Hummingbird Breaking Water Bubble with her Beak!!

Hummingbird Breaking Water Bubble with her Beak!!

hummingbird, Rufous Female, breaking the topmost water bubble from the fountain spray with her beak. You can see the spray above and below her beak here : )

captured while sitting on the patio

Created by: Alandrapal.

Tools Used: 20d 100-400, PSPX

Created on: 23 June 2006

Image Views: 6,901

Average Views per Day: 10

Image Number: 26026

Comments:

Alandrapal from Canada on Mar 4, 2008 at 5:11 AM said:

Hello again, Eve. I have just written to you at the email address you provided. I'll be happy for you to use the image.

best wishes, Alandra

EvePranis on Mar 3, 2008 at 11:03 AM said:

Alandra,

Hi. Have you decided about giving Journey North permission to use this stunning photo to inspire students on our Web site? I'd like to post it this week in one of our "observation" and habitat activities. Please do let me know. Thanks!

Eve Pranis (Journey North)

evep@gmavt.net

EvePranis on Mar 3, 2008 at 8:41 AM said:

Alandra,

Eve Pranis (Journey North)

evep@gmavt.net

Alandrapal from Canada on Feb 18, 2008 at 3:42 AM said:

Hello Eve, sorry for the delay, have only just found your request here. I will get back to you asap about this. best wishes, Alandra

EvePranis on Feb 13, 2008 at 3:39 PM said:

Alandra,

I am the curriculum director for an online, nonprofit K-12 education program called Journey North. Our students explore seasonal change by following animal migrations (including those of 2 hummer species) at school and on real-time maps, and working with scientists and other students across North America.

As part of an observation activity on habitats, I would relish being able to use this remarkable photo of one bird (comically) meeting her need for water.

Would you be willing to give Journey North permission to do so? If so, how should the credit line/copyright read? Thanks much for entertaining my request.

Eve (Pranis)

Journey North

Ikkacapellan from Germany/Europe on Jan 23, 2008 at 2:10 PM said:

Alandra, I was thinking, I had commented it: I like it very much,

this bubbles are great. Congratulations to this shot. Ikka

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Dec 17, 2007 at 4:06 PM said:

thanks very much, Robyn, for the nice compliment. happy you like it. That one was from 2006, there are some sharper images from this past summer.

Gampr from Missouri on Dec 17, 2007 at 2:15 AM said:

Incredible shot. You do some amazing work!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Sep 12, 2007 at 1:56 PM said:

that's very nice of you, Marilynn, thanks for taking time to leave such a great comment, much appreciated. Am glad you like the photo and hope there will be more that you enjoy :)

Marilynn from Whidbey Island, Washington state on Sep 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM said:

Unbelievable! This hummer picture is great. I just found your photos and 'thelensflare' site. I look forward to all your photos. Thanks

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Sep 8, 2007 at 3:23 AM said:

Hi Ursula, thanks very much for the nice comments, am happy you like it :) I was hoping to capture something similar again this summer, but didn't quite get one like this. I did get some cool shots of the hummer looking at itself in the gazing ball tho'. Hope you will find those and enjoy them also. best wishes, Alandra

ursula from ireland on Sep 6, 2007 at 5:28 PM said:

that is so brilliant!!!!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Aug 14, 2007 at 11:34 PM said:

that's nice of you, JB from NJ, thanks very much for taking time to look and leave a great comment. Happy you liked it :)

JB from NJ on Aug 14, 2007 at 4:01 PM said:

sweet shot, no lie one of the best i've seen.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on May 8, 2007 at 3:44 PM said:

that's a very nice comment, Sandrak, much appreciated and many thanks. Am happy you enjoy the hummingbird images :) Hopefully again soon, I'll be able to capture more of them, once there are more flowers open in the garden

sandrak from Canada on May 8, 2007 at 1:27 PM said:

WOW! What an amazing shot. I've seen a lot of your work, but I think the hummingbird series is my favourite :)

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Mar 12, 2007 at 11:13 PM said:

thanks for taking time to leave a nice comment, Bernadette. Reading manuals is something I find hard to do, and should be doing more of it. Prefer the 'hands on' approach to cameras.

Bernadette Brown (BRB) from Wellington, New Zealand on Feb 18, 2007 at 6:03 AM said:

Absolutely amazing shot. And ditto with Steve, I am fiercly jealous of the view from your patio. Now I'm off to read my manual!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jan 9, 2007 at 3:06 AM said:

thankyou, Jeanne. Now I see where I'm getting confused with you and Jeannette :) who is Artsyinchicago. It's cool how you both left comments one after the other, so now I could see both names

WebSphinx from Maryland on Jan 8, 2007 at 10:41 PM said:

Amazing!

*jeanne*

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Dec 24, 2006 at 12:01 AM said:

that's very nice of you, Jeannette, thanks very much for the nice comment about the photo :) Can't wait til the hummers return next spring.

Artsyinchicago from Northern Burbs of Illinois on Dec 23, 2006 at 11:49 PM said:

That is an awesome shot! Photography at it's finest!

You captured it just right!

