I sat in the adirondack chair over near the pine tree where the hummingbird feeder hung and read my book all morning, while the hummingbird flickered in and out. She would check me out and then sit on a little branch nearby, tiny and triumphant, fluffing her saucy feathers. Then I stood in front of the chair for about 10 minutes, holding my sx-70 plastered to my face and moving incrementally closer to the feeder until the hummingbird got accustomed to my presence standing so very close. I waited for her to come back and feed a few times and then, just as I had everything perfectly the way I wanted it, I took a polaroid.
I felt like a million bucks. I tucked the polaroid under my shirt as I always do to warm it up, and waited for a few minutes while it developed. Then I pulled it out.
She wasn't there. She was so quick that in the time between the button clicking and the shutter snapping, she flew away.
But the polaroid is still one of my favorites from the trip. A portrait of a hummingbird.
*
11 comments:
HA! They are sooo fast, how funny!
Good story and wonderful photo!
oh my you are a goddess.
she's like a ghost.
When i was young i was an avid birder. I learned all about the birds in our area (Central Atlantic). I almost died when i learned that there is one species of hummingbird that comes to our part of the country. We've fed them ever since. I think they are miraculous little creatures.
I think it's a great portrait actually :). And how wonderful that you were able to read all morning! Those days are too few for me (uninterrupted I mean:).
Brooke, I just got home from a 10 day trip and found your print that I won in the mailbox. I LOVE IT!! It is so beautiful. I plan on running to the store tomorrow to get a frame for it. Thank you thank you thank you!
I will probably post it tomorrow :).
xoxo
ps: I also received my polaroid land camera-PSYCHED!!
can you recommend the best film for a beginner?
Don't worry, Brooke.
I see her.
Oh, little hummingbird! They are so tricky. I spent an afternoon stuck like glue to my neighbor's feeder. (Good thing he wasn't home. I kept worrying that he'd open the door and laugh because I was practically on his doorstep.) I got a few shots, but they were so fast that they were never at all in focus.
Perfect portrait of a hummingbird it seems to me. :)
The photo holds the essence of the hummingbird.... I love it.
xo
cortnie
Those lil' hummers are so magical. Too fast for our cameras! Lovely photo!!
I like this shot because I understand about the hummingbird story, I have had this happen to me. This photo is still lovely with the light and dark shadows.
Post a Comment