I spent most of my time today for maintenance and education. I watched a webinar on NIK-software and how to use it highly efficient in the workflow of post process. It was created by famous wildlife, landscape, and aviation photographer Moose Peterson. He is an excellent teacher and this lesson gave me many new ideas for my own workflow in post. You can find his video on the NIK website.
Cleaning the gear after every field trip is mandatory, even if I just shoot in the woods behind the house. I'm a strong believer that my photography gear hasn't let me down once yet is partly due to regular cleaning and maintenance. This afternoon I went a little further and did some maintenance on the tripod, cleaned all my lenses extensively, and re-organized the photo backpack. Little things, but they give me the feeling of being well prepared for the next shooting adventure.
- Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, SB600, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/250s, f/6.3, ISO 100
Did I make any clicks today at all? You bet! I just didn't go very far and waited for the hummingbirds this evening right here on the balcony. I never used the Sigma 50-500 before for these tiny little birds that are so damn fast. In the past I worked with the Sigma 150/f2.8 for this kind of shooting. The longer lens allows for more distance to the birds, which just means they show up more often. I used manual mode (M) and the amount of light output was set directly at the flash unit.
You can find a larger version of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird by clicking HERE.