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Frozen in time--hummingbirds@1/30,000 sec
Camera: K20D Photo Location: SAUGUS MA Shutter Speed: 1/180s Aperture: F11 
Posted By: charliezap, 05-12-2010, 02:55 PM


When the available light renders it almost impossible to get a good shot I have to revert to the speedlight that will literallly at 1/30,000 sec freeze these little guys.The 2nd shot caught him blinking.The last pic was just before I lost the light but I did use the flash as the "ghost in the wings show " All shots are at 1/180 sec but when the light fails the flash solely "paints the picture"I wish that more than one at a time would come to the feeder but I'm happy with what I have to work with at present They say these guys are good deep fried and dipped in sweet sauce---ONLY KIDDING---Charliezap

Last edited by charliezap; 01-21-2012 at 08:18 AM.
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05-12-2010, 03:05 PM   #2
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The first thing I noticed about the second photograph was that you caught him blinking... and I thought "Wow, how fast does a Hummingbird blink"?
05-12-2010, 03:15 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by GingeM Quote
The first thing I noticed about the second photograph was that you caught him blinking... and I thought "Wow, how fast does a Hummingbird blink"?
This is the 2nd time this week that i caught a bird blinking.The first was a flicker feeding outback which i will post later.Maybe Rense (biologist) can answer the question?--charliezap
05-13-2010, 05:31 AM   #4
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Hey Charliezap, isn't "speedlight" a brand name for Nikon flash gear? Is that what you used here?

05-13-2010, 06:26 AM   #5
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Awesome shots Charile. The first one is my favorite.
05-13-2010, 12:19 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by nirudha Quote
Hey Charliezap, isn't "speedlight" a brand name for Nikon flash gear? Is that what you used here?
I just mentioned "speedlight" in a generic term.Actually the flash that I use is a Vivitar 285HV.--charliezap
05-13-2010, 05:59 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by slowpez Quote
Awesome shots Charile. The first one is my favorite.
Thanks for the kind feedback---These guys believe it or not are easier to photograph than many birds.They are very fearless and put up with quite a lot with the camera and flash just several ft away--charliezap

05-13-2010, 06:19 PM   #8
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That first shot is amazing- you don't get to see these little guys up-close every day, after all

Adam
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05-14-2010, 02:58 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
That first shot is amazing- you don't get to see these little guys up-close every day, after all
Thanks Adam--One shot that I hope to take of him this summer is when he is hovering spread eagle facing me where you can see both wings clearly.In the span of a hour he's at the feeder a 1/2 dozen times or so and if I'm lucky I may get that shot--charliezap
05-14-2010, 04:13 AM   #10
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Awesome shots!

Im curious you say 1/30,000, but the shutter speed is 1/180 of a second.

I woulda thought you might have used a tiny aperture, bulb mode and the flash itself to effectively work as the shutter.
05-14-2010, 04:50 AM   #11
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Great shots

I really wish to be able to do these
05-14-2010, 05:10 AM   #12
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Incredibly well done, Capn'. Until now, I thought these birds were just hallucinations.

Wonderful piece of work, buddy.

Jer
05-14-2010, 12:39 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by C.W Tsorotes Quote
Awesome shots!

Im curious you say 1/30,000, but the shutter speed is 1/180 of a second.

I woulda thought you might have used a tiny aperture, bulb mode and the flash itself to effectively work as the shutter.
If it was totally black I could have used bulb mode but at 1/180 sec @f11 or so if the flash didn't fire there would be a real real dark photo with nothing to show.The flash fires when the shutter is opened creating the shot.Look at it this way.Consider the time between the brackets to be 1/180.(--------------flash-----------).The flash has been tripped in the middle of the shutter being opened.I hope that this makes it seem sensible as to how the flash controls the picture--charliezap
05-14-2010, 01:04 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by charliezap Quote
If it was totally black I could have used bulb mode but at 1/180 sec @f11 or so if the flash didn't fire there would be a real real dark photo with nothing to show.The flash fires when the shutter is opened creating the shot.Look at it this way.Consider the time between the brackets to be 1/180.(--------------flash-----------).The flash has been tripped in the middle of the shutter being opened.I hope that this makes it seem sensible as to how the flash controls the picture--charliezap
Thanks for that explanation.

How did you trigger the flash? hot shoe or x-sync cable?
05-14-2010, 01:14 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by charliezap Quote
This is the 2nd time this week that i caught a bird blinking.The first was a flicker feeding outback which i will post later.Maybe Rense (biologist) can answer the question?--charliezap
Great photos Charlie!

And no, I don't know anything about birds, only about chicken in the oven....
Sorry!
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