A flash of light among the flowers caught my eye yesterday as I wandered about at Green Spring Gardens and I managed to capture this shot of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). I don’t see any red on its throat, so I’m guessing that it is a female or an immature male.
When I looked at the EXIF data I realized how lucky I was to get this shot, for the shutter speed used was only 1/250 of a second. That shouldn’t be fast enough to capture a hummingbird in flight and it also is not really fast enough to be shooting with at 552mm handheld with my zoom lens, even with its built-in image stabilization.
As you probably suspect, I wasn’t intentionally shooting with such a slow shutter speed. I had been shooting flowers in aperture priority mode in bright sunlight and had lowered my ISO to 250 right before I spotted the hummingbird from a distance. The hummingbird was darting in and out of the light among the flowers (I think the flower in the photo is a type of salvia flower). I knew that I would have only a limited chance to get a shot, so I aimed and shot with the existing settings.
I’m glad that I have used my Tamron 150-600mm so much this past year, because I was somehow able to rely on muscle memory and instincts to help me get this shot, though I must acknowledge that luck played a huge role too.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Wow well done Mike! Irridescent and sharp!
I rather enjoy hummingbird photos that show the blur of the wings. When combined with a sharp head and eye, it’s wonderful. Nice photo.
Thanks. I too like the effect of the blurred wings. I think the hummingbird was hovering for a split second, which allowed me to get a relatively sharp shot of the head and eye.
Superb photo Mike! It just goes to show you never know what comes along and then you just have to try and get that one good shot before the moment is gone forever. But you got it, and got it good!
Thanks. You’ve summed up pretty well my approach. I try to be ready and to react quickly. There is a lot of luck involved, but skill does play a role in taking advantage of that luck–the photos don’t take themselves.
This is an incredible shot, Mike! Wow!
Thanks, Laura. Hummingbirds are definitely cool and I am thrilled whenever I see one. Getting a decent shot of one is a real bonus.
Hummingbirds are always a challenge, and their ability to hold their heads perfectly still while in frequently-fluent motion is a great boon to us with our cameras. You have risen beautifully to this one.