I’d like to think that a pleasing photograph -- like any precious thing one might see in life -- comes my way because I’ve done something to earn it. I try to move through my days with a cultivated level of conscious awareness, and I keep my eyes open. I always have a camera in hand or in my pocket so that I’m ready to answer when life comes a-knocking with a visual gift.
Every once in a while, though, something cool happens and I see it or photograph it, not because I’m worthy or talented or ultra tuned-in with the vibrations of the Universe, but because I’m just freaking fortunate. Sometimes I’m just King of the Land of Dumb Luck.
The pictures you see here are prime examples of Good Fortune. A hummingbird arrived at our place and started timidly visiting a feeder that Leah had recently put out near our front porch. I tried to do All The Right Things to photograph the amazing little creature (the hummer is what a friend of mine calls a “winged jewel.”) I got out a huge telephoto lens and mounted my gear to a humongous tripod. I fashioned a kind of bird-blind, using an old green blanket to cover my gear.
I waited. I watched, and I waited some more. The bird began toying with me.
He/she would flit past the feeder at supersonic speed. “I bet you can’t shoot THIS,” the hummer seemed to be taunting as it flew loop-de-loops and nosedives. Everything I shot was pathetic and I realized that I might be in for a summer-long exercise in perseverance and patience before I got the photograph I wanted.
Then several evenings ago I was out on our porch splitting firewood kindling, doing all the things that I assumed would convince the hummer to stay miles away. I was swinging the ax wildly at the knotty wood, making a ton of loud, obnoxious noise. And...the hummer came to feed anyway! My camera gear was close at hand, set up and ready for me to go to work. In short order I shot the frames you see here.
“What Dumb Luck!” I mused when I eventually returned to my kindling-splitting task. Thwak! Boom! Thud! Apparently our hummingbird visitor is one of those creatures who isn’t hung up on peace and quiet when he dines.
