High-speed photography captures hummingbirds in mid-flight

London, Dec 14 (ANI): An American photographer has successfully captured the flapping of hummingbirds wings with the help of high-speed photography.

These birds flap their wings a staggering 90 times per second making them far too fast to get captured by normal camera and flash.

However, photographer Pat Hunt managed to effectively snap the wings and highlight their extraordinary detail by using high-speed lights, which flash for 1/25,000 of a second.

The blur-free images show the birds' striking purple, blue and yellow feathers against a pitch-black background.

The 71-year-old retired librarian, studied high-speed flash photography on the internet before setting up his equipment around a bird feeder at a friend's house.

Hunt, from Santa Rosa, California, United States, captured the birds from 15 feet away using a shutter release remote control.

However, adjusting the camera settings to get the birds in focus consumed a lot of time.

"My friend has been feeding the birds for fifteen years and it was an obvious attraction for a compulsive photographer like me," the Telegraph quoted Hunt as saying.

"I especially wanted to challenge myself with the hummingbirds. I read on the Internet that no camera shutter is currently fast enough to stop a hummer's wings and the technique is all about the lights.

"I started experimenting with the two speedlights I already owned and started seeing wonderful detail and the remarkable beauty of the birds themselves.

"I bought two more speedlights on credit and that allowed me to get what I was after - a high speed photo with enough depth of field to show the whole bird in focus," he added.

Hunt further added, hummingbirds have an ingratiating habit of sipping at the feeder for a while then backing off and parking in mid-air for a moment.

"This gives me the perfect photo opportunity. It is special to look into a world that you would not normally see. Where our eye sees just a blur the camera shows the hummingbird with so much lovely detail." (ANI)