlook composition faults.
I hear that the occasional good shot keeps people coming back in golf. I can’t speak to golf, but it certainly applies to hummingbird photography: The occasional close shot keeps me motivated to keep trying.
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Whinge no more!
Those are pretty good shots.
Tom
Tom – Thanks!