Some pictures from the past week or so

[Ashby 0]

These pictures are unedited as far as color goes. The color that comes off the heads of these birds is just beautiful. I know you are not suppose to have man made items in the nature pics, but oh well, I still wanted to share them with you guys. Hope you like them.

 

Ashby

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mokai 0]

Wow..How did you get to hold it..They are amazing little birds...

[JayMorr 0]

Excellent photographs Ashby. I love them. The colors are amazing. I cant wait to get some shots of these guys when they start coming around the feeder more in the summer!

 

 

 

[Frogfish 0]

Very nice...not many hummingbirds pass through this part of MI. I manage to see a couple evey year in my yard.

[Ashby 0]

Thanks for the replies guys. These guys fascinate me more and more every day. Just to watch them, their pecking order (so to speak) and the way they negotiate flight is just amazing. My wife and I have spent hours apon hours with these guys to get and keep them used to us. She is the only one they will alow to touch them. Not all of them will, but there is one or two that will allow it, this one being one of them. He will allow my wife to reach up at the feeder, wrap her hand around him, and he completely relaxes, he will even drink from the feeder while she is holding him. It's quite the sight to see. Glad you all like the pictures, Jay I can't wait to see your pics when you get some. As for there being very little in MI, put out about 4 feeders and watch. Give it about a month and you will be blown away. We have around 28 Anna's and 4 Rufous hummingbirds now and it's still winter here.

 

Ashby

[Wulff 0]

Nice Ashby.

 

You dont *have* to exclude man made stuff. They are your photos and if you like them that all that matters.

 

It does give the photos a very different feel though. A guy I know that runs a photography site I frequent was recenly paid alot of money for his hummer shots. Hope you dont mind the link but it simply to illustrate it.

 

The shots are much the same. I gaurantee you he has a feeder or two just of frame

http://www.apple.com/aperture

 

Couple things you can do.

The easist but maybe not the best is change your focus to either 9 or 3 oclock depending on facing. There still might some of the feeder showin but you should be able to crop it out.

 

By now you probably know their routine. Meaning there must be a bush, tree, shrub nearby that they stop at before and after feeding. Most birds do, especially when they are repeat visitors. All my feeders get postioned about 3 feet from those bushes/trees. Catch them as they are perching, flying to and from the feeder. Or makle a perch yourself, and set it up very close to the feeder, maybe 6 inches to 1 foot away. Use a long dead branch, someting with a little colour, texture or moss and voila.

 

Try some natural feeders.

Honeysuckle is a sure fire Hummer attractant, especially if you have that many arund. One guy I know uses a certain flower (forget its name). He cuts the flower and partof the stem and attaches the flower to his hummer feeder such that the Hummers draw the nectar through the flower. While they are still feeder fed its *looks* like they are feeding off a flower as the flower disguises the portion of the feeder tat would otherwise show and the hummmers dont seem to mind at all.

 

 

Anyways they are good shots with nice colour and are sharp but thought Id show you and give you a couple ideas about how to remove the feeders from the shots...if you want to....Dont ever let anyone tell you, you have to.

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi Ashby,

 

Those photo's are beautiful. Good job! Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

[Peterjay 0]

Wonderful stuff Ashby - those hand-held shots are simply amazing. (the hand-held bird that is) I agree with John about the man-made objects. Don't pay any attention to the Image Purity Police - they're your pictures, not theirs. We're planning to plant a bunch of hummingbird gardens at our new house - we've got a couple of ponds down in back so we should get quite a few here. Watching those little guys chase each other around is one of the real delights of summer. I had no idea you could get them tame enough to handle like that. Very well done!

[Ashby 0]

Again, thanks for the inputs. Wulff, you're tips and advice are always welcome, and thanks for the link. I do know there routines and they do perch after their eating or great chase. I will continue to watch and try to catch them in or at those spots. I do worry about the man made objects, but like you said, they are my photos and I'll keep on keeping on with them. Peterjay, they are a ton of fun to watch, and the hummingbird wars are awesome to watch as well. We have 4 feeders out now, but we plan on putting more out to get more birds. Thanks again all.

 

Ashby

[Wulff 0]

Back yard studios.

 

Ashby I hope you dont mind a little side bar to your thread. One of the simplest things any "photographer" can do is to make changes in their back yard. I'll use an anology that we might all realte to.

 

Lets say you had a peice of propterty with a nice little Brookie stream cutting through it but for one reason or another few Brookies hung out in your slice of heaven. What would you do? Add some vegetation to help with erosion and provide shade?, Some rocks to create currents, pools etc?

 

By strategically placing features in your yard, which take into account facing (morning/afternnon light) you not only draw more visitors, you increase and improve your opportunities to photograph them. Again for example..The best light is always frontlight. My backyard faces South East. Meaning when I step out the door in the morning the Suns at 10 oclock and its lighing a little flower garden in the NW corner, where I have some honey suckle ad other hummer, butterfly attracting plants and flowers as well as a tree. Nothing makes a bird feel safe enough o visit as a small tree So, I can sit in my yard or on my deck, put the sun at my back, morning coffee in hand and shoot away.

 

I have feeders, trees and strategically placed perches all over my yard

 

Water features are one of the single best things you can add. Running water, or drip features are a Sirens Call. I live on the edge of a forest so I get everything from Fox, Coyote and Deer to Hawks and Herons.

The only thing I worry about are herons making Sushi of my expensive Koi and Coyotes making a meal of my Dog which has happened ( an attempt). I cant tell you how many things come to my pond. From four legged creature to drink to birds looking for a swim, sip and meal. Not to mention the frogs and snakes that call it home during the summer and insects for Macro including Dragon Flies.

 

Ashby rather than add more feeders.. You really only need 2 to 4. Add some natural attractants. Even the right potted plants, shrubs and stuff will do alot. As an added bonus the pot can be moved as needed. One of those small electric faux water falls or some ofther "drip" feature like a barrle/water pump mini pond ...Everything needs and wants to drink

[Ashby 0]

Your advice and tips are always welcome, side bar or not Wulff. Those are some awesome ideas. The potted plants I really like because of living on base. If I plant it, well it stays when I leave. Putting it in a pot, I can take it with me. That goes for the water falls/ponds as well. I can do that pretty easy as well. These are all things I can look into. Thank you for the ideas.

 

Ashby

[Steeldrifter 0]

Those are some truly amazing shots Ashby