If photography were an Olympic sport, would it be an individual sport or a team sport? Generally I prefer to go out with my camera on my own, following my own interests at my own pace. I like the sounds of silence punctuated only by the songs of the birds singing or the wind rustling through the treats, rather than by the harsher tones of the human voice.
I also like to keep moving and start to feel restless if I stay in a spot for more than a few minutes. I guess my style would be most closely related to that of the Olympic biathlon. This winter sport combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Competitors spend most of their time in motion, stopping periodically to take a few shots and then moving on—that is my preferred style. Oh, I can be quite patient at times, like when I am trying to photograph a dragonfly in flight, but that is more the exception than the rule.
One of the consequences of my approach is that I am often in a reactive mode. I chase the action rather than wait for it to come to me, which means I have to react really quickly when a situation presents itself.
I knew from Facebook posts that Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) were active at Green Spring Gardens when I decided to visit last Friday. When I arrived, I immediately spotted a cluster of photographers that had staked out a flower bed, some of whom are shown in the final photo. It was hard to miss them, because many of them had large lenses and heavy tripods.
I avoided this group and went about my solitary pursuit of butterflies and dragonflies with my more modest and portable camera setup. Later in the day I did manage to spot a hummingbird in a distant patch of Cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis). The shots are essentially record shots that merely document the presence of the hummingbird. However, hummingbirds are so cool that I am really happy whenever I manage to capture a recognizable image of one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
That first shot is ever so sweet, I love it!
Thanks, Liz.
Amazing photos! The colors are beautiful. It pays to explore to get the best photos. 🙂
Thanks, Suzette. I have seen photographers who get good results by wandering and others who get good results by sitting still. A lot depends on your personality and preferences. I personally find it a little hard to remain alert if I stay in one place for too long.
I understand😊👍
I think I too would opt to see a bit more of the area. Thanks Mike.
I know that those large tripods help those guys get really sharp shots, but they would inhibit my mobility and tend to keep me rooted at a single spot. I like to wander and love the saying, “not all who wander are lost.” 🙂
I’m with you. I prefer to work alone. I’m a bit more prone to stay in one spot, depending on what I’m doing since I haven’t had a lot of luck with the chasing around method. But I’m only willing to wait so long! LOL
A lot of the places I like to visit have trails and I like to walk along slowly, scanning the vegetation and/or the stream or pond edge for activity. I will sometimes wait when I see a hawk or eagle in a tree or a heron that is actively fishing, but often the bird’s patience exceeds my own.
I will second the opinion that “hummingbirds are so cool that I am really happy whenever I manage to capture a recognizable image of one.” The red is so vibrant on the flower and the blur of the wings is the pièce de ré·sis·tance, imho.
Thanks. Hummingbirds are like bald eagles in the sense that a day is immediately a good one if I spot and eagle or a hummingbird, and doubly so if I am able to get a shot of it.
Nice! They are so active here right now.
Thanks, Molly. They may be fattening themselves up and gaining energy for their trip south in the next month or so, I believe.
Nice shot, Mike, hummers love red flowers, esp. with tubes that their beaks are perfect for. It seems the hummingbirds here are amping up to migrate soon, their activity has become frantic as they try to bulk up for their long trip south.
Thanks, Eliza. The cardinal flowers have tubes that are so narrow that the hummingbirds are about the only creatures that can reach inside. It won’t be long before the hummingbirds head south, so I might make another trip over to these gardens soon to get some better shots (if the rainy weather ever stops).
They are so cute and feisty. We love watching them visit our nectar feeder, which has an “ant moat” on the top to capture ants who are after the nectar. One of the male goldfinches likes to visit the ant moat and drink there, rather than sharing the water in the birdbath. I love birds.
Nice captures of the hummer, Mike. I’m with you, generally avoiding the group scene and often finding something different that escapes their focus.
In one of the parks that I sometimes visit, there is a group that does a bird count early morning once a week. I have sometimes seen the group grow to 30 or more in size. Many of the members treat it as much as a social occasion as a scientific one and they in fact go off to a local Denny’s for breakfast together when they are done. I think some photographers are like that too, but I know that is not my personal preferred style.
A group of 30 cannot be quiet enough to see much of anything, in my experience. Actually a group of 2 sometimes can’t. 😁 I’m going by myself this afternoon for late hours for members at one of our favorite places and hope to see no one!