Your hummingbird tips please...

[tlr]

We are off to St Lucia in a few weeks, and my main aim is to get a half decent hummingbird shot.

There are some incredible pictures on the web of hummingbirds, some of which involved false backgrounds, multiple flashes, flowers in a clamp etc, and I wont be going down that route, but I am happy to sit down and wait for an opportunity.

I'll be using 7D mk1, 100-400 mk2 or 700-200 f4 and some patience.

Any tips, hints or tricks so that I can hit the ground running?

Thanks

 

[sk66]

They are very fast and dart around a lot. I would suggest choosing the shot (angle/BG/flower) in advance and prefocusing... then just wait for the bird to come into the shot. SS's of ~ 1/800 give a nice amount of wing blur with the RTHUs we have here.

 

[The W]

I went to St Lucia a few years ago (2011; heck, where did the time go...). The hummingbirds are all around the place so easiest way is to find an individual who isn't too timid and figure out which spots it likes to rest on. Then for a flight shot, figure out a likely flower, pre-focus and wait...


Antillian Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) on Flickr

There's three species, and the above is clearly the best. Bananaquits are also good subjects. Locationwise; it's not easy to get to with a tense drive up steep roads, but the Millet Bird Sanctuary was an opportunity to see a few interesting species not found in the resorts . Easier to get to was Pigeon Island, which offers a spot to photograph numerous species.

 

[nc_killie]

Try putting some sugar water on a flower and they willsoon find it. You may want to take a flash to help freeze things.

Good luck

 

[tlr]

Cheers all, flash is apparently the way to go, but I've never used one for birds before so it could be interesting.