| September 2009 Newsletter |
This month's newsletter features information on mutliple flash hummingbird photography. I started
doing this kind of high speed flash multiple flash photography for the first time during our recent trip
to Ecuador. During the first couple of days I certainly had a fair amount of foul ups and issues, but
after the 2 days, I was consistently making some nice images during each session.
doing this kind of high speed flash multiple flash photography for the first time during our recent trip
to Ecuador. During the first couple of days I certainly had a fair amount of foul ups and issues, but
after the 2 days, I was consistently making some nice images during each session.
White-whiskered Hermit photographed July 2009 at Mirador del Rio, Los Bancos, Ecuador.
Canon MkIII 500F4, 25mm extension tube, 580ex at 1/8 power, 3 Sunpak 383 flashes at 1/8
power, 1/250 F20, iso 500. This was one of the first images that I made that I really liked.
To attract these hummingbirds to this particular feeder, I temporarily took down the other
feeders in the area (with permission of course from the owner of the property). This is a
necessary step in this type of photography. This is because the birds will naturally go to
the other feeders where you are not as close and there aren't strange objects such as
flash stands set up next to the feeder if you don't take down the other nearby feeders. By
concentrating the food supply in one spot you greatly increase your opportunities.
For those of you who are not familiar with high speed flash photography, I will now give a
little bit of background. With this type of photography all of the light is being supplied by
the flashes. Therefore it is necessary to set your in camera exposure to an underexposure
amount at least 2 stops below what your ambient meter reading is. 2 to 8 slave flashes are
set up around the area where you plan to be taking your photos. In the case of
hummingbirds this is either at a hummingbird feeder or on a flower on which you have
placed sugar water. The flashes should be positioned between 1 and 3 feet from your
intended subject. 1 to 2 of these flashes are aimed at an artificial background which you
have placed about 2 feet behind where you plan to be focusing on the bird. The purpose
of the artificial background is to provide a background which is not too far away from the
flashes. Otherwise, because the flashes are supplying all the light the background will
typically be quite dark.
Canon MkIII 500F4, 25mm extension tube, 580ex at 1/8 power, 3 Sunpak 383 flashes at 1/8
power, 1/250 F20, iso 500. This was one of the first images that I made that I really liked.
To attract these hummingbirds to this particular feeder, I temporarily took down the other
feeders in the area (with permission of course from the owner of the property). This is a
necessary step in this type of photography. This is because the birds will naturally go to
the other feeders where you are not as close and there aren't strange objects such as
flash stands set up next to the feeder if you don't take down the other nearby feeders. By
concentrating the food supply in one spot you greatly increase your opportunities.
For those of you who are not familiar with high speed flash photography, I will now give a
little bit of background. With this type of photography all of the light is being supplied by
the flashes. Therefore it is necessary to set your in camera exposure to an underexposure
amount at least 2 stops below what your ambient meter reading is. 2 to 8 slave flashes are
set up around the area where you plan to be taking your photos. In the case of
hummingbirds this is either at a hummingbird feeder or on a flower on which you have
placed sugar water. The flashes should be positioned between 1 and 3 feet from your
intended subject. 1 to 2 of these flashes are aimed at an artificial background which you
have placed about 2 feet behind where you plan to be focusing on the bird. The purpose
of the artificial background is to provide a background which is not too far away from the
flashes. Otherwise, because the flashes are supplying all the light the background will
typically be quite dark.
Sparkling Violetear photographed July 2009 at Alambi Lodge, Ecuador. Canon MkIII 500F4,
25mm extension tube, 580ex at 1/8 power, 3 Sunpak 383 slaves at 1/8 power, 1/250, F20, iso
250. To set up this photo and many others we took down all the feeders and placed this
flower in an area there had been a feeder before, the nice thing about this flower was that we
could place a large amount of sugar water inside the flower which attracted the
hummingbirds. Part of what I was trying to achieve with some of the images I took there, was
a little more 3 dimensional look than many of the high speed hummingbird shots that I see.
Many of those are taken with 5 or 6 slave flashes and the large number of flashes eliminate
any shadows. With just 2 flashes aimed at the flower and bird, the result was that there was
often some shadow created which gives the images a little more depth. For those of you
thinking about going with me to Ecuador to shoot these beauties I will also have the option of
using more flashes (6 per setup) if you prefer that look.
Some of you who are not familiar with this type of photography may wonder, how can I stop
the wings and freeze the action at that fairly low shutter speed? The answer is that the
effective shutter speed is supplied by the flashes not the camera. The lower the power is set
on the flash units the faster the strobe effect of the flash is. For example at 1/8 power on a
Sunpak 383 the effective shutter speed is 1/4000, while at 1/16 it is 1/8000. It is generally
advisable to keep your shutter speed on the camera at or below whatever the maximum
synch speed for your flash is. With the flashes supplying all of the light you are also able to
achieve great depth of field. I will often manually prefocus on the flower at about F20,
generally this will be enough to get both the hummingbird and the flower sharp. I used this
technique with the Violetear, but with the Hermit I needed to use AF as there was no flower to
prefocus on.
