So far, all the hummingbird images I’ve shared have been of the rufous hummingbirds. They are the most aggressive hummingbird and defend feeding areas vigorously. I’ve seen then even chase of Canada jays! But the hummingbirds that are most likely to use the flowers are the calliope hummingbirds as seen in this photo. Calliope Hummingbirds are the smallest bird in North America at a length of about 3.25 inches. The area behind the flowers was in shadow while the flowers were lit by the early morning sun. To ensure I capture this image correctly, I use manual mode to set my exposure otherwise, as fast as hummingbirds are, the auto exposure may try to expose for the dark background and then I’d miss my shot. It’s easy enough to miss the shot due to other reasons, such as focus, so I don’t want to miss one due to exposure since that’s easy to control.

I did another walk around Norris Geyser Basin at sunrise recently. I really enjoy walking Norris because the light never seems to be the same. On this morning, a slight breeze was moving the steam around a lot. The early sun back lit the scene here and the contrast between the turquoise pool and orange steam was really nice. I shot several of the same composition trying to get the steam just right.

Hummingbirds in general are territorial, but Rufous Hummingbirds are more aggressive than most other species. Primarily I’ve had Rufous Hummingbirds visiting and they’re constantly competing to control the feeders and flowers. I thought it would be cool to have two birds in one image but really thought it would be impossible. But I had the chance last week when the perched bird would not be intimidated by the aggressor. Eventually they even perched next to each other for a few seconds. The bird in flight is not in focus, but otherwise I was pretty happy with how this came out. The light was low and if I had tried for more depth of field, I wouldn’t have been able to stop the fast movement of the flying bird.

Previously I mentioned that I’ve mostly been photographing thermal features and hummingbirds. I’m not sure if this technically fits under those categories since the main subject is the Firehole River. But Midway Geyser Basin certainly adds most of the interest to the image since the large steam plumes of Grand Prismatic Hot Spring and Excelsior Crater rise dramatically in the morning light. Grand Prismatic is Yellowstone’s largest hot spring while Excelsior was one of the largest geysers until one of it’s eruptions blew out it’s plumbing. If you’re going to walk the boardwalk to see these features up close expect to have lots of company as this is one of Yellowstone’s most popular walks.

For the first part of Spring and Summer, I was pretty diverse with a wider range of wildlife and landscapes but for the past month or so I’ve been mostly photographing two subjects; Yellowstone’s thermal features and hummingbirds in my backyard. What do they have in common you ask? Well nothing, except that they both have my attention and are inspiring my current work. This photo was taken yesterday. One thing I really like with hummingbirds is when I can get some interesting tail position. The wings in this, even though they are covering the eye, are really interesting too. Plus I thought the colors of the bird against the gray background worked well too.

Last week, I thought I’d make an early run through the Upper Geyser Basin but when I arrived, I wasn’t really feeling motivated. So I headed back towards Firehole Lake Drive to see if anything might inspire me. I came across an erupting White Dome Geyser and was able to get a few photos before it’s short eruption ended. Hopping back in car, I turned the corner and saw Pink Cone in eruption. Reaching a height of about 30 feet, Pink Cone certainly isn’t among the tallest of Yellowstone’s geysers. But since it sits right along side a one way road, it is seen by many people. Typically, it’s viewed from the side of the road adjacent to the geyser. But as I turned the corner and saw it backlit, I knew I wanted to do something different. Using my telephoto lens (500mm), I stopped and set up at a great distance and was able to compose the above scene. I knew if I drove up closer, I wouldn’t have the sun directly behind the geyser, and I’d lose the mood and light of this image. I did eventually move closer and switch to a couple of different wide angle lenses, but this is still my favorite of the morning.

For all moms with toddlers out there, including my wife, they’re all