Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2020/05/13

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Subject: [Leica] IMG: Calliope Hummingbird again
From: jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols)
Date: Thu, 14 May 2020 00:04:37 -0500
References: <271608972.12427.1589428577285@wamui-fatboy.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

That is dedication!? Great image.

On 5/13/20 10:56 PM, Douglas Herr via LUG wrote:
> Over five years of trial-and-error went into making this photograph.
>
> In the fall of 2015 I learned of this particular spot in the Sierra Nevada 
> where this species can be reliably found for a few weeks of the year.  
> Calliope Hummingbirds are elusive at best, they winter south of the USA 
> border and spend their summers in the western mountains of North America, 
> visiting the lowlands only briefly during migration.  At my home in 
> eastern Sacramento County California I've seen this species only once; he 
> hovered in front of my face for at most 15 seconds then was gone.
>
> This particular mountain meadow is graced with these feisty jewels for a 
> few weeks beginning in early May, so in 2016 I visited on 04 May, found 
> the birds and made a few photos.  I was delighted but I wanted more: more 
> pixels for larger prints, more feather detail.  This is the smallest of 
> the North American birds, long lenses have long minimum focussing 
> distances and to make a presentable image a lot of cropping was required.
>
> I also wanted to photograph this bird in overcast light.  Direct sunlight 
> reflecting off the bird's gorget is clipped by the limited dynamic range 
> of nearly every image capture medium and is best tamed with diffused 
> overcast light.  Also, the bird's favorite perch is shaded by a nearby 
> mountain early in the day when the bird is active, while the background is 
> in full sunlight.  I wanted a dark forest background, not an overexposed 
> forest background so early on a sunny day didn't give me the 
> foreground/background lighting ratio I wanted.  It has to be overcast 
> light, a rarity in California's spring.
>
> Overcast light also means slower shutter speeds or higher ISO or shallower 
> DOF, or all three.  I wanted to use as low an ISO as possible, an aperture 
> that would yield a modicum of DOF and no subject or camera motion for 
> feather detail.  Did I mention that overcast light in these mountains 
> usually comes with wind and rain?
>
> Over the next few years incremental improvements in equipment and 
> technique resulted in incrementally (to my eyes) improvements in the 
> pictures:
>
> A high-MP camera resulted in more pixels-per-bird, but the minimum focus 
> distance was limited by the old manual-focus 500mm lens, and extension 
> tubes with long lenses provide only limited benefit.
>
> This mountain meadow is about an hour & a half's drive from home and my 
> schedule is constrained by family obligations so only day trips have been 
> practical vs. camping out near the meadow for several days.
>
> Last year my first visit was on a bright sunny day, so no overcast light.  
> My second visit last year coincided with a late-season snowstorm that 
> dropped a foot of snow in the mountains, delivering a final crushing blow 
> to the scraggly skeleton of a willow that had been the hummingbird's 
> favorite perch.
>
> This year a financial windfall made it possible to replace the old 500mm 
> lens (a great lens in its time) with a modern 600mm lens with a good 
> close-focus limit and many handy features.  My first visit was in 
> sunlight, which I tried to make the best of.  Cool photos, but not what I 
> was looking for.
>
> bright background:
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/selasphorus/calliope/selcal19.html
>
> far away, not enough pixels (and I'm lucky I didn't slide down the 
> mountain):
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/selasphorus/calliope/selcal20.html
>
> bright sunlight, few photos worked past 10 AM because of harsh shadows and 
> clipped gorget highlights:
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/selasphorus/calliope/selcal21.html
>
> I visited again yesterday with a weather forecast of mostly clouds but as 
> I've mentioned overcast in these mountains often means wind and rain.  The 
> hummingbird was totally OK with the weather but I didn't feel comfortable 
> using my equipment in the deluge.
>
> Today's forecast was overcast again and with no rain until late in the day.
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/selasphorus/calliope/selcal22.html
>
> I'm happy with this one.  I would have liked a few light drizzle-drops but 
> that might be asking for too much.  Maybe next year.
>
> Doug Herr
> Birdman of Sacramento
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
-- 
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA



In reply to: Message from telyt at earthlink.net (Douglas Herr) ([Leica] IMG: Calliope Hummingbird again)