Playing with the flash

[Steve S]

Getting some practice with the flash.( 430 ex II) Most of the time i don't like the results of using a flash for wildlife. This one turned out pretty good. (An old friend came to visit me today )

High speed sync.--- Manual mode/1/2 power---camera mounted---1/1000s---iso 800---f/5.6---420mm

[ScoutR]

LOL, turned out "pretty" good eh You're either very modest or being quite silly. Looks exceptional to me, but then what else is new

Wendy

[FrankMi]

Beautiful, Steve! I wish I could get close enough to get a shot like that! How far away were you? What was the background? Thanks!

[Steve S]

LOL, turned out "pretty" good eh You're either very modest or being quite silly. Looks exceptional to me, but then what else is new

Wendy

This "one " of 200 shots did turn out good. Usually you get very bad results with the (very sensitive) eyes of animals. And really strange (unatural looking) colors in the iridescent feathers of the hummingbirds. So unatural, you can instantly tell a flash was used. And yes , i am very modest, and thank you for the kind remarks.

[Steve S]

Beautiful, Steve! I wish I could get close enough to get a shot like that! How far away were you? What was the background? Thanks!

Hi frank, i was about 12 to 15 feet. The background was grass in the yard. If you can spend some time around a feeder, they will eventually get used to you and allow you to get close. If not , a ground blind works very well. Sometimes i use a blind and sometimes not.

[jiro]

That is one very productive "playfulness", Steve.

[RockNGoalStar]

It's bloody excellent Steve!

How fast do Hummingbirds' wings flap? How fast would your shutter speed have to be to capture them without any motion blur? I'm not saying that would make a better image, I like the blurred wings in all of your hummingbird photos, but I'm just curious...

[KeithH]

Fantasmagorical!!!!

[Steve S]

That is one very productive "playfulness", Steve.

Thanks willie.
Untill i learn how to use it, it will always be playing. (i've only had it on the camera a few times.) I had quite a few shots where the shutter beat the flash. Especially when i shot a burst of shots.................lots to learn with my new toy.

[Steve S]

It's bloody excellent Steve!

How fast do Hummingbirds' wings flap? How fast would your shutter speed have to be to capture them without any motion blur? I'm not saying that would make a better image, I like the blurred wings in all of your hummingbird photos, but I'm just curious...

Thank you tommy. Hummingbirds wings flap around 60 beats per second. A shutter of around 1/2000 or more should do it.

[Steve S]

Fantasmagorical!!!!

Thanks keith. (And i learned a new word today also )

[JohnC]

Anyone who can get a hummingbird captured like this knows his stuff-Excellent shot. The nearest bird we have to the hummingbird is the Kingfisher,maybe they're related.