Not one of the most influential rock bands of the ’60s. Not a denizen of a prison yard — after whom the band was named. No.
These birds visited my yard on Saturday morning.
Ever vigilant, I was there. I was particularly on the lookout for Anna’s hummingbirds, but the Hutton’s Vireo (I believe) above posed for me so nicely had to include him/her.
But for the rest, I refer to — and alter — the Book of Simon:
Was an April day
Hummingbirds were there for all to see
And they did hover long
Putting on a show for me
This guy sat on a branch surveying the realm. He seemed to have all the time in the world.
Then he saw me pointing this big black tubular thing at him. He apparently didn’t like it and proved his displeasure by posturing in a defensive / aggressive show. Ducks do it. Geese do it. Even agitated swans do it. But hummingbirds? He’s soooo bad. He kept at it for quite some time, but finally gave up and flew away when he realized I was not going to be intimdated.
But he was at his best while hovering. He came back after a few minutes, forgave me for existing, and put on his one-bird show.
Was an April day . . .
Technical note: His iridescent red head almost certainly goes outside the visible spectrum. It sure plays havoc with a camera sensor. I carefully checked the camera’s RGB histogram as I was shooting and sure enough: the red channel was extremely blown out in the first few shots. I had to underexpose between two-thirds of a stop to two stops to not over-expose the red channel. Even then, in RAW processing I had to bring the overall exposure down another half-stop and dial the highligets down twenty to fifty percent to get the red to look like what I saw. I have no idea what the red feather’s pigment is — but whatever it is, it’s powerful stuff.
(Nikon D500, Tamron 100–400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
Beautiful!!
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Thank you!
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You’ve done that little Vireo proud Michael, and as for the hummingbird, well.. the 2nd-to-last one is a DREAM and the texture in the last image is magic!
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Quite the prolific guitarist incubator, that band. And quite a few nice looks at this lovely hummer and the vireo as well, Michael. That vireo’s over the shoulder glance and the lichen encrusted twig make a fine portrait.
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Thanks Steve. I saw the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck in ’65. Opened my ears. Hendrix was two years late. The vireo was actually posing, I swear. And the hummer was a gift from the gods.
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I rarely do bird photography and generally nothing smaller than a heron. Never saw the Yardbirds. Page with Led Zep and Clapton with Blind Faith. Didn’t get to all that many concerts
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Birds are a challenge. Living in the Bay Area during that time, I went to the Fillmore, Avalon Ballroom, and Winterland. A lot.
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Absolutely breathtaking.
Took my breath away!!!!!
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Mine too! Thank you!
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What a line-up of stars, fit to reach all corners of the cosmos. Beautifully shot and processed too.
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Wow! Thanks! I’m just happy it made it to the UK!
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Amazing shots.
The details on the feathers are really amazing.
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Thank you. As I was post processing I left the last one on the screen for a long time and just stared.
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Hummingbirds are really difficult to capture Michael – you’ve done it beautifully. I think you nailed the scarlet neck – no minor feat! Love the little vireo too.
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Thanks Tina. It’s amazing to me that 1/1000 sec still has lots of motion-blur wing drama. And with all that, the vireo is still one of my favorites.
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Michael – Really wonderful – loved your hummingbird show!!
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Thank you. I loved the show too, and was happy to capture it!
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Amazing shots! 😀
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Thanks Nuno! 😃
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I couldn’t tell from your description if the camera was hand-held or mounted on a tripod. Either way, the photos are fabulous but hand-held would be virtuoso. A tip of the hat to you, sir.
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Thanks. Hand held. Way too much darting around for a tripod. ISO as high as 5,500. DxO’s Prime noise reduction is miraculous. Of course the D500’s noise is pretty low to begin with.
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Great shots!
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Thanks!
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I LOVE these shots of the hummingbird! Incredible!! I can’t believe you caught it in such a way. Thank you!
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Thank you. 😃
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Excellent action photos, as everyone else has said.
The vivid color doesn’t come from a pigment but from refracted light:
http://www.hummingbirdworld.com/h/iridescent.htm
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Thank you. And thank you!
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bellissimo!
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Grazie!
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Great shots of what has to be a darn tough customer to focus on! Amazing little creatures It’s almost hard to believe sometimes that hummingbirds really exist.
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Thanks. Life was harder before autofocus. They amazing creatures, and I’m very glad they exist.
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So very beautiful! The colors and details are amazing, wow!
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Thanks Amy. It was a pleasure to shoot and eye-popping to process.
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Thank you, Michael for sharing with us. 🙂
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Such a stunning series, Michael. Such great clarity and colors!
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Thanks Jane. Mr. Hummingbird provided excellent modeling service.
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Wonderful, Michael. Beautiful shots!
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Thanks very much!
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Absolutely stunning! I think he is showing off 😉
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Thanks Julie. He was absolutely showing off. After he got over his “I’m so bad and I really have an attitude” act, he decided he’d better make up for it by giving me a good show. And he did.
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How wonderful … I’m jealous 🙂
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After his failed attempt to intimidate me with force, he evidently decided that it was better to try to win me over by garnering admiration. Philosophically this is a better approach and ultimately in the long run it’s more practical — it worked. He won and so did I. World leaders do not seem to be as smart as a hummingbird.
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Ha ha that last sentence made me lol! 👏😃
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By the way, your prime minister is excused from my indictment of world leaders. She is a shining exception.
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She sure is! Aren’t we lucky … thanks for your kind words
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Very lucky. And smart. We should be so lucky. And smart.
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Great words .. 🙂 My hubby was asking me where you lived?
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San Francisco Bay Area. We visited NZ South Island for about three weeks last June/July. We both fell in love with it. Stunningly beautiful and the nicest people we’ve met anywhere.
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The South Island is beautiful … amazes me each time I visit! I think the Kiwis are great too 😃
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Kiwis are the best. Someday, perhaps, I’ll post some more photos from the South Island trip.
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That would be fabulous!
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We shall see. . .
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Stunning detail and color!
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Thank you! Imagine what it was like going through them the first time.
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I’m no expert, but I suspect it is done with mirrors. That is, on butterflies at least, colors are often the result of reflective structures within the cells that flash the colors that we see. Your photos are just breathtaking. In the vireo, I really love how the lichen on the twigs echo the subtle coloring of the bird. I love everything about that photo. And that cheeky hummingbird~wow!
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You’re right. See the link that Steve Schwartzman provided above. Hummingbird was indeed cheeky. That’s the word. But as arresting as the hummingbird is, the more I look, the more the vireo is my favorite as a photograph. Thanks very much for stopping by, and for your comments.
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Terrific hummer portraits.
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Thank you. It was a bountiful morning.
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Impressive, and so delightful! Those vireos – so hard to identify, so subtle, very beautiful. Of course, the hummingbird’s gorgeous too.
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I’ve never identified a vireo until this one. It’s actually my favorite shot of the bunch.
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I’ve been listening to a Warbling vireo the last few days. He’s somewhere high in the trees, invisible to me. They’re tough to spot! In your photo, I like the lichens on that craggy branch, and the expression, He’s puffed his feathers up for some reason….it’s great to see all that detail, yet the overall effect remains soft.
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I believe he was trying to give me a good picture. At any rate I’d prefer to think that.
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Well done! I once tried to shoot a green-blue one on Curacao; kept me busy for almost an hour before I got an acceptable shot.. 🙂
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Thank you. If you have a heavy telephoto lens, it’s great exercise.
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