Archilochus colubris
These are the best of the hummingbird photos from July 31, 2010. The photo below is not that good but Mrs. Hummingbird's tongue is sticking out!
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Archilochus colubris
Here we are again. As the summer continued, I moved the tripod outside to photograph the hummingbirds. I was never getting the male and thought perhaps I could capture his image if I sat and waited outside. He came. But the lighting was awful or the focus was wrong. Or he had cast a spell on the camera. So here is Mrs. Hummingbird again. This is the best of July 31 from outside the porch. I still had to edit the photograph heavily because of backlighting. What I like about the photograph are her tiny feet all tucked up close to her.
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Archilochus colubris
Is that her tongue sticking out of her beak?
I didn't realize I took so many photographs of this little female hummingbird! I'm disappointed I didn't get anymore of the male, but there may be one or two lurking in my photographs that I have not seen (my poor memory prevents me from knowing what I have photographed in August!). These were taken July 30.
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Archilochus colubris
I finally did it! After untold attempts to get a great hummingbird photograph and after hundreds of lousy photos, I got my bird! All of these photographs are of the same female and were taken on July 24, 2010, very early in the morning. She was not backlit and there was no hair on the window. But best of all, I did not startle her and she stayed long enough for me to get dozens of badly focused and/or composed shots before I got these good shots. Weeks of patient planning and waiting finally paid off. Can you hear me cheering?
I even managed, above, to get her eyelid closed while she blinked!
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Archilochus colubris
As I have written before, photographing the hummingbirds has been quite a challenge. The hair on the window is gone from this photograph. But this time, the bird was backlit so much that I had to adjust the exposure too much. This is why the edges of the bird are so distorted. The colors are more realistic, though. This photography business is tough!
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Archilochus colubris
These are the first hummingbird photographs I have ever taken. I carefully bought a feeder that attached to the window. I thoroughly washed the window inside and out. I positioned the camera and stayed on call for hours. The tiny birds are very skittish, so I had to learn how to keep the camera nearby and how to move slowly. And then I found that the time of day on the feeder window was very important. In the mornings, the birds were backlit, so I had to take an afternoon photo.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds (of which this is a male), are the only hummingbird with a natura range in Vermont. Sometimes others show up, especially the Rufus. I guess they get blown into town by storms. The female Ruby-throated hummers don't have the red.
