High-speed photography used to capture hummingbirds in mid-flight

[Donna]

The birds flap their wings a staggering 90 times per second making them far too fast for a normal camera and flash.

But photographer Pat Hunt managed to effectively freeze the wings and highlight their extraordinary detail by using high speed lights which flash for 1/25,000 of a second.

This makes his images blur free and show the birds' striking purple, blue and yellow feathers against a pitch black background.

The retired librarian, 71, studied high speed flash photography on the internet before setting up his equipment around a bird feeder at a friend's house.

He captured the birds from 15 feet away using a shutter release remote control. Pat, from Santa Rosa, California, United States, spent a lot of time adjusting settings to get the birds in focus.

He said: "My friend has been feeding the birds for fifteen years and it was an obvious attraction for a compulsive photographer like me.

"I especially wanted to challenge myself with the hummingbirds. I read on the internet that no camera shutter is currently fast enough to stop a hummer's wings and the technique is all about the lights.

"I started experimenting with the two speedlights I already owned and started seeing wonderful detail and the remarkable beauty of the birds themselves.

"I bought two more speedlights on credit and that allowed me to get what I was after - a high speed photo with enough depth of field to show the whole bird in focus."

Most birds flinched when the lights flashed but they continued eating. Others did not react at all. Pat gave the birds frequent breaks so they could eat uninterrupted.

He added: "Hummingbirds have an ingratiating habit of sipping at the feeder for a while then backing off and parking in mid-air for a moment.

"This gives me the perfect photo opportunity. It is special to look into a world that you would not normally see. Where our eye sees just a blur the camera shows the hummingbird with so much lovely detail."

Hummingbirds can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings up to 90 times per second and can fly at speeds up to 34 mph.

Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their rapid wing beats. They eat nectar and insects and are found in the Americas.

Caption: high-speed photography to capture stunning images of hummingbirds mid-flight

[valhalla]

Wow!

[Bird Crazy]

Lovely