Summer lull - a photo on Flickriver

Summer lull

            My annual summer lull.

The term Summer Lull means so many different things to different people. If you Google it, the first several returns are concerning money markets, cryptocurrencies and Afghan interpreters traveling to the Netherlands. For me, its when my need to search for beauty in nature and capture it, is trumped the depressing signs that fall is just around the corner. 

I love the temperatures of fall, but that is about it. The leaves that nourished the caterpillar, who is now the butterfly make for a terrible background unless taken to total bokeh. Not to be morbid, but a closer look into the changing colors of leaves has always reminded me of cancer and the death of summer. I delete the vast majority of photos taken this time of year. A smarter man would take less or find another outlet. In my case, my undiagnosed ADHD will not permit such an action.

Over the last few weekends, I have been blessed with time away and a return to our camp near Patoka Lake. Many hours have been spent trying to maintain focus on a small group of hummingbirds as they work the few remaining flowers of the Mimosa trees much like the fingers of a piano players to the keyboard…a quick touch and off in another direction. Now add differing depth, heights, shadow, cover…not to mention the constant fighting. It was both frustrating and nauseating, yet the challenge kept me glued in place. Swinging around a 10-pound lens on a monopod some 25 yards away from the action while not breathing surely provided some entertainment for anyone passing by. 

Several somewhat acceptable shots were obtained…all based on the principal that even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. Here is one of them, what I believe is a juvenile based on two small tuffs of remaining down atop its head and at the base of its tail. 

I try to focus on the beauty of the creature, the flowers in their prime and not the withered ones…and more importantly, the blessing of a 60th summer.

Adventure before dementia.

Taken on: August 7, 2021

Tags:

Hummingbird

Mimosa

Flower

Flight

Bird

Birds

Birding

Birdwatching

Ornithology

Wild

Wildlife

WOW

Nature

Flying

Hovering

Feeding

Summer

Summertime

outside

Outdoors

Canon

EOS

MarkIV

EF600mm

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/4.0, 1/1000 sec, 600mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF600mm f/4L IS II USM
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length:	600mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Lightroom 4.3 (Macintosh)
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