Photographing hummingbirds
- Faruk Kara
- Jul 1
- 2 min read
I was visiting family in the USA last September, and while I had seen hummingbirds in the summer in Seattle when I lived there, I hadn't realised they migrated up the East Coast too. Sadly, I was there right at the end of their season, and a lot had already begun their migration back south. This tiny bird of 7-9cm and weighing on average 3-4g can make a 900 mile journey without stopping. It is hard to believe and an incredible feat
They are the most beautiful, elegant and delightful creatures. The most common species in the area are the ruby throated hummingbirds; however, I didn't have much luck capturing the males with their bright red throats. I mostly only saw females and juveniles, whose vibrant emerald colourings are still stunning and a privilege to witness.
Having seen them darting around the back garden when I arrived, we got out the hummingbird feeder. Just as Ford said, "build it and they will come", the hummingbirds soon arrived. I then had the job of working out how to photograph them. It is no easy task. You can hear them coming in by the hum of their wings, but then they stop, hover, and just when you have got focus, if you manage it at all, they move, and then they are gone. I read that hummingbirds rotate their nectar collection from a number of sources. This way it provides balance and consequently reduces the amount of feeder sugar syrup they consume, which is just sugar and water.
When using the large telephoto lens, it is a challenge just trying to track them. In the end, I used the methods and tricks I learnt chasing dragonflies. I set up the tripod with the lens focused on an area I thought they would cross, and sat down with the trigger, and waited. My biggest challenge was to get the right lighting, and while I was able to hone my technique, I was in the wrong physical position for the light, but I could do nothing about it. Fortunately, somebody invited me to their garden, which was much better suited to photographing hummingbirds. You can see from the examples below the difference that the right lighting can make.



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