It’s been a while since I updated this section, and I apologize for that. The past few months have been a bit crazy for me with workshop tours and photography trips for the new coffee table book on which I’m working. But, I’m back and have introduced a video complement to the Behind the Lens section. I hope you enjoy it.
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The green hermit is likely the coolest hummingbird in Costa Rica. The long, curved bill coupled with the slender body and the fanned tail make them a sight to see. They are also very hard to photograph because of their non-territorial feeding behavior. They are trapliners, meaning they have a regular route through the forest but only come by occasionally to feed on select flowers. Upon approaching a flower, they exhibit erratic flight patterns that are much less predictable than those of many other species. So, I was psyched to capture this female with a good pose and at an attractive Heliconia flower.
TECH NOTES: Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 70-300 mm f4-5.6 L IS zoom lens, Canon cable release, Induro CT 313 tripod, Induro BHL2 ballhead, Phottix radio flash transmitter/receivers, off-brand flashes, f13, 1/200, ISO 320
PROCESSING NOTES: full-frame, standard tweaks and cloning of one catchlight in Lightroom, WACOM BAMBOO tablet for marking up the image in Photoshop — see video below for how I took and processed the image
Multiple-flash setups have become recognized as the best method for photographing hummingbirds, particularly in tropical forests, where hummingbird abundance is greatest but light levels are lowest. The key to doing multiple-flash hummingbird photography is producing natural-looking lighting (though stylistic studio lighting effects can be cool too!). In these setups, no natural light is hitting the camera’s sensor. Think of a Sears portrait studio or a fashion model photoshoot; that’s what we’re doing out in the woods with multiple-flash hummingbird setups, and it’s the short duration of the flash that allows us to capture the marvelous detail in these fast-flying little jewels.
While this type of photography is neither rocket science nor painting the Mona Lisa, it does have its science and art. The science is getting a proper exposure and knowing how to set one’s equipment. The art is in choosing flowers, backgrounds (I use 24×36 inch matte paper prints of out of focus vegetation), and proper light positioning for natural-looking lighting. Producing soft shadows with a sense of direction is crucial for a natural look. Hummingbird photos that approximate the flat, frontal lighting one gets from pointing one’s shadow at the subject are rarely interesting or appropriate. Tropical forests are characterized by filtered light, and lighting that mimics this setting looks most natural and also produces the micro-contrast that shows off not only the hummingbird’s colors but importantly, its feather detail and texture as well.
For the image above, I was happy with the hint of shadow, which makes the light look natural. I was also very happy with the way the curve of the bird is repeated by the curve of the Heliconia inflorescence. This is, of course, a nice bit of luck. I knew I liked the curve of the Heliconia, but I couldn’t plan to catch the cool pose of the hummingbird 
One final note before we get to the video — a little pet peeve of mine. I read quite often that blurred hummingbird wings look more “natural” than the sharp hummingbird wings produced by the multi-flash technique. What a puzzling statement this is. How is capturing a discrete natural moment (e.g., freezing a hummingbird’s wings with flash) less natural than rendering that same motion as a blur? Should we do away with long shutter speeds in moving water in favor of fast shutter speeds that freeze the water because this is closer to what our eyes can see? Are star trails bad? If we’re going down this road, are long lenses that compress perspective and wide apertures that give shallow depth of field “unnatural.” In my opinion, using our camera to give the viewer a glimpse into the natural world not possible with human eyes is one of the greatest virtues of nature photography. I think the blurred hummingbird wing argument comes from people who aren’t familiar with multiple-flash hummingbird images that look natural!
By the way, I like blurred hummingbird wings too and take plenty of photos to render the wingbeats as such. I just don’t think they look any more “natural” than my multi-flash images:-)
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and the thought process behind the image. Multiple-flash hummingbird photography is fun and addictive. I’ll be teaching this technique on a number of my workshop tours here in Costa Rica for 2013. These tours offer a great opportunity to get some high-quality images for yourself and to learn how you can apply this technique at home and in other areas of your photography. Be sure to check out the workshop sidebar on the right side of this site; I’ll be posting new 2013 workshop dates over the coming month.
If you have questions or comments, please leave them below, and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
The image analyzed here is available as an aluminum print, the ultimate in stunning prints for your home or office!
Cheers,
Greg
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Hi Greg. Absolutely fantastic image! Natural and striking! I really enjoy reading about your “thoughts” and “decisions” behind the images.
Thanks, Steve. Glad you enjoyed it!
