click on HD for best quality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cva9-uEJbU4

Russ Thompson
http://e-hummingbirds.com
http://vimeo.com/hummingbirds
http://hummingbirds.photoshop.com
Louisville, Kentucky

Very enjoyable and relaxing video to watch. Highlights for me were the closeups at the feeder where you can see all the minute little movements in the throat as the little guy is drinking. Also liked when he was perched on the chain link and you could see the tongue flicking out. The low camera angle you had for some of the Monarda video was also unusual and artistic. That different angle gave me the magical feeling that I was another hummingbird hovering among the plants.

Oh, and by the way, I tried the HD, and the clarity was fantastic, but my computer wasn't able to show it continuously. It kept stopping, playing maybe 10 seconds, then stopping again. I finally ended up watching it in normal quality.

What kind of camera do you have to deliver such nice quality, and how close were you to the birds when you were getting all that lovely footage?

Oh, and one last comment and suggestion. I've praised you so much, (and deservedly!) but just wanted to make a suggestion. Would you consider sometimes setting the exposure to a fixed exposure on your camera? I've noticed with my videos and also in yours, that if you rely only on auto exposure, in certain situations when you are panning around and following your subject, when the background gets light, the meter overcompensates and your backlit subject gets a bit too dark. I've found that in situations like that, if I just set an ideal, fixed exposure for one session, it avoids that problem, and I don't end up with the video going dark, then correct, then dark and changing back and forth. I only mention it because your video was so lovely, and I thought to myself, wow, it could even be better if he did that with the exposure.

I know this isn't a videography forum, but just thought I'd mention it as sort of a tip that I have learned. I am so impressed with some of the high quality video and photos that you and others post. I don't think my camera delivers that level of quality, but hey, I keep on trying.

Beautiful video, Russ. I think it's a wonderful idea to put it on a site where other people will view it and possibly be encouraged to plant for hummers. Thanks for sharing!