~Jeannette~

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Nov 4, 2006 at 7:51 AM said:

no problem, Steve. Have just realized I'd missed one from my friend Vicki, posted here on Oct 20th.

Thanks again for the generous praise, much appreciated. Have been enjoying your photos also.

I truly do feel, tho', that since getting the new camera in January, it has helped greatly to improve my photography. Loved both my earlier digital cameras too, both Sony, but the telephoto aspect was lacking, also the speed, - so knew I was missing out there. But hesitated for ages about going to DSLR, for fear that I wouldn't figure out how to use it (never being any good at f stops and all that sort of thing :) Anyway, am glad to have taken the plunge as have had such a wonderful amount of pleasure with the Canon :)

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Nov 4, 2006 at 7:21 AM said:

Vicki! - somehow missed your lovely comments earlier, not sure how that happened, - apologies, - that was so nice of you. Am happy that what I've mentioned has been helpful, you are most welcome. Am really sorry about you dropping your Konica Minolta, and hope you can soon find another to replace it. Keep in touch, hugs from Alandra

Steve Brown (sgbrown) from UK on Nov 4, 2006 at 4:43 AM said:

Sorry Alandra, I missed this reply to my comment. I think you are too modest when you give the camera the credit: it's only a tool and it takes you to create these fantastic images!

I'm in London, although as you'll have noticed I do a lot of my photography in France. Not many humming birds in Southampton I imagine!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Nov 2, 2006 at 4:19 PM said:

that's really nice of you, Steve, thanks very much. Am smiling about the earthworm comment :) I have to give the camera a lot of the praise for capturing the image, it's very fast on the sports setting, which I used to capture this one. We do feel very fortunate to be able to have the hummingbirds visit us each spring and summer here, and miss them now they've left. I've been trying for literally years to get some good shots of them, and finally about 2 summers ago, started to capture some better images. Thanks again. Where in UK are you? I used to live near Southampton, Hants.

Steve Brown (sgbrown) from UK on Nov 2, 2006 at 12:33 PM said:

Simply breathtaking! I think the most exotic creature I could photograph from my patio would be an earthworm! That might be a little less taxing technically! On balance, I can't decide if I'm more jealous of your incredible technique, or of your patio with such extraordinary sights!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Oct 20, 2006 at 6:17 PM said:

many thanks Photobug, am happy you like it. I think it was one of those "lucky shots".

Photobug from Tennessee on Oct 20, 2006 at 6:05 PM said:

I soooo love this picture. A truly amazing shot and a very talented photographer. I enjoy your photos very much.

Vicki from Clewiston, Florida- for now on Oct 20, 2006 at 11:55 AM said:

Hullo, dear friend! I missed this incredible gem before. Your explanations for getting your shots are really helpful - plus your candor in speaking to so many of us in a way we can identify. This is awesome, Alandra - i wondered if you were using multiple photos. Unfortunately I can no longer do that with my Konica Minolta after dropping it last summer (I'm searching out its replacement), but may experiment with my little Panasonic Lumix, as dragonflies are as common as mosquitoes down here, but almost impossible to capture. Thank you for sharing your ever-increasing skills and incredible images with us!

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Sep 18, 2006 at 1:44 PM said:

thankyou Farrukh, for the nice comments. Am happy you like it.

This is my first comment from Pakistan.

Farrukh from Pakistan on Sep 18, 2006 at 10:36 AM said:

Waoo,

Yaar, its a fantastic shot.

Great capture man. You rock it. :)

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Aug 20, 2006 at 8:29 PM said:

thanks for the praise, Fella, that's really nice of you and appreciated. Sure am happy with the camera, just love it. It goes almost everywhere with us. That's a great setting for these shots, as you know with your famous eagle shots! You've been up our way, hope we can meet ya sometime. thanks again : )

fella from wa state on Aug 20, 2006 at 8:10 PM said:

great great capture ..of this hummer ..you are diffently the Queen of hummer pics none can come close to all yr hummers beautiful shots ..arnt ya glad ya got that 20d ..same settin i use with my eagles action settin in burst mode ..good going ..been out commercial fishin up point roberts mostly around boundry bay area n border town is that the name any ways love em all ..kudos ..fella

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Aug 13, 2006 at 2:48 AM said:

many thanks Fiona. I was very happy to get that one : )

fiona from mapleridge on Aug 12, 2006 at 7:49 PM said:

all i can say is WOW

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 30, 2006 at 5:33 PM said:

Hello again, Anne, how very kind of you, what an encouraging comment you've left here, thanks so much. The pleasure is mine, as I love sharing them, and it's so nice to hear when people enjoy them. Thanks so much. Made my day : )

cassandra-anne from West Virginia on Jun 30, 2006 at 3:58 PM said:

Wow. A super shot. You are fantastic. I come and look at all your pictures and am filled with good thoughts to get me through my day and thoughts of YOUR WONDERFUL ability with camera and getting great pictures.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 26, 2006 at 7:09 AM said:

thanks so much, Tania, for the lovely comments, much appreciated. Am happy you like the hummer pics also. I've hoped for years to get some good shots of them, so am pleased with these this year.

