HUMMERS

Perhaps the discovery of a dinosaur led to stories of dragons. And a twisted narwhale tusk may have been evidence of unicorns. The glimpse of a manatee gliding under a boat could turn into stories of mermaids. So it wouldn’t take much to go from being buzzed by a hummingbird or to see a couple of them flit through the trees to generate tales of fairies and sprites.

But even seeing hummingbirds up close doesn’t take away the magic for me. When I was a youngster a tiny dusty-green female we named Fanny would perch on my finger and sip sugar water from a lid I held in my hand.  Her toes were as delicate as earring wire. Her eyes were like jewels.  She was probably a Black Chinned Hummingbird.

Male Black Chinned Hummingbird

There was a little motel on Grand Lake in Colorado where a row of hummingbird feeders hung on the sunny side of the guest house. I stood with my camera among a swarm of brilliant hummers who were so intent on feeding and defending their right to do so that I was just an obstacle in their way. But I caught nothing on film that morning but blurs and shadows.

We visited our daughter a few days ago.  She has a hummingbird feeder hanging on her porch.

This time I had a digital camera to do most of the thinking and an auto focus lens.

Still I was shooting shadows. Fortunately the hummers kept returning to the feeder.

So I increased the ASA and shutter speed and tightened down the aperture until I was finally seeing a bit of success.

In the moments they landed on the feeder it was not too difficult to get a few adequate pictures.

But they would appear out of nowhere and the fleeting seconds they’d hang in the air before zooming off made the hover-shot a real challenge.

When I finally did stop that action in my camera---again it didn’t take away from the wonder. It only increased it.