Hummingbirds
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of exchanging prints with Floris van Breugel and after some contemplation picked his wonderful hummingbird image seen below. I planned to post about it sooner but Floris asked that I wait until his new web site was ready. It was well worth the wait. If you haven’t seen it yet, pay a visit to Art In Nature Photography.
Shortly after receiving Floris’ print and admiring the elegance of its simple composition, brilliance of color, and beauty of the little gem of a bird, I found myself sitting on my porch in Torrey, UT watching a couple of hummingbirds at my feeder. It occurred to me that these tiny birds fluttering around the plastic flowers had flown about 1,500 miles to get here, and had about a thousand more to go.
It’s easy while watching these whimsical colorful critters, to find them amusing and playful and not give it a second thought but when you try to imagine life as a hummingbird, you can’t help but admire them. They travel immense distances over some of the roughest and most beautiful terrain anywhere. They face constant threat from predators and from the elements. When the sun goes down they can’t go into the safety of a locked shelter and their chances of seeing the dawn are as good as their choice of resting place (if they even rest) and the sharpness of their senses.
On a given year, a hummingbird will experience more drama, accomplish more feats of bravery, survival, and strength, and witness more natural beauty than the vast majority of humans will in a lifetime. Think about it next time you see these iridescent marvels.
As I watch the dominant male protecting the feeder and buzzing about, resting among the cottonwoods between feedings and chasing away competitors, I find myself wishing I had seen some of what he’s seen and experienced some of what he’s experienced.
Image by Floris van Breugel. Used with permission.
Category: Images, Photographers, Thoughts and Musings
It really is amazaing. Thanks for sharing Guy.
Mr. Hummingbird and so many others…. Such a beautiful bird, but what do all other animals go through in the normal course of their lives? We are a spoilt species, at least in the West. The noblest human is humbled by the average animal’s daily struggle. I wish it were in our makeup to remember that.
Such synchronicity – I was only this evening telling my wife about a conversation on NPR involving hummingbirds migrating across the Gulf of Mexico. Astonishing as this is, it was a sobering reminder of the realities of life to hear that if they encounter too much headwind or too low temperatures, they can die in flight and drop from the sky… Life is truly short, unpredictable, and precious for all creatures, us included!
- Jack
Hey Guy,
It’s a beautiful image, and I’m sure the print looks great.
Yes, it’s interesting to contemplate life as (species of your choice). It’s easy to pay attention to the amazing feats, the thousands of miles, the navigation, the colors, etc, etc, and not pay such close attention to the simple ;; this image so wonderfully combines both.
Cheers
Carl
Hi Guy,
Beautiful. Wow!
best wishes,
Mark
Beautiful image. Unfortunately you can add climate change to the list of threats to the hummingbirds and other critters. We lost our local pair after a freak summer snow storm in June.
Amazing work he has, glad you shared it! The composition and colors on the image is stunning! And great Clarity! Since I arrived so late in the summer season here in northern Utah I missed the chance to see any hummingbirds…maybe next spring.