Backstroke

Don't you think this guy looks like he is doing the backstroke?

Authors of photography books and magazine articles teach the rules of composition. They teach us that animals should be on the left side of the photo facing toward the right because most of the world reads from left to right. They recommend that there should be space on the right for the animal to gaze into so that he doesn't look crowded. Somewhere in each book or article they always include a statement that it is okay to bend the rules once in a while.

I think this is one of those times.

Photos of Hummingbirds are harder to get than you might think. Oh sure. "They move quickly and might turn out as a blur." you are thinking. That's only part of the story.

Imagine that you take the cardboard tube out of the center of a roll of paper towels. Now imagine that you are watching Forrest Gump compete with the All-American Ping Pong team. You place your eye to the tube and your vision is instantly narrowed so that you can see only one small part of the scene at a time. This is similar to the way the world looks through a camera viewfinder and it is the only method you have to follow that speeding ping pong ball as it flies back and forth between the contestants. Kinda hard isn't it?

Now you know why some of your Hummingbird photos will have no Hummingbirds in them at all.

Not only that, but is is hot. Really hot. And humid. Ninety four degrees with forty six percent humidity. Before you take your camera outside you will need to place it in a plastic bag. Set it on your porch for a few minutes and let it warm up. The plastic bag prevents it from fogging up like a bathroom mirror during a hot shower.

Plan on wiping off the view finder of your camera with your tee shirt occasionally as every time you put your eye up to it you will cause it to steam up.

And boy are you going to sweat. Oh, sorry. Women don't sweat, they perspire. You are going to perspire a lot. Perspiration is going to run down your face and the small of your back.

Next your arms will begin aching from holding a heavy camera and zoom lens steady for several minutes while you try to get just the shot you want.

But when you are done one of these guys will be frozen in time and you will see him jamming on brakes to avoid a bumble bee, or sticking his tongue out, or with a drop of sugar water from your feeder on the tip of his beak. Suddenly it all seems well worth the effort.

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