Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Hummers .. 'strategic manipulation' .., 1 by Magpye

Magpye wrote:
Mindja .. there's no doubt that there's plenty other ways that camera totin' folks may pull this type of shindig off, and maybe even more successfully, at that !!

But, here again .. I'm gonna remind folks, that I haint .. in no way'll .. ever come near to qualifyin' fer any 'pro' fer shootin' pics of the hummers ... Jes simply feel that sometimes a body's gotta do, what a body's gotta do - - to fetch the pitter !!

Aside, from some of the 'lucky' shots I've gotten from settin' up my tripod or standing real close to the feeders while they're hanging ... sometimes, I do a bit of what I kindly call: 'strategic manipulation' .. (or, gettin' 'ese lil flyin' jewels to come, hover, set and feed right whar I'mma needin' 'em to be !!!) .. And it certainly works fer me.

After you've hung your feeders for a few days, and the hummers have found them and feedin' comfy - - jes simply move them!
... ALL of them ... to one ideal lil spot .. that is comfy, fer YOU !!

Of course, please remember - that if you're placin' the feeders low enuff .. that will enable yer own meow-kitties or yer neighbors' can get to 'em easy - - to not leave the feeders unattended!! . . . Put 'em back up to their safe hangin' spots!!

After you've sat 'em down to yer eye level (or lower) .. and grouped 'em together real close like - the next trick it put some lil somethins' on the back sides (opposite and UNveiwable from you!) .. to sortee force and entice 'em lil jewels to sit down and feed .. well within YER veiwing and cam'ra holdin' advantage !!! Like either some of your porch potted plants, jes the pots, or heck, even yers and ya hubby's ol coffee cups'll do the trick! Jes most anything, that'll serve to divert their attention and prevent them from gettin' on the 'wrong' side of the feeders !! ...

Ahh, now jes remember .. it mite take 'em all of some 3 - 5 minutes to realize that Momma (or daddy's) done up and moved the things a bit - - but trust me: they WILL find and make a bee-line fer them newly positioned/placed feeders!!! One or two mite even come buzz right in your face and look ya squar in the eye .. jes as if to ask ya .. "whatta heck, ya thank ya doin' - movin' MY feeders like'at!" .. But, they'll jes as quickly settle down, set down and slurp up the goodes, like you're fergiven .. and have never wrong'd 'em!

Jes have yerseff set up (by sittin' in yer favorite chair, etc.) .. and ready and waitin' on 'em .. !! If ya got the feeders on the floor .. you can even sit yer cam'ra down on yer knees for maybe some needed 'shootin' stability. I even drop and hold my Fuji betwinx my knees, so's to sorta hide it from the hummers, ya know! ..

It's quite a bit shaded on the porch .. so I open my flash, and set it to 'force flash'. If I've got 'em settin on the porch railing, and there's ample light cast onto the feeders - there's no flash needed. Also, I leave my Fuji on its fully automatic settings. However, the trick I've found to catch 'em 'on the wing', so-to-speak - is to use my 'macro' setting. The lil 'tulip' doo-jobbie setting, on my Fuji! .. hee

The 'macro' setting better enables the 'capture' of the fast wing beats and the hummers quick approach and departure ...

I can also use my optical zoom - - but with limitations!! For if I attempt to fully optically zoom to the 10X, with the macro feature enabled - it will not allow the auto focus to function. But, geez .. you'll be sittin' so close already - seems there's no need to engage the full optical zoom! But, I can turn off the macro feature, and then fully optically zoom. But, I've found that it is rarely necessary ... unless I'm sitting/positioned, and my (camera) is further than any 3 or 4 feet away ...

Here's a few pitters, to give ya a couply of different ideas of how I've been 'setting up' my hummer feeders, this spring ...

- Magpye

.. Pic #1 .. My rockin' chair close by to all three hummer feeders placed on the porch rail ... Altho' the feeder 'slurpin' holes, are still available on the back sides to them.