Tan;ia (TMR8) from Taranaki New Zealand on Jun 26, 2006 at 3:12 AM said:

Well you just get better and better. I cant say any more than everyone else on your perfect photo. Just wanted to let you know you have a fantastic talent to capture this beautiful birds in different settings with wonderful framing

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 26, 2006 at 1:10 AM said:

again, thanks very much, Susan from New Zealand and Gary from AZ, for the kind comments. Thanks also for the hint about Shutterstock, Gary. Have always had lack of organizational skills and low motivation so I rarely think about this, but perhaps I should.

Gary Minniss from Scottsdale, AZ on Jun 26, 2006 at 12:42 AM said:

Your hummer photos are so good, I'm pretty sure you could be selling them if you would do a little research. Shutterstock would be one place you could look into if you are interested.

Susan from Upper Hutt, New Zealand on Jun 25, 2006 at 11:10 PM said:

Wow, that is an awesome pictures, very effective, love the colourings in the birds feathers.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 8:19 PM said:

Hi Alex, LOL, that's a good one. Well really, that was my profession before retirement, training hummingbirds : ) - very specialized field, lol.

Whittler from Maine on Jun 25, 2006 at 8:13 PM said:

WOW!!!!! Have you ever considered being a bird trainer??? I know you train them to do tricks for you.lol

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:29 PM said:

Beverly, also wanted to mention that this camera will fire off 5 shots per second, just read that recently.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:10 PM said:

many thanks for the great comments, Carol, Mel & Beverly. much appreciated : ) and very encouraging.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:09 PM said:

Hi Beverly, will hafta get the manual out for the technical description, but in layman's words : ) the Snowy Owl photographer just explained that it enables you to get continuous shots fired as the bird moves away. He was able to get many captures of a snowy owl flying away, whereas I was only able to get the one shot, in other words. You could get a better description by doing a google search for Canon EOS 20D Al Servo, probably,-- just thought of this : )

Talsi from Western NOrth Carolina USA on Jun 25, 2006 at 1:13 PM said:

What a great shot! I am not familir with Al Servo setting, can you explain further?

Mel (Thor-eye) from New Zealand on Jun 25, 2006 at 7:46 AM said:

WOW, WOW, WOW, I'm nealry speechless with this spectacular image. Again you have excelled yourself Alandra. Well done. Your experiments with different settings are paying off! Mel.

Shutterbug from Maine on Jun 25, 2006 at 7:30 AM said:

Awesome capture of the Hummer!!!

Carol

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 5:24 AM said:

thanks very much (again) Alex D, that's very nice of you. Was hoping some would enjoy the hummer pics, and it seems several do, so that's encouraging. Am very happy to share them, as had always wanted to capture some good shots of the pretty little birds, and had no success til last summer. Have had untold pleasure and happiness from this camera and lens. Can't put a price on something like that, that gives a person so much pleasure, right! - esp. in one's retirement years.

Alex D. from Alameda, CA on Jun 25, 2006 at 4:31 AM said:

Utterly amazing. Thanks for sharing the details on the camera settings. I think that and that Canon "L" lens you are using (not to mention your growing talent for this type of photography) really bring out the magnificent detail in these shots. To tell the truth, every day, I look forward to seeing your "hummingbird" shots. They really stand apart.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:28 AM said:

thankyou for the nice comments, Karen and Stephanie. I just figured that the sports setting would work for birds too, and it seems to. When I first discovered how to set it to Al Servo, outside the store that day, I took pics of moving vehicles on the road outfront of the store parking lot, to test it out, and it worked for the cars. Then tried it on some low flying planes, coming in to land at the Vancouver Int'l Airport, that worked too. So then I thought "BIRDS", and that's how it evolved, recalling what the man had said while at the Snowy Owl shoot that day : )

newshutterbug from Indiana on Jun 25, 2006 at 3:11 AM said:

An amazing capture!

Stephanie

km from TX on Jun 25, 2006 at 2:41 AM said:

You captured just the right instant. This is great. Especially hand held. I'll have to try that setting for birds.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Jun 25, 2006 at 2:11 AM said:

thanks Deb, glad you like it. No secret, the equip is all listed in "tools"above. No tripod, it's an I.S. lens. Guess you missed my last reply where I explained that I have it set on the sports symbol, your Canon must have the same symbol. And that automatically sets the "Al Servo" setting, which lets pics be taken in burst mode. So the camera takes 5 shots per second, and about 25 shots I think, altho I never take that many at once. A fellow photographer mentioned the Al Servo setting to me when we were taking pics of the Snowy Owls some mos ago, but I didn't dare tell him I had no idea how to set the camera, lol, - so came home, got out the manual,which didn't explain it the way it should have, - so ended up just finding out how to set it by chance a few weeks ago, much to my happiness : ) - while waiting in the vehicle for hubby while he was in a store. So have been using it that way ever since.

Silverdebster from New Zealand on Jun 25, 2006 at 1:58 AM said:

Wow, what a shot! Time you started sharing with us the settings's and equipment you're using for these amazing shots - unless it's a trade secret, of course.

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