Show-off

Morning coffee these days means sitting on the front porch watching the monsoon rains or sitting on the back patio and watching the hummingbird show. Today it was the hummingbirds.

We have had more hummingbirds than usual this summer and often they are vying for dominance in their territory. This morning they were zooming around so fast it was difficult to focus. Although they were focused on each other (and the feeder!), I considered they might actually fly right into me as I stood taking photos. As I write this, they are back at it again after a forced respite due to heavy rain.

I was in the mood for a soft photo when I edited this image, so muted the colors and added a blur and a paint filter over all. This is a look I like in photography- but does NOT reflect the mood of these feisty hummers.

Melinda2 Comments

Swinger

We have a hummingbird feeder hanging outside our window by the kitchen sink, and nearby is a hummingbird swing. The hummer in this photo (a quick snap taken through the window glass) was not swinging for fun. He was guarding the feeder from a hummingbird who kept trying to come in for a drink. Never mind that there are three feeders- these aggressive little guys do not like to share!

MelindaLeave a comment

Lucky Day

It was my lucky day! First of all, I was trying out my new macro lens- a gift from my good friend, Carol of infocusdaily.com , who is changing out her traditional Nikon lenses for lenses made specifically for her Nikon mirrorless system. I brought a chair out to the front flower bed so I could sit by the lavender and try out the lens. My intention was to to capture some of the buzzing bees, but as I sat down and raised my camera, I was “buzzed” by this little hummer (likely a black-chinned hummingbird). It was not intimidated by my camera, but was letting me know I was in its territory. It continued sipping nectar out of the blossoms as I snapped these photos- and I was very impressed by how well my Nikon with the new macro lens was able to capture the details on this little bird, who was probably 6-10 feet away. It was all over within five minutes, but I felt very lucky indeed to have this wonderful new lens and to have its first subject be this sweet hummingbird! Thank you, Carol!

Melinda2 Comments

Hummingbird Portrait

August 2020 was the month of the hummingbird in our garden- they rule the back yard. When we are outside we are constantly “buzzed” as they make sure we know we are in their territory. We’ve had many more than ever before- is it the hot, dry weather? the fires elsewhere? Whatever the reasons, we have enjoyed having so many!  Our local bird expert writes that some will start leaving soon (as they always do in September), but we imagine that we will continue to have a few that will stay around through the fall.

Melinda1 Comment

Little Roughneck

There seems to be a Hummingbird Fight Club going on in our back yard these days. In the last month, we have had more hummingbirds than ever before, and although it has thinned out a bit in the last week, we have constant territorial battles going on- especially in the mornings and early evenings. We have four feeders, but there is always one that is the feeder of choice that must be guarded by whoever seems to be in charge at the time. Often there are six to eight hummers involved in the dispute over the chosen feeder! I like this shot because this little one chose to take a break on a high willow branch, which made a nice composition.

 

Melinda1 Comment

Hey, Good-lookin’ !

We are home a lot these days (no surprise. . .) and have plenty of time to watch the hummingbird drama unfold in our yard! This handsome little guy is one of a group of newcomers to our yard and has the others on their toes, so to speak, as he chases them away from the feeder. I have yet to capture a good photo of him hovering, so here he is just after landing on the feeder.

Melinda1 Comment

Backyard Bad Boy

I have been home a lot for the last couple weeks and have enjoyed getting out in the yard to watch the hummingbirds. We’ve had more than usual, but the prettier ones (I won’t even attempt to name the species)tend to leave the yard when I go outside. The feeder at the kitchen window attracts several hummers who sometimes (but not often) will feed at the same time. Our larger feeder out on the patio has been dominated by one hummingbird who sits on TOP of the feeder for over an hour at a time, preferring to guard it rather than feed. I have known children with that same personality trait!

Melinda2 Comments

Sweeeet

I’ve taken many, many hummingbird photos over the years. And now I am trying to take better ones. The hard thing is to take them in flight, in focus, and in a good spot in the frame (good composition and background). So far, I have many, many shots of their tails as they take off- or just sitting at the feeders. At least in this shot, the wings are outstretched and moving.

MelindaLeave a comment

The Berries- again

I found a couple other shots I took when I was taking my berry still life for my class. These were taken before or after- without a tripod, because I couldn’t get high enough with the tripod. I used a shallow depth of field for fun- and I guess I wasn’t very steady on the stepstool, because these would definitely not pass the sharpness test! I like them anyway.

20160128-MMA_8092_melinda_anderson-Edit 20160128-MMA_8100_melinda_anderson-Edit

BTW, my hummingbird passed muster yesterday in my new photo class. I wondered how people (especially the instructor) would respond to the background, which had been edited using Topaz Impression- but they were fine with it. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll recognize this photo from last summer. The only critiques were some thought the little twig under the hummingbird could be cloned out, and one person would have liked a closed beak. One thing I’m learning is that people have differing opinions of each other’s work- and it’s all ok.  It’s a very nice group of people, which makes it all easier.

20150709-MMA_0228_melinda_anderson-Edit-2

Melinda2 Comments

Hummmmmmm

One of the areas we enjoyed the most at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was the aviary- mostly because of the hummingbirds.  As we wandered around the paths, we were able to catch glimpses of many of these cute little guys.

20150709-MMA_0221_melinda_anderson 20150709-MMA_0228_melinda_anderson

Melinda3 Comments