Hummingbird Photography-- Hidetoshi Takahashi

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Arizona Hummingbirds : Hummingbird pictures captured at hummingbird hot spots,Miller Canyon, Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon. The Huachuca mountains in South East Arizona is one of the hot birding spots in the nation. This mountain areas are a "sky island" known for a huge hummingbird migration. There are several canyons in the Huachuca Mountains where you can find many different species of hummingbirds but Miller Canyon,Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon are best known for varieties of hummingbirds. Among them, Beatty's Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon,is boast of the most number of hummingbirds you can find anywhere in North America. Tom Beatty Sr. holds the record number of 14 species of hummingbird he had seen in a sigle day in the past. Though there's no guarantee that you'll be able to see that many species in a sigle day at Beatty's it is very possible that you'll be able to find 10 species any day. I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in Ash Canyon in August,2008 and in August,2009, I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ramsey Canyon Inn. These are the hummingbird photos I captured during those periods. I'd like to especially thank Shirlene at Ramsey Canyon Inn for giving me a total freedom to do my hummingbird shoot within their property and I just can not thank you enough. You made me feel right at home when you granted me such a permission. I also have to tell you that my daughter and I really enjoyed your pies! Your pies are the best I've ever eaten. Period. I also would like to thank Mary Jo Ballator at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast and Tom Beatty Sr. and his family at Beatty's Guest Ranch,Miller Canyon,for sharing such a wonderful hummingbird viewing site. This year,2009, is a very good year for hummingbird viewing and I certainly took advantage of it and I could capture excellent hummingbird images. About Hummingbird Multiple Flash Photography I sometimes get mails from people asking about how I took these hummingbird pictures. As you can see there are two different kinds of hummingbird pictures here: hummingbird still photos and in-flight photos. Taking hummingbird still photos is just a matter of picking a right location and a good spot to shoot. Shooting hummingbirds in a place like Beatty's Guest Ranch is like shooting a fish in a barrel. You don't have to look for them. They are there waiting for you. Just look for a good light,a good angle and have a ton of patience. But hummingbird flash photography is completely different. Though some people don't like hummingbird multiple flash photography, I do believe that hummingbird flash photography is an art in its own and it takes a considerable time,efforts,trials and errors. I don't go into details here about how I used my multiple flashes but I used 5 flashes and I used a SU800 to trigger all my Nikon flashes wirelessly. As I learned more about Hummingbird flash photography,I also learned about the importance of the background. I used both natural and my own backgrounds,mostly oil paintings. The background is a very important part of the whole setup and it either pops the hummingbird image or kills it. After you went through many trials and errors,making sure all the flashes would expose a humming bird,a flower and the background prefectly,and when you get a good shot,you will see the reward in your image and it's a great feeling.

Arizona Hummingbirds

Hummingbird pictures captured at hummingbird hot spots,Miller Canyon, ...

Updated: Nov 04, 2009 4:10pm PST

Vermilion Flycatcher : These Vermilion Flycatchers were taken at Covington Park right next to Big Morongo Preserve,Morongo Valley,CA. I missed the season to capture this beautiful bird last year(2008) so this year,I made sure I won't miss the opportunity. Big Morongo Preserve attracts more than 240 species to this desert oasis and some of them are year-round residents. For Vermilion Flycatchers,the habitats in Covington Park seems to suit better for them than at Big Morongo.

Vermilion Flycatcher

These Vermilion Flycatchers were taken at Covington Park right next to ...

Updated: Oct 14, 2009 1:42pm PST

Hummingbirds : This is a gallery of hummingbird pictures showcasing 12 species of hummingbirds. Costa's hummingbirds were taken in Palm Springs,CA,but all the other hummingbird pictures were captured in the Huachuca mountains,AZ. SE Arizona is a hummingbird hot spot and I went there two years in a row to capture as many species as possible.

Hummingbirds

This is a gallery of hummingbird pictures showcasing 12 species of hum ...

Updated: Aug 28, 2009 4:34pm PST

Red-tailed Hawk : At Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and at Covington Park,you can find several species of raptors but these Red-tailed Hawks were raised by humans and then they were released to the wild. They were busy building their nest and watching them to break a tree and carry it to their new home was a special experience.

Red-tailed Hawk

At Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and at Covington Park,you can find seve ...

Updated: Oct 07, 2009 1:55pm PST

Gallery Categories

Birds

14 galleries with 1016 photos

Updated: Nov 04, 2009 4:10pm PST

Nature

2 galleries with 13 photos

Updated: Jun 30, 2009 7:46pm PST

Your Bio

Hello. Welcome to my hummingbird photo gallery.My name is Hidetoshi Takahashi and I enjoy taking hummingbird pictures. I like to shoot any wildlife but nothing is quite exciting and fun as hummingbirds. Taking hummingbird photos is not only exciting and fun but also quite addictive.

Hummingbird pictures you see here have watermark but when you order a print,it won't show on the actual print.I've tried several different print papers for my prints in the past and now I tried some metallic prints. It may not be ideal for all subjects but for my hummingbird photos,it's a perfect match.
Metallic prints rock!

If you have any question,please Contact Me

Arizona Hummingbirds
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