Interesting Photo of the Day: Hummingbird Swarm

They say patience is a virtue and patience really pays off when you have a hummingbird feeder. Photographer Brian Maffitt set up an angled mirror attached to a tripod under his hummingbird feeder and waited patiently. Using a remote shutter release he would take a burst of shots every time a bird came to feed:

hummingbirds composite

“Hummingbird Swarm” by Brian Maffitt (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Maffitt shot this in New York state using a Canon 5D Mark III and a Canon 100-400mm zoom lens. His settings were

  • 1/4000 of a second
  • f/5.6

He made a composite using about 70 layers in Photoshop. These are ruby-throated hummingbirds and they usually arrive in New York around May. Using a unique set up and planning out the image beforehand, Maffitt was able to create this beautiful shot. Have you ever tried using a mirror to get just the right angle?

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