Cheers,
Greg
Greg,
That H-bird looks suspiciously like the plastic one I saw hanging from your rear-view mirror, next to the fuzzy dice! Nice job cloning out the string it was hanging from, but you didn’t show that in the video. Did you use the new Lightroom 4 String-Cloner-Outer, or did you use the Singh-Ray String Filter on the lens at the time of capture? (I think you can get that filter as part of a set with the Singh-Ray Landscape Powerline Filter, Star Trail American Airlines Filter and the Machu Picchu Tourista Filter. Don’t leave home without them!)
I really like the addition of the video, though the soundtrack might could use a little work. (Singh-Ray Bow-wow Filter, maybe?)
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Seriously, great job showing how it’s done. (Now I remember why I like working with you.) I really feel like your hummingbird set-ups are the most natural-looking out there, and your work certainly shows it. I also enjoy the thought process that went in to getting all those ‘lucky’ shots. Great job, as always! Now, when are you going to put up something crappy that we can all criticize and thus feel better about our own inadequate skills?
See you in June.
Jon Fuller
Moab Photo Tours
Hola Greg,
Another great hummingbird image! It is definitely a signature “Greg Basco” hummingbird. I love it! The video is great too… there is always something to learn and it’s always nice to see other photographers workflow. Now I’m really stoked for my August visit!
Take care…see you soon!
F
Hi Greg,
Thank you for this great teaching video. Very nicely done. I greatly value your approach ..a real bird in the real world (on Earth as you put it). I’ll look forward to more of these.
I’m also dreaming of joining you and Glenn Bartley one of these years for Colors of Costa Rica. I have visited Costa Rica twice, and know that the next time will be my last and I want it to be my best.
My best,
Foxy
thank you greg. great video! now maybe i can get to my hummingbird images.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments.
Jon, why did you tell everyone that? I don’t care about you outing me for the fake bird, but I didn’t want people to know I had fuzzy dice hanging in my car! Thanks for the compliment on the lighting for these hummingbird shots — I appreciate it.
Fab, thanks, man, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in a few months!
Glen, thanks so much for your kind comments, and I do hope that Glenn and I will be able to work with you. I’ll be doing a trip with him next week, and we’ll be setting our schedule for our 2013 trips too.
Robin, glad you enjoyed it. It was great working with you last month!
Cheers,
Greg
Very good video, I really like that you only do subtle changes to an already wonderful image. Specially the adjustment brush to dodge and burn. Have already practiced on some of mine, only problem it the original image isn’t quite as good.
Hey… (sorry for the English Im Mexican)
Nice video, but I have the question on the background at the end seemed much more soft in the published image than the one your were working on.. is because you continue working with the photo in the photoshop after?
Planning on attending one of your courses in 2013!!
Hi, Rosa. The difference is probably due to the video software I used to record what I was doing in Lightroom. The only thing I did in Photoshop was to resize, convert to sRGB color space, and then do final sharpening for the web-sized image. I do hope we can meet up in 2013.
All the best,
Greg
Elizabeth, glad you enjoyed it. My goal is always to get the image as close to what I want in-camera so that I don’t need to do a whole lot in post-processing. Doesn’t always happen, of course, but I do think it’s a worthy goal
All the best,
Greg
Thank for sharing, great stuff:) continue
Nice video Greg, with a pretty neat explanation of your methods for working the image in LR. When I first realised it was nearly 22 minutes long I was a bit worried, but was worth it. Not sure if some would think twice though.
Oh, and John Fuller made some great amusing comments. Bow-wow filter, great, I’m waiting for the vacuum filter to stop plants and stuff blowing in the wind.
Cheers
Marshall
Thanks, Marshall. Glad you enjoyed it. I didn’t plan for it to be 22 minutes, but I always try to go through things fairly slowly as some readers may not be as familiar with Lightroom as others. I’ll drink more coffee and talk faster next time
Jon’s a funny guy for sure!
Cheers,
Greg
Addition of the video to these “Behind the Lens” posts is great. I use lightroom myself, and found your vide to be really helpful, not only in seeing the thought process behind the image, but learning a few tips and tricks that will work for other images as well.
Well done! I hope this becomes a regular thing.
Looking forward to seeing more.
Cheers,
Aaron
Very informative blog. I really enjoyed the hummingbird photo. You did a great job! Thank you for teaching us on your video. Do you have other photography tutorial?
Hi, Aiza. I’m working on an E-book called the Guide to Tropical Nature Photography, which will be out in December of this year.
Cheers,
Greg
Glad you enjoyed the video, Aaron!
Cheers,
Greg