Simple Four Flash Set Up

Yesterday after a long hiatus from photographing hummingbirds I created a simple four flash set up in the backyard for photographing hummingbirds. The first step was to take down all the feeders except for two feeders next to where I was photographing them in the shade of a 10' x 10' pop up erected behind our garage. Next I propped up a 4' x4' green backdrop on the seat of a garden bench. Rather than using all the fancy light stands and flash brackets I opted for going simple using flash clamps attached to two more garden benches. Then I placed three cone flowers stuck in florist foam on a low table in front of the camera. Following that I climbed into the photoblind and started photographing. There was no shortage of hummingbirds as there had to be at least thirty hummingbirds buzzing around for two feeders. Here are a some of my favorites. Have a great day and God bless, chris #TeamCanon, All images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera on a tripod. The lens used was a Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 L IS USM EF. The camera settings used were Manual mode, ISO 400, F10.0 at 1/200th of a sec. The flashes used were four Canon 540 EZ flashes. Two on the subject and two on the background.The flashes were in manual mode and were set to 1/128th power.

Wandering Around the Garden

I'm slowly starting to get out. We have been making trips to our little raised bed in the community garden to water. During each visit I've been wandering around looking for interesting things to photograph with my little travel camera. It's a Canon T1i that I picked up used. I put a 100 mm macro lens on it and it's a great little camera to carry. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris #TeamCanon

Playing in the Dark

Today I got a new lens in the mail. I was happy to see it was waiting for me by our front gate when I got home from my check up with the surgeon. The surgeon explained to me that I'm healing well and that the pain from my surgery should subside in two weeks or so. Believe me I can't wait for that to happen. Just my short trip downtown for the check up beat me up. I couldn't wait until tonight to try this new lens out. It's a Samyang 14mm F 2.8 wide angle lens. First I had to wait for the moon to go down. Then I set my camera on a tripod and I focused on the center of the Milky Way between the trees in our backyard. Based upon the five hundred rule I had an exposure of close to 25 seconds wide open. I'm really happy with how the image turned out for such a simple composition. I'm really looking forward to feeling better and using this lens out in the field. Wishing you a great day and a wonderful weekend. God bless, chris MeFoto Tripod and a Canon T1i Camera with a Samyang 14mm lens. The camera settings used were Manual mode, ISO 1600, F 2.8 for 25 seconds.

Simple Giift

Today Lenore surprised me when she returned from golfing with a simple gift. She presented me with a small stone that she had found while she was playing. It was a gift that meant a lot to me. I was really happy she went golfing as I encouraged her to go. There is no reason for two of us to be stuck at home! Right now I'm not in the best of shape as I'm slowly recovering from gall bladder surgery. I'm getting there but it's painful. It was the best gift she could have given me as it is symbolic of so much. The heart shaped stone was a little rough around the edges. So very much like our love and the things that we have gone through in our marriage with probably more to come. Most of it has been great by the way. I can't think of anyone better to be with on this journey of life than her. I love you, Lenore, always your husband, chris

Simple Set Up Bird Photography B. O. A. S.

Surprisingly many of the bird images that grace the magazines showing backyard birds were created using set ups. The simplest set up is often jokingly referred to by many photographers as B.O.A.S or Bird on a Stick. These images are made by placing stick or branch close to a food or water source usually a bird feeder of some type. The photographer waits in a blind erected close by and prefocuses on the stick and waits for a bird to land on the stick to create the image. I created the following B. O.A.S. images in my yard. I started by setting up a platform feeder roughly ten feet away from my photoblind. Next I set up a non distracting background approximately six feet behind the feeder. In this case the background is a piece of ¼" hardboard 4' x 4' painted a light green. Next I stood up some 1” x 2”s on either side of the feeder. I clamped a lichen covered stick or branch above the feeder to the 1” x 2”s. I filled the feeder with a mixture of black sunflower seeds and chicken scratch. Then I climbed into the photoblind and waited. I prefocused my camera on the branch and waited. I was using a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. For settings I prefer using an F stop of F 5.6 or 8.0 to throw the background out of focus. In this instance I had an ISO of 800 as the feeder was in the shade. I photographed for just a little over two hours waiting patiently for the birds to come in and feed. After editing I ended up with 150 images. Out of these there were six great images of Steller's Jays and Band- tailed Pigeons. The Band-tails were nice because they can be a very difficult bird to photograph as they are very wary and really hard to photograph without a blind. If you are interested in learning more about using set up photography please check out my book, Secrets of Backyard Photography, from your local library or purchase it on Amazon where it has been getting excellent reviews. It is available both as a hardbound book and as an e reader. #Team Canon God's love and blessings upon your day, chris Cut and paste the following into your web browser https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Grab and Go

Yesterday Lenore and I planned to go to the Farmer's Market in the big city of Ukiah, CA. We got off to a very late start so that by the time we arrived there was only ten minutes left. Numerous vendors were already packing up. We walked rapidly through the market and purchased some veggies. Along the way I captured some images of produce with my little Canon T1i. It's the perfect little travel camera well suited as a daily camera. I've outfitted it with a Tamron 18-200mm lens that makes it quite versatile. Just grab and go! God's precious love upon your week, chris#TeamCanon, #takenwithmytamron