Sparkling violetears are probably the most commonly seen hummingbirds in Quito. At the aptly named Colibri cafe, these gorgeous little birds patrolled the foliage overhead — a delight, but nearly impossible to photograph against the bright sky. I never managed to get the fill flash on the GH1 to work properly, and the autofocus on Panasonic's lenses is shockingly slow and inaccurate. I longed for the 20D and the 300mm f4 L, but if I'd had that with me I'd probably have been too apprehensive to use it. This, with a lot of post-processing, was about as good as I could do. I'm reasonably happy with it, given the bird wasn't much bigger than my thumb.
[15 August 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 400, 1/400 at f5.6]
All content © 2012 Pete McGregor
Wonderful, the photograph, the bird and its name.
ReplyDeleteThank you, RR. Some of the names of the hummingbirds are almost as spectacular as the birds: the glittering-bellied emerald, the amethyst-throated sunangel, the red-tailed comet, the marvellous spatuletail, and so on. One even goes by the name of the bearded mountaineer ;^)
ReplyDeleteSuch a joy. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child, you're welcome :^)
ReplyDeleteOh, how beautiful! Made me smile. Excellent photo. Maureen
ReplyDeleteThanks Maureen — I trust the sight of a hummingbird brought back good memories :^)
ReplyDeleteI do love hummingbirds. Once, whilst in LA, we stopped or photographs of something else and one came whizzing past my head so close it almost took my ear off!
ReplyDeleteI love how tiny they are, and how fast, and how beautiful they are (if ever they stop so they can be admired).
What a fantastic image you have Pete. And a great memory too.
Thanks Leonie :^) When I went to South America I tried to keep my expectations low, but I knew I'd see hummingbirds for the first time. They didn't disappoint me, and this little one will always be a great memory.
ReplyDeletePerky feller.
ReplyDeleteZhoen — yep, they certainly have attitude.
ReplyDelete