Anna's Hummingbird at Lake Hodges

This recent photo of Anna's Hummingbird is one of the best I have ever taken of this species in a natural setting. It is crisply in focus. The bird is looking toward the camera. The gorget is catching some color. The morning light is coming in from the side creating a pleasant shadow to give it a pleasing three-dimensional shape. It has an even, non-distracting, background.

Photography instructors will tell you that the secret to a good photograph is the background. A busy or otherwise distracting background will pull the observer's attention away from the subject. The long telephoto lens I use creates very shallow depth of field--a couple of inches, is all. Thus, the backgrounds for most of my photos is pleasantly blurred. But still, I frequently have to move a bit to the side to remove an out-of-focus tree or distant house from behind my bird. In the case of this photo, the tan color was created by the rocky hillside and sparse vegetation behind the bird.

Anna's Hummingbird. Lake Hodges, California. January 21, 2018.