Hummingbirds are true jewels of the forest. Their grace and beauty is found only in the Americas. The Grey-tailed subspecies of the White-throated Mountaingem is endemic to a small area of the Talamanca Mountains of Costa RIca. Although it is thought to be locally abundant, the tropical climate and mountainous terrain makes their study challenging, so population and population trends are unknown. Photographing hummingbirds is interesting. Their wings can beat up to 90 beats per second and their vivid colors come from iridescence rather than pigment. Just like the iridescence of oil on water, the color seen is dependent on the angle of the light source. We photograph them in a small, shaded outdoor studio, with very low powered strobe lights from 14 different angles. A flash duration of 1/15,000 of a second produces exceptionally sharp images while the light from 14 different angles reveals their natural colors. Flowers are added later to produce an artistically pleasing image.

Please look at her website : http://www.focusfrog.com