Hummingbirds, Maddie-style...

[scott]

Hi, all -

Dennis' hummers were inspiring. All we have out here in Pennsyltucky are Ruby-throated hummingbirds, and they're pretty elusive in this area, but for the first time in years, we've been able to draw them in to our feeders.

Now, when I bought the 70D, the Wi-fi feature seemed interesting, but I had no idea what I'd use it for. Well, yesterday, I set up the camera and the 70-200/2.8 close to the feeder, turned on the wi-fi, linked it into Maddie's tablet, and walked inside.

P1020294 by Scott --, on Flickr

I showed Maddie how to use the EOS Remote app (notice we don't call software "software" anymore?) and set her to work. She sat, completely entertained, for about two hours. There was a bit of a learning curve, but by the time the battery ran out on the 70D, she had it down. The app is pretty user-friendly: Camera in Live View mode, you tap the screen where you want the camera to focus, and then tap the shutter.

Best of what she took yesterday:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female by Scott --, on Flickr

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female by Scott --, on Flickr

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female by Scott --, on Flickr

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female by Scott --, on Flickr

So, my 11-year-old daughter is now a budding bird photographer. I'll be setting the camera up again in a little bit, with more care taken with the background, and she'll be at it again today. Stay tuned.

Thanks for looking.
Scott

[Bennybee]

Scott, these are incredible ! Pretty soon there is no fun anymore in picture taking : all one needs to do is swipe, scroll & hit tablet screens?!
Fact is, Maddie shure has an eye for it and her timing is spot on. Congrats!

[OpenWater]

FANtastic! Especially, #2. She'll be working for National Geographic before long.

[Santiago Montenegro]

Wonderful!

[Dennis Gallus]

Scott,

These are magnificent! Your set-up is really useful and productive. I'm amazed at the sharp focus your daughter achieved using a tablet to preview the images. My method, using fixed-focus and a remote release, is more dicey. And my second approach, hand-held, means that the h-birds are very wary of me sitting near, and don't sit still for long.

One of my friends who photographs bats tapes three of the four feeder stations closed with duct tape. This makes it more likely that the bats (or h-birds) will be in the correct plane of focus when they feed. I have yet to try this.

Please extend my congratulations to Maddie, and tell her that the last photo is my favorite.

Best,
Dennis

[PFMcFarland]

Alright, Scott, passing on the photo skills to the young'uns. One good thing with today's technology is the ability to do remote shooting like this, without spending an arm and a leg on the equipment. And Maddie did good.

PF

[minoly]

Outstanding photos!

Bill Delehanty

[scott]

Thanks for all your comments, guys. I let Maddie read the thread and she was absolutely glowing!

Scott

[GrahamS]

Wow! Wow and Wow!

[P C Headland]

Good thinking, and a great result. I bet the imagination is working overtime now at all the possibilities.

Now, for something really cool, let's see you do something similar with the LF