This is my favorite hummingbird photo of the year…so far.  I’ve been trying to capture the hummingbirds that frequent the feeders at our house this spring.  I’ve been able to grab a few images that I’ve liked.  However, the best of them have been images of birds perched on a feeder. (See my earlier posts – Intense Eater and All Puffed Up)

My ultimate photographic goal is to capture them in flight. I want to freeze their little wings so that you can see the detail of every feather.  (A nearly impossible task for an amateur like me.)

This photo doesn’t achieve my ultimate goal – to capture the detail of the hummingbird’s wings – but it captures my soul.  I don’t want this to come across as bragging.  I realize not everyone will find this image as compelling as I do. (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?) But to this beholder, this image is like something from a dream.

I took this in the early morning light (around 5 am).  The angle and quality of the sunrise lighting gives it depth. I think the colors are wonderful. The bird’s head being in focus while the rest of the body is slightly out of focus draws your attention to it’s stare; it’s character.  (I also love its little feet.)  Add the background blur and the whole image takes on an artistic quality.  The overall effect reminds me of a watercolor painting.

Adding to the wonder of it all (at least for me) is the fact that I did very little to this image in post-processing.  Aside from cropping and increasing the contrast a smidge, this is the image that came out of the camera. (My Sony SLT-A55 with the standard kit lens.)

This is one you’ll want to see closer.  Just click on the photo to view a larger version.

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