It is difficult to get an up front photograph of the hummingbird. Most of my shots are from the side. The hummingbirds are timid and are getting accustomed to me in my yard. They fly closer to me to check me out and access if I am safe. I try to wear colors to match the environment and to blend in. I am pretty still and do not move much.

It is hard to find the right spot to catch the hummingbird. It is unpredictable knowing where the birds will fly to get their next sip of nectar. It was pretty remarkable to get in front of the bird to see him face to face.

Since being sheltering in place, we hardly see anyone. We go grocery shopping and see the other shoppers whiz by.

It has been a challenge to be up close and personal with people via video chats. Our family has been just as busy with activity. We save time by not traveling as per our old routine. Instead we spend more regular time with our friends, family and relatives. We are hearing about experiences from the younger generation as they are learning to develop their passions. We enjoy their acting, dancing, writing and ambitions to make this world a better place. We share our worries, problems and triumphs during this pandemic life.

We are learning how to be involved with each others lives. For example, my cousins are enjoying my recent nature pictures. One cousin passed on my website info on a Nextdoor thread about hummingbirds. This probably would not have happened if we were not regularly meeting together.

Surprisingly, we are getting up close and personal with our loved ones, even though we do miss being together physically. Our relationships have become stronger even during our video meetings.

I’m glad I could get up close and personal with this hummingbird. It took effort on my part to get close to this bird.

In the same way, it takes time and effort to get up close and personal with the people in my life. But it is so worth it to be a part of people’s lives. I

Are you going to be up close and personal with your people? Find your people and get involved. A Pandemic is not an excuse to be a spectator. Can you expand your circle?

Photos Teach!

This hummingbird’s wings look translucent. They look a little angel-like. It is interesting how he has his wings going forward. Humans reach forward to obtain an object. A referee will put his 2 arms forward to signal his call for a play. During a worship service, some people will raise their hands to symbolize surrender to God.

Is this hummingbird just reaching forward in excitement for his next drink of sweet nectar? When I was able to attend a live game, fans raise their hands up to cheer when their team scores. Even when at home while watch a championship game, my friend had her own style of raising her arms up to cheer.

How often do we reach forward to grasp something and clumsily drop it? Consider the football player reaching for the ball during a pass and accidentally drops it. The ball was in his grasp. But something goes wrong, and the grip was lost. This hummingbird is fortunate that it does not have hands to hold onto anything. It just has the wings to hold upward and onward.

Do we have something to be excited about during these pandemic times? We can be grateful for this waiting period for COVID-19 to be resolved. Why should we be grateful for this time? We don’t know how long this waiting time will last before things become our new normal without the threat of catching this virus. There is a lot of uncertainty.

The only certainty is that we have to wait. Waiting means having a hope to reach forward and pray for solutions. We have not because we ask not. Reaching forward means we expect to receive something in our hands.

Can we reach forward in hope?

Photos Teach!

Light creates interesting patterns and effects for photographs. Due to the change in the seasons, the light is best between 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The position of this hummingbird is getting the black shadow on his face with a backward “C” around his eye. The black shadow resembles a black mask on this hummingbird’s face.

One thing I enjoy about watching these creatures, who are visiting my garden, is their nonchalant persona. The hummingbird does not try to hide who he is. He shows himself as he really is. This bird is not afraid to show how much it likes the flower nectar. He flies from flower to flower and keeps drinking the nectar. Birds have no inhibitions. They know their purpose in life.

Man typically hides his insecurities, fears and anything else he does not like from other people. Being under a mask to pretend we are someone we are not makes it easier to face the world.

My wife is working from home. Like many others, she has meetings with groups of co-workers. Often times, the camera is turned off as they converse about work. Most people do not want to show they are working in their pajamas. Or they may not want to show their hair which has not been cut for a long time. Many are hiding what they look like since everyone is just staying at home.

Wanting to connect with other people at church, she participated in a virtual choir. A video file with the audio singing is required to be merged with the other singers’ files. It was difficult for her to see and hear herself in the videos. It took quite a few takes to create a halfway decent video and audio file.

Ironically, this could be how we approach showing ourselves to the world. Maybe we need to do more practices of life to improve and get out from behind our masks. Imperfection is ok.

I hope my photographs of birds, bees, butterflies or people would show their true individual essence. Yes, I want to capture a sharp and clear image. But a true artist is able to capture the expressions that show who the subject really is.

Photos reveal reality!

Here’s a real greenback of a hummingbird who visited me in my garden. These hummingbirds seem to recognize me now when they come to feast on my flowers’ nectar in my backyard. I try to be quiet not to scare of the birds. The birds are getting accustomed to seeing my big camera equipment. Initially, they were a little scared of the equipment.

A greenback is a slang term for the United States paper dollars issued during the American Civil War. This paper currency was not backed by gold or silver but only by the American government’s credibility.

I prefer the greenback on this hummingbird than the old time greenback reference. It is glossy and the color highlights the darker speckles. His wings are perfectly pointed out to the sides, as he approaches his next flower.

I do not utilize any software to change my photos. So the hummingbird’s greenback color is true to his actual appearance.

Being credible and true is important. We all should endeavor to be real and authentic. Nobody enjoys a false persona. I would not have wanted to utilize the original greenbacks. I would not have trusted this currency without any real value backing it.

My goal is shoot photographs which reveal true colors and the intricacies of the subjects.

Individuals may try to hide their true colors. But reality is usually revealed with bright lights.

Let’s try to be credible and real. If we are not content with our current reality, then let’s seek to improve and change.

This hummingbird has the best real greenback!

Photos teach reality!

I am not a guy who wears pinks or bright colors. I like darker colors. Male hummingbirds possess bright colors like this bird. Notice the scale pattern with the varying shades of purples, pinks and white from under his eye moving down to his wing. These are the colors my wife loves. It’s interesting how he has one wing forward and one wing going back.

Dreams should be pursued. I thought of this idea of shooting images of birds, butterflies, and bees almost 30 years ago. Due to this pandemic and SIP, I created my garden oasis and upgraded my camera equipment for this quest. I go to my yard for almost 2 hours around lunch time when the lighting is the best. I got a heavy duty chair that will hopefully hold me and my heavy equipment. Since I am in my yard, I do not worry about thieves coming behind me to steal my equipment. It’s already happened to me in the past. In the Bay Area, we’ve heard of many incidents where thieves steal camera equipment from individuals and filming crews.

New equipment means spending time to learn. One can only learn by trying and doing. I figured out how to use some new settings to make this bird look sharper and brighter. Practice does help to improve skills. Since I’ve figured out a schedule to shoot pictures due our pandemic situation, I’ve been practicing and am learning how to improve my photographs.

Please note my website is “untouchedtcphotos”. How did I come up with this name? These colors are not altered via any software program. These are the actual colors from my photo shoot. The picture has not been brightened. The picture has not been sharpened. By the way, “tc” refers to the initials of my name.

Dreams can be pursued even during a pandemic. Pursuing excellence in my photographic skills is my goal.

I hope my sharing these bright hummingbirds in my blog brings a little brightness to our SIP time at home. My bird watching and photography has helped to improve my disposition too.

Photos bring brightness!