25mm extension tube, 580ex at 1/8 power, 3 Sunpak 383 slaves at 1/8 power, 1/250, F20, iso
250. To set up this photo and many others we took down all the feeders and placed this
flower in an area there had been a feeder before, the nice thing about this flower was that we
could place a large amount of sugar water inside the flower which attracted the
hummingbirds. Part of what I was trying to achieve with some of the images I took there, was
a little more 3 dimensional look than many of the high speed hummingbird shots that I see.
Many of those are taken with 5 or 6 slave flashes and the large number of flashes eliminate
any shadows. With just 2 flashes aimed at the flower and bird, the result was that there was
often some shadow created which gives the images a little more depth. For those of you
thinking about going with me to Ecuador to shoot these beauties I will also have the option of
using more flashes (6 per setup) if you prefer that look.
Some of you who are not familiar with this type of photography may wonder, how can I stop
the wings and freeze the action at that fairly low shutter speed? The answer is that the
effective shutter speed is supplied by the flashes not the camera. The lower the power is set
on the flash units the faster the strobe effect of the flash is. For example at 1/8 power on a
Sunpak 383 the effective shutter speed is 1/4000, while at 1/16 it is 1/8000. It is generally
advisable to keep your shutter speed on the camera at or below whatever the maximum
synch speed for your flash is. With the flashes supplying all of the light you are also able to
achieve great depth of field. I will often manually prefocus on the flower at about F20,
generally this will be enough to get both the hummingbird and the flower sharp. I used this
technique with the Violetear, but with the Hermit I needed to use AF as there was no flower to
prefocus on.
Long-tailed Sylph photographed July 2009, Sachatmia Lodge, Ecuador. Canon MkIII 300F4,
580ex set at 1/16, 4 Sunpak 383 flashes set at 1/8, 1/200 F22, iso 400. When this sylph started
coming in to this flower arrangement, I had a tough time fitting all of his long tail into the frame
as where I was shooting I didn't have room to backup. This image shows that you don't need a
monster lens to do this kind of photography. Oftentimes, a 300mm, 100-400 zoom or a 70-200
zoom will work just as well or better. You just need to get a little closer to your subject and the
hummers will usually oblige because they are busy feeding.
580ex set at 1/16, 4 Sunpak 383 flashes set at 1/8, 1/200 F22, iso 400. When this sylph started
coming in to this flower arrangement, I had a tough time fitting all of his long tail into the frame
as where I was shooting I didn't have room to backup. This image shows that you don't need a
monster lens to do this kind of photography. Oftentimes, a 300mm, 100-400 zoom or a 70-200
zoom will work just as well or better. You just need to get a little closer to your subject and the
hummers will usually oblige because they are busy feeding.
Booted Rackettail chasing bee, July 2009, Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador. Canon MkIII 300F4, 580ex
at 1/16 power, 4 Sunpak 383 flashes at 1/8. 1/200 F22, iso 400. This image was taken just a few
frames after the sylph shot above. This is a tiny species so this image is cropped a bit more than I
would like but I thought it was a fun shot which showed this species feisty behavior. Bees and
other insects would invariably be drawn to the flowers which had had sugar water placed on them.
Many species of hummers would be bothered a bit by the bees presence but these little rackettails
went right after them and generally chased them off, so that they (the hummers) could continue
feeding.
During our tour in January, I'll be bringing more slave flashes and flash stands. If you go you will
have the opportunity to photograph hummers with these setups on all 9 days of the trip. I'll be
bringing everything necessary for you to get good photos of the many species there. All you need
is your slr, a lens of 200mm or more and one dedicated flash unit.
To see more info on this trip, please check here: Ecuador, January 8-18, 2010
at 1/16 power, 4 Sunpak 383 flashes at 1/8. 1/200 F22, iso 400. This image was taken just a few
frames after the sylph shot above. This is a tiny species so this image is cropped a bit more than I
would like but I thought it was a fun shot which showed this species feisty behavior. Bees and
other insects would invariably be drawn to the flowers which had had sugar water placed on them.
Many species of hummers would be bothered a bit by the bees presence but these little rackettails
went right after them and generally chased them off, so that they (the hummers) could continue
feeding.
During our tour in January, I'll be bringing more slave flashes and flash stands. If you go you will
have the opportunity to photograph hummers with these setups on all 9 days of the trip. I'll be
bringing everything necessary for you to get good photos of the many species there. All you need
is your slr, a lens of 200mm or more and one dedicated flash unit.
To see more info on this trip, please check here: Ecuador, January 8-18, 2010
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