For this year’s World Photo Day we’ve chosen a hummingbird in flight, taken during a recent trip to Antigua in the West Indies.
Hummingbirds are not just the only birds that can fly backwards (fact!), they are also notoriously difficult to photograph. They don’t show up all that often, then when they do they dart around very quickly. So to get a good photograph you need to take the time to watch carefully, learn their behaviour and predict their next move. This can mean quite a long time sat around waiting, finger poised over the fire button, for that all-important moment.
A very high shutter speed is required too, since their wings flap at around 80 times per second (thus creating the humming sound after which they’re named). This photo’s shutter speed was 1/1,000 second and the wings still blur a little!
Once you’ve got the weather, the light, the positioning, the camera settings and a quick reaction time, you’re in with a good chance of getting the money shot. We got most of these nailed for this one, which is why we’re particularly proud of this snap 🙂
