I’m Kunito Imai, a nature photographer in Tokyo. I visited Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica to photograph hummingbirds. Here are some tips to capture them in-flight.
1. Shutter speed must be 1/1000 or higher to stabilize the bird on your image. 1/1600 or higher is ideal.
2. I recommend a 100-400mm zoom lens. 300mm would also work well. You can cope with an even wider range of situations with a teleconverter.
3. Hummingbirds are quite territorial and tend to return to the same spot again and again. So if you find a bird you’re looking for, wait there for it to come back.
4. Don’t use external lights. They ruin the birds’ natural colors.
More info: ikunito.com
I’m Kunito Imai, a nature photographer in Tokyo and here are some tips to capture them in-flight
1. Shutter speed must be 1/1000 or higher to stabilize the bird on your image. 1/1600 or higher is ideal
I recommend a 100-400mm zoom lens. 300mm would also work well. You can cope with an even wider range of situations with a teleconverter
Hummingbirds are quite territorial and tend to return to the same spot again and again. So if you find a bird you’re looking for, wait there for it to come back
Don’t use external lights. They ruin the birds’ natural colors
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Share on FacebookYour photos are works of art. I have large flower gardens that the hummingbirds & other birds frequent during the day. I've never yet caught a hummingbird picture. I'll sit down in the gardens , &, am really somewhat unseen .... but, not to hummingbirds. I wear drab clothes, hunkering down for shots, & , these dive at me , time & time again...year after year. They squawk , fight, &, dive . My neighbor had a feeder for them, but, took it down for, their dives left holes in her screens.
Here are 15 at our feeder (2 through the container) ... Happy flights Rene J Hueppi 14-Rufus-5...9c7631.jpg
Wow! That’s amazing! We usually have about 5 or 6 but they are so territorial they won’t share the same feeder. They spend a lot of time chasing each other. They are magical creatures, though!
Load More Replies...My question is, how do you focus this fast? Even in AF-C i have hard time capturing pictures of flying birds.
SONY A9 can keep up with their motions. And it is easier when you predict the bird’s next move.
Load More Replies...Your photos are works of art. I have large flower gardens that the hummingbirds & other birds frequent during the day. I've never yet caught a hummingbird picture. I'll sit down in the gardens , &, am really somewhat unseen .... but, not to hummingbirds. I wear drab clothes, hunkering down for shots, & , these dive at me , time & time again...year after year. They squawk , fight, &, dive . My neighbor had a feeder for them, but, took it down for, their dives left holes in her screens.
Here are 15 at our feeder (2 through the container) ... Happy flights Rene J Hueppi 14-Rufus-5...9c7631.jpg
Wow! That’s amazing! We usually have about 5 or 6 but they are so territorial they won’t share the same feeder. They spend a lot of time chasing each other. They are magical creatures, though!
Load More Replies...My question is, how do you focus this fast? Even in AF-C i have hard time capturing pictures of flying birds.
SONY A9 can keep up with their motions. And it is easier when you predict the bird’s next move.
Load More Replies...
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