A small hummingbird’s wings can flap up to 80 times per second, and they have the unique ability to fly in any direction – even backwards.
This usually means that by the time I frame my shot and focus properly, the little sucker has already moved, leaving me to fumble with my camera trying to re-frame and re-focus.
It’s also quite fidgety, not unlike a little kid who really, really, really needs to go to the bathroom. As in, right now.
That kind of fast-paced wing-beating is very taxing on a bird with such a tiny body, and so the hummingbird spends very little of its day actually flying and feeding. Which means there is a small window of opportunity to catch this fascinating creature in action.
After failing to photograph it after a couple of days, I finally sat myself down on my sister-in-law’s couch, trained my camera out the backyard garden, and waited. It took me about forty minutes of sitting quietly and patiently, constantly re-framing and re-focusing. But in the end, I managed to get her as she fed on a kangaroo paw flower.
Or maybe it’s a him. I wouldn’t put it past a guy to keep a girl waiting like that.
What a great capture! I’d say it was well wotrh the wait.
Very cool! Any chance of seeing the SOOC or some color version of it?
Hey that little creature thing changed on my last comment. Weird.
Fabulous! Patience pays off.
simply amazing!
Thanks, everyone! Yep, I’m glad I decided to just sit still for a while and wait for the bird to return. Karma, I’ll post a color version shortly. I’m torn between both versions, so maybe you can tell me what you think.
Oh, and I’ve been playing with the automatic avatar thingies. I first tried the “monster” one, and now the “wavatar” faces. I think I may just go back to the quilt thingies. :)