Hummingbird and Bonsai

mike_p

This is probably the luckiest photo I ever took. The venue was the San Francisco Landscape and Garden Show at the Cow Palace about 2.5 years ago. The bonsai exhibit was by Bonsai Society of San Francisco. Among the many bonsai was a wisteria in full flower.
A hummingbird made it into the Cow Palace and toured all the flower exhibits on about a 45 minute schedule. With my camera at the ready, (Olympus E20n) I waited by the wisteria bonsai. My patience was rewarded. Mr. Hummer came to feed , and wasn't bothered by me being about 2 feet from him. I fired off about 10 shots, and was amazed by this one. The camera stopped the wings at full extension. I'll probably never be that lucky again.

Attached Images

hummer-dinger1.jpg (72.0 KB, 147 views)

Advertisement

Nathanp

Great picture, did you crop it because i think it would be great if you could see the hole of the tree its hovering next to.

Good shot though well done.

__________________
Nath

Visit > naffo.tk

spoonman

that is one amazing photo, id print it out at full quality and frame it. great work. because i like it so much, would it be ok for you to email this photo to me at full quality and size?

My email address is ___________ You don't really want to post your email address on a public forum, now do you? If so, go ahead and repost or edit this message, but don't say I didn't warn you. Otherwise, send it by PM. Regards - Admin.


dont worry if its a huge file cause i have 1gb of storage on that email address. thanks.

__________________
"Little laurel trees, your roots can find
No mountain, yet your leaves extend
Beyond your own world into mine
Perennial wands, unfolding in my thought
The budding evergreen of time."
-Kathleen Raine, The Trees in Tubs

saint

I've tried photographing humming birds. Lucky does not even begin to describe your good fortune!

__________________
Best Regards,

Leslie St. John
Barbados
West Indies


Remember: Opinions are like bellybuttons, everyone's got one

mike_p

Nathan, the picture has been cropped some, but I never made any attempt to show the wisteria bonsai. All I wanted was bird and flowers.
Spoonman, I'll send you a better quality image.

ChrisM

mike, great pic!!!! what a chance opportunity. did the bird hang around long? i am sure you must have been thrilled. thanks for sharing.

chris

__________________
A bonsai is like a good marriage.You commit, for better or for worse, till death do you part. I DO!!!

JTriptow

Mike,

That is a truly amazing photo. I don't know how many times I tried to photograph the hummingbirds when I lived in Colorado, but was never able to get a clean and perfect shot. I chalk it up to their speed. Of course, it is probably my ineptitude with a camera that really lost me the shots.

Thank you for sharing this with us. Remarkable.

Jennifer

__________________
Who knew trees could become an obsession?

mike_p

Chris, the show ran for 5 days and the hummer was there for most of the time.
Jennifer, there is a lot of luck in getting a shot like that. First, the hummer was so used to crowds of people in this huge show that he wasn't intimidated by me being 2 feet or so from him. Second, at that close range, the flash duration was very short, and thats what stopped the wings. A small fraction of a second one way or the other, and it wouldn't have worked. As I say, just plain luck.

spoonman

thanks for the photo mate.

__________________
"Little laurel trees, your roots can find
No mountain, yet your leaves extend
Beyond your own world into mine
Perennial wands, unfolding in my thought
The budding evergreen of time."
-Kathleen Raine, The Trees in Tubs