So we've managed to get a hummingbird to be a regular visitor to our yard this summer. So one Sunday morning after I got home from playing hockey, I noticed her stopping by the feeder and rose of sharon bushes. So I quickly went and got my camera with the Sigma 150-500 and my new tripod (have I mentioned that yet? I don't think I have! I guess I should get around to talking about that at some point, but not right now).

Anyway, I setup and managed to get just a few shots before she wandered off again and I had to go work on some bathroom tile repair work. Unfortunately, I totally did not think things through, and I used a rather slow shutterspeed of 1/30th of a second. Far too slow to keep such a fast moving subject from blurring.

But considering they were my first ever hummingbird shots, I kept a couple just the same...

Technical Data:Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/30 sec at f/11. OS mode off. ISO 100. Raw processing in Photoshop CS5.

Sorry - no mouseovers for a cropped view on this one... it would just show you just how bad the blur is. At least at the smaller version, it makes it a little tougher to see the blur.

Hopefully I'll get another chance at this before the end of summer and she leaves for warmer climates... next time I'll know to use a faster shutterspeed!

- Bill