More Hummers
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2,090 Posts
Absolutely outstanding Brett. What lens???
That is amazing. You have definitely gone out of your way to get the light right.
Those hummers thought they were on TV!
I have not got the hordes of hummers in yet. Shouldn't be long. Every year we get an off the wall bird like a Rufous or Buff-Bellied. We've tried to get pictures but now I see why they don't turn out well.
Those hummers thought they were on TV!
I have not got the hordes of hummers in yet. Shouldn't be long. Every year we get an off the wall bird like a Rufous or Buff-Bellied. We've tried to get pictures but now I see why they don't turn out well.
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959 Posts
It has taken me a few tries to get the lights just right. In order to freeze the wings, you need multiple strobes all set to a pretty low power. This provides a very fast flash duration, which is just about the only way to completely stop the wings for the camera. The lights also help bring out the color of the birds as well. Here's the camera:
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5,887 Posts
I agree with the others. Great shots. Looks like all your hard work has paid off.
Mike
Mike
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2,719 Posts
I've stopped my string of profanity now. You win...I'll never post another hummer shot.
After I go buy ten flashes :headknock I still don't know that I could do what you did w/o the SU-800. Can't you elaborate a little more on how the flashes were programmed? Could you have acheivedthe same results using them as slaves? Can the SB-800 be used as an SU-800?
Sorry for the mind pick. Artificial lighting has always been on the back burner for me...until now
After I go buy ten flashes :headknock I still don't know that I could do what you did w/o the SU-800. Can't you elaborate a little more on how the flashes were programmed? Could you have acheivedthe same results using them as slaves? Can the SB-800 be used as an SU-800?
Sorry for the mind pick. Artificial lighting has always been on the back burner for me...until now
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959 Posts
Where should I start...RustyBrown said:I've stopped my string of profanity now. You win...I'll never post another hummer shot.
After I go buy ten flashes :headknock I still don't know that I could do what you did w/o the SU-800. Can't you elaborate a little more on how the flashes were programmed? Could you have acheivedthe same results using them as slaves? Can the SB-800 be used as an SU-800?
Sorry for the mind pick. Artificial lighting has always been on the back burner for me...until now
First, you don't need the SU-800 unless you are wanting to do wireless TTL which I'm not doing. Everything is set to manual and the flashes are all dialed down to 1/16 power. Nothing magic about that number, it's just where my exposure worked out. That being said, you can go buy a bunch of cheap/old strobes and fire them via PC Sync cable. There's a lot of good info on the strobist site and here http://www.dyesscreek.com/miscellaneous_pages/hummingbird_photography.html.
and here http://www.rpphoto.com/howto/hummer/humguide1.asp. 1/16 is the highest power I will set my strobes to fire at. Anything above this seems to cause ghosting in the wings. It's nice to keep them dialed down pretty low because the will recycle faster.
The reason I used the SU-800 was simply because I already had it. You can set an SB-800 or SB-900 to commander mode and use it to remotely fire any Nikon CLS compatible flashes, but that means one of your lights is directly on top of your camera (if you want to use it for a flash in addition to being the commander).
I have found that flash doesn't scare the birds away, but the pre-flash from TTL makes them jump enough that they go out of the frame or move out of your focal plane. That's why I have set everything up to fire in manual mode.
I've still got a long way to go. I need to tackle backgrounds and real flowers in the next round. It has taken me too long to figure out the lighting. Arlon can probably provide some good reccomendations on some older strobes and how to sync them up. That's really all you need for this stuff.
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2,090 Posts
Well gee. Now the only thing stopping me is a $10,000 lens. Heck fire.
So just use photoshop and replace the feeder flower with a real flower. Again...superb and most excellent shots Brett.
So just use photoshop and replace the feeder flower with a real flower. Again...superb and most excellent shots Brett.
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2,969 Posts
Love your setup. That's a lot of money right there! I was out last night using my tripod and trying different exposures on whatever was in front of me. All I need is some light and some better lens. I can learn a lot from you guys. Thanks for the info.
Maybe you can tie on some flowers to the feeder to get that flower shot. Just something to throw at you.
Maybe you can tie on some flowers to the feeder to get that flower shot. Just something to throw at you.
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959 Posts
I'll set up some flowers next time and use the old medicine dropper trick to put some nectar in them. If needed, I'll take the feeders down so that I can force them to the flower. These guys are a lot of fun and have been a pretty good challenge for me. I think the hardest part is focusing on them. Hopefully the storm doesn't blow them all out of here.
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774 Posts
You could do it with a reaaalllyyy long shutter cable and a tripod, cheap prime lens, and few cheap flashes w/ synch cords.Gator_Nutz said:Well gee. Now the only thing stopping me is a $10,000 lens. Heck fire.
So just use photoshop and replace the feeder flower with a real flower. Again...superb and most excellent shots Brett.
Notice I said YOU could do it, I'm quite certain I could not..
#3's great. Looks like an insert in texas highways.
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