I thought the hummingbirds would never arrive. They finally showed up on June 27th. I wan't sure what kind as the female was the first to arrive. All I could really see was her green back. Heck that could have been any thing.
Finally on June 29 the male rested in the tree outside the front door and I was able to tell it was a Rufous Hummingbird. Took a picture, but I didn't have enough lens to get much more than a figure in a tree.
Ah, now I'm on a mission . . . get a close up of a hummingbird. LOL, not so easy. Little buggers are fast and small. Put camera on tripod, give up ability to quickly get the bird in the frame. Don't put camera on tripod and risk shake and blur. Then there's the problem of the camera wanting to think for you. If you don't set it up just right, it will focus on some thing you really don't want it to, like the tree behind the hummingbird. For this shot I made the mistake of using the "action" setting. It is suppose to "anticipate" motion and set a high enough speed. What I didn't realize was that the focus shifts as you move. So, I tried to set the focus on the feeder, then move to the bird. The hummer was too small for the sensor, so the camera shifted the focus to the trees. Yikes, NOT what I wanted.
Hmm, I know there is a setting that will give me decent speed and allow me to set the focus before moving and snapping. Let's try "P". Automatic exposure, adjustable settings. Ah, sounds good. Try it, then move on if that doesn't work. Hey, I'm 60 plus years old, you don't expect me to actually understand this stuff do you? I did that 40 years ago with film and dark rooms. Yeah, really.
So, I sit and sit and wait and wait. Miss a couple shots. Hmm, there's this thing called "burst" shooting. Lets try that. Ah, ha! Got him. Now I'm happy, really happy!
The next day, I'm sitting inside and notice that they are checking out the flowers. How cool would that be, a picture with a flower instead of the feeder? So, I get the camera, find a place that isn't too conspicuous and wait. And wait. I'm ready for the flower, he goes for the feeder and continues to go to the feeder. Apparently the flower just didn't taste as good. Glad the stuff in the feeders has vitamins and minerals cause they are scarfing it down.
Shift focus to feeder. The female has been very wary about my being out there. I would really like to get her so people can see the difference. I'm trying to hide, but she knows I'm there. Finally, she makes an approach. I'm ready, she sees me, she's gone. BUT, I got a piece of her, well actually all of her except her tail. Not bad.
Oh, yeah, you know I'm gonna get her. I shift to the other feeder where I can hide better. I wait and wait and my legs go to sleep. Ah, one of them flew by. I'm ready.
Yeah, I got her!
Okay, I'm content and happy. I can die now. But, if I don't, my new mission is the Quail family. There has been a Coopers Hawk taking out Doves and probably the Quail too. So, they are REALLY skittish. I watched them pass through and they must have 20 babies with them. Hardly worth the Hawks time, though mom and dad might be. Gonna try to catch the family. In some ways that may be harder than the hummers because they are on the ground and quick as all get out. We'll see!
Oh, in case any one is interested, I did all this with my Sony HX100V. I love this camera. I almost never have to adjust exposure or anything. It has a Carl Zeis lens and it takes fabulous pictures. May not be professional quality but pretty darn good amateur photos.
Later . . .
