Last night a local birder reported a Black-chinned Hummingbird in his back yard here in the Salt Lake Valley and I was quite surprised to hear about it. I haven’t seen a hummingbird for several weeks and I thought that by now, with our significantly colder weather of late, they’d have all moved on for warmer climes. That particular bird must be a hardy one. Or lost…
But the news reminded me that before the snow flies I planned on posting a few more images of the hummers I photographed on Antelope Island several weeks ago. There were two or three species of them feeding on the nectar of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant and since I struggle with the ID of hummingbirds (females and juveniles, especially) I’ve decided to avoid the likely error of misidentification and simply call these birds “hummers” or hummingbirds.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
Photographing hummingbirds in a wild setting (rather than the more commonly used “set-up” situation) can be tricky. Occasionally I’d get a bird isolated with an individual flower cluster against a clean background where both bird and flower were sharp but…
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
more often there were many flowers in the frame with some of them sharp and others out of focus in the background.
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
They squabbled over a couple of the most desirable perches near the flowers – this is one of them.
This particular clump of twigs was troublesome for the photographer because there were so many of them (twigs) that the bird perching there was often partially obscured. Several days later I noticed that someone had obviously cut all but one of them down, leaving behind a single, clean perch. I was disappointed because by definition it was now a “set-up” and I don’t do set-ups. Just my choice…
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
This was the other “favorite perch” that was reasonably close to my lens. This bird gave me a series of wing and tail stretching poses that I thought were interesting.
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
Despite the fact that the bird is looking slightly away from me, this shot is one of my favorites. To my eye there’s a lot of depth to the image and it looks quite 3 dimensional.
I’m sure I won’t see another hummingbird until late next spring so for me it was fun to re-visit these tiny, colorful and aggressive little buzz-bombs one last time.
Ron
Your photos of these glimmering hummingbirds are insanely gorgeous! Took my breath away!
Beautiful images. I came home from a weekend trip and the hummers seem to have left the Ozarks too. The feeders were just as I had left them, need to take them down and wash them. Will miss those little dancers.
Hi Ron,
One may get ‘a clearer view’ (very amateur home photographer talking), but I LOVE the two photos with more flowers out of focus and the depth is the final photo really does make it look 3D! I wish we had humming birds in the UK – never seen one in real life!
Best wishes from the UK,
Ingrid
Splendid photographs, Ron! Hummers are difficult subjects at best but you sure do them justice!
I’m glad to hear you say there may be more to learn about photography. I was afraid there for a minute I had reached the limit of the medium and knew all there was to know. 🙂 🙂
Amazing. And beautiful. Again. Thank you.
As an aside, I wonder whether anyone else is a tad depressed to see YOU saying that you have a long way to go, and a lot to learn about photography. If you have much more to learn, it makes my journey seem almost insurmountable.
Elephant’s Child, I’ve come a long ways but I do still have a long way to go. It’s a very long journey. But I got many images that I like a lot when I was first starting out, too (though my “keeper” percentage was much smaller back then). What I said shouldn’t discourage anyone from pursuing photography. Getting great images is fun but so is learning and knowing you’re progressing.
I’m with you on that one, Elephant’s Child! No way will I ever get to where Ron is as a photographer. But hopefully we are at least happy with the memories we re-visit when we look at our photos. Ron has a phenomenal talent for bird photography that would be difficult to duplicate. I am certain that you and I have been gifted with other talents. (One of those talents is the ability to appreciate Ron’s photos…)
Ron-You NEVER disappoint! Wonderful!!!
Thanks, Patty. I hope I can maintain that record…
Hi Ron,
Wonderful images as always. The last shot is my favorite. To comment on ID I believe that the second bird is a female black-chinned due to the lack of buffy or rufous wash on the sides that the other birds seem to have.
I hope the black-chinned I saw yesterday got all fueled up for a safe migration.
Thanks,
Brenton
So other folks know, it was Brenton who reported the Black-chinned that I mentioned in my opening paragraph.
Thank you for the ID and for reporting the bird, Brenton.
Love your beautiful shots of these little “buzz-bombs”! I find most of my time is spent photographing Hummers, and I’m fortunate to have Anna’s in my area through most of the winter months, then back again in force in the spring. It is so challenging to photograph Hummingbirds, but the results can be well worth it!
Pretty neat that you have hummers pretty much all year around, Pamela.
My favorite of these photos is the third one. There is just something about the bird’s body language that draws me. I love that you refer to hummers as ‘buzz-bombs’. I will never forget my first encounter with a Ruby-throated Hummingbird – it went by so fast, it was a blur, but the buzzing sound was very loud. These photos bring back all sorts of memories of encounters with hummers.
“Buzz-bombs” reminds me of several of my own encounters with these birds, Susan.
Each of these photos is a treasure. In the first, I’m struck by the iridescence of the plumage echoed in the starburst of stamens. It almost suggests an other-worldly occurrence. As for the other photos, I love seeing hummingbirds in repose, and the stretch is delightful. Out of focus elements don’t bother me, but perhaps that is because my training is in illustration, and mood rather than clarity is all-important.
I agree that the final photo is a show-stopper!
You’ve made some interesting observations on these photos, Alison. Thanks.
Simply wonderful shots. Ours, what few we had are leaving also.
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
HI Ron,
Your photos are just amazing. The clarity is unreal. I feel like I can reach out and almost touch them. Wish I could master my camera as well as you have mastered yours. Thanks.
Thanks very much, Ellen but I must fess up and admit that my camera is still very much the master of me. Every day of shooting teaches me a little more about my gear but I’ve still got a long ways to go.