This beautiful capture of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird actually came with much effort. First, enlist a friend that has both the equipment and the know how to set up a flash station to capture said hummingbird.
Mega flash with the Einstein 640WS light control by Paul C. Buff with Phottix lightbox. Add PocketWizard Plus III Remote Trigger system to my camera and the lightbox system.
Take a few test shots with a handheld meter standing next to the feeder and set the camera’s settings accordingly.
Thank goodness my friend is an engineer !! After some trial and error I began to get into the groove of photographing hummingbirds with ultra low ISO’s and shutter speeds. The image above was captured at 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 100. White Balance custom at K 5800, center focus points with evaluative metering.
It was then cleaned up in Photoshop to remove the portion of the feeder in the frame and a slight texture was added to even out the background.
Categories: Birds, Nature, Photo Tips
Emily Carter Mitchell ~ Nature as Art 
Looks like the effort was worth the final capture.
LOL! thanks Miriam
That is quie a set up for capturing hummer pictures. I rely on natural light, which limits my hours of shooting.
I do too Skip. the idea is to really brighten up the bird. I’ve used in the field a few times and it does make a difference.
This is a stunning shot! Coincidentally, I’ve been working on drawing and painting hummingbirds for tomorrow, which is July’s edition of Draw a Bird Day. Do you mind if I wind up using this shot? It’s incredibly detailed! I may only wind up doing the head, and this is the best head shot I’ve seen. Bless you and your wonderful camera!
Of course you may Laura ! Make sure you share it with me. I’d love to see it. Good luck drawing today, and thank you.
Thank you! If I post it, I will link back to this photo, and that should alert you? Or let me know if I should email you and the address. Thanks again!!
No that should be perfect. Thanks Laura. Looking forward to seeing your creation
Thank you very much for a beautiful image from which to work! Much appreciated!
Your photo really helped me out, Emily. My painting isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s “postable” and you’ll see it tomorrow for Draw a Bird Day July. Thanks again. I’ll link back to your wonderful capture here. ❤
Hi Emily – I sent an email your way yesterday afternoon with four photos attached. Not sure if it went through with all of those attachments, but wanted to alert you in case it didn’t. Thanks, and enjoy your Sunday! 😀
I did get it Laura but haven’t caught up with you yet. It all sounded perfect and congrats for becoming ‘pro.’ I have a friend that does art and she uses Etsy for a venue for sales/promotion. So yes..I do want it ! I’ll email back tonight when I get back home from the day.
I’m glad it went through, and many thanks, Emily!
This … color! 😉
Too sweet Ryszard. Thank you very much.