Ruby-throated hummingbird ©Robert Wilbourn, 2013

The 2013 Hummingbird Photography Workshop is a wrap and a great one at that! We had a good number of hummingbirds and a great group of enthusiastic participants.

Two stations set-up for multiple flash allowed participants a chance to create some great “freeze all the motion” hummingbird photographs. Several other feeders about Red Belly Ranch provided lots of opportunities for available-light photography. One feeder, in particular, proved much more popular with the hummingbirds and all that action tended to draw the attention of the photographers as well.

Participants had a chance to learn some new skills and perfect old ones. Fill flash was one item that – thanks to that extra-active feeder –ended up getting lots of use and practice.

The lead photo is a wonderful capture by participant, Rob Wilbourn, using fill flash and a natural light background. Great pose and color here.

Juvenile male Ruby-throated hummingbird © Paul Munch

Those that could tear themselves away from the activity at the hot feeder and exercise some patience, were rewarded with the stop-action shots at the multiple-flash setup.

Paul Munch got this really nice shot and unique pose of a juvenile male that clearly shows the bird’s gorget as it is just starting to appear.

Ruby-throated hummingbird © Larry Petterborg

I love the pose captured here by Larry Petterborg at the flash setup. This demonstrated the figure eight pattern that hummingbirds use in their wing-strokes. The only way to capture this is to use the multiple-flash. Otherwise it will always be a blur as you just cannot get a fast enough shutter speed to stop this action. Larry worked patiently to get the shots he was after and also enjoyed experimenting with different backgrounds.

Juvenile Ruby-throated hummingbird © Michael Cryer

Another flash shot, this one from Michael Cryer, shows just how well you can bring out the iridescence created by the oval-shaped platelet cells of these tiny birds. The gorget on this juvenille truly shows you why these birds are called “ruby-throated” even though this male hasn’t even finished getting all his color. That green wing is a nice touch, too – made possible with the use of flash.

Ruby-throated hummingbird with Trumpet vine flower © Jeff Parker

I don’t photograph during my workshops, but after everyone left I grabbed my camera and got creative. I added a Trumpet vine flower to the flash set for a bit of added interest.

These vines are native to the area and the hummingbirds love them! If you look at how deep the flowers are you can get a feel for how long a hummer’s tongue is. (Yes, they lick the nectar; they don’t suck it.) You can also get a feel for the bird’s length: each flower measures about 2″ long.

I noticed the light streaming through the wings of the hummingbirds late in the day at the “hot” feeder. This was made a bit more magical since we’d just had a late-afternoon rain shower. I decided to try for some backlit images. My images would’ve worked better with some fill flash.

To get a good exposure of the bird without fill flash the wings are pretty much burned out. A technique to work on for the workshop next year.

Thanks a bunch to all who came this year! We had a great mix of beginners, those who simply love hummingbirds, experienced wildlife photographers, and even someone who was a landscape photographer years ago has returned to nature photography. And a special thanks to all who contributed images for this blog. If you still want to share, it’s not too late!

Juvenile male Ruby-throated hummingbird © Jeff Parker~2013