Re: [APML] OT: hummers

["Jeff Crilly" <jlcphoto@myrealbox.com>]

I thought this disccusion was about ...
http://www.greatlakeshummer.com/h2/inventory/2003/yellowdemo/2.jpg

I just thought I'd chime in about my experience taking HBird pictures....

When I was building my astro-webcam, I put a 300 mm lens on it and 
pointed it out my office window at the HBird feeder.

Maybe I got lucky, but a bird started feeding almost immediately, and I 
started an AVI at  60fps.  Said AVI is 250meg (30 seconds), but 
some of the frames  are decent enough.  (I havent extracted the frames, and 
the video is just too large to put on a server for me right now.)

I realize the quality might not be as good as a decent megapixel camera,
or film, and the shutter speed is not nearly fast enough to capture wings,
but those birds are amazing to watch in slow motion, and stop motion.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Anderson" <georgea@cam.org>
To: <direland@drdale.com>; "Discussion of Film Astrophotography" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2003 7:54 PM
Subject: Re: [APML] OT: hummers


> Hi Dale
> 
> I spent a whole afternoon trying to get a reasonable shot of some
> hummers down at my parents hobby farm in Nova Scotia one year, between
> the shutter noise spooking them and someone walking into the area to ask
> "did you get a shot yet?" I managed to crank off four shots. Only one
> was reasonable.
> Now that I am in an area where the hummers visit I'll set up the feeder
> and see how I can do with one or two flashes.
> I've heard the rumours as well, and as you say some people will not
> allow themselves to be converted no matter what proof you show them.
> 
> George Anderson
> 
> Clear skies and pretty birds...
> 
>  
> 
> Dale Ireland wrote:
>  
> >  George, I found the same thing. It took me about 100 tries to get a couple
> > good shots.
> > http://www.drdale.com/photography/images/hummer1.jpg
> > They eventually get used to the noise and flash. Mine is about 1/10,000 sec
> > in broad daylight but without a backdrop like Matt so the background comes
> > out dark, Kodak Gold asa100, Nikon 105 macro f/4. Matt's are about 1/30,000,
> > wow.
> > You would be amazed at how many myths there are regarding Hummingbirds. I
> > use the photo to debunk some. Lots of people think their beak is a hollow
> > tube like a straw. It is a normal beak and they catch lots of bugs on the
> > fly. Some people think they have no feet, heh heh, as if they are going to
> > fly 24hrs a day. Lots of myths are attached to their migration, my favorite
> > is that they migrate by riding on the backs of other birds, especially
> > geese, one of my patients believes this and no amount of reasoning will
> > dissuade her. There is still a controversy about whether they can fly all
> > the way across the Gulf of Mexico, 800mi. Metabolic studies indicate they
> > don't have quite enough fat reserves but one study claims to have tracked
> > tagged birds. They appear here in the Seattle area from March to Sept. They
> > come during the daylight savings time period so they can have an extra hour
> > a day for feeding.;)
> > Dale
> > 
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