Prior to 1999 my experience with hummingbirds was like most people. I had seen them visiting flowers in my yard and was amazed at how small they are, how quick their wings move, and how colorful they are. During the summer of 1999, I visited my brother who lives in the country and has many hummingbirds buzzing all over the place. While there, I enjoyed them so much that when I returned home I bought feeders and started on the path of being a true hummingbird fan.
My next step was to purchase a camera and start photographing hummingbirds. Hummingbird photography has become my number one hobby for my retirement years. I try to get the best photos to share with other hummingbird fans, but I am never satisfied with my best because I always want to get better photos. My digital cameras have improved from 1.1 megapixel to a 10.3 megapixel and that along with photographing experiences have allowed me to improve the quality of my photos.
My first decent hummingbird photos were taken through a window because hummingbirds will fly away as soon as they see you at the door. Little did I know about their true nature but as I gained experiences enjoying them, I decided they really can get used to you being right there on the deck with them.
Some keys for taking hummingbird photos are being quiet, no motion at all, patience, good camera, one feeder with one port available, and hummingbirds visiting your feeders. How can you be motionless and take photos? Have the camera on a tripod or in your hand aimed at the spot the hummingbird is going to land so you can quietly focus and press the shutter release when the hummingbird arrives. If noise or movement is required, the hummingbird will fly away and you will have wasted your time sitting there. Sometimes, you may have to sit for 10-15 minutes for that one opportunity to get a good shot.
As I spent more time around the hummingbirds, they got used to me and would fly into the feeder with me sitting nearby. All of the photos used in this post are from 1999- 2002. I upgraded my camera in 2002 and the photos started to get more detailed.
I thought "Wow! A hummer in flight and you can see the wings."
This photo was taken through a closed window as our cat watched the hummingbird visit the feeder. I decided it was fun to get decent photos and started working harder in my hobby.
I wanted a photo of a hummingbird at a flower and this was as close as I got those first few years.
This photo shows three hummers at the feeder at the same time. Unless you photograph hummingbirds you don't know how thrilled I was to get this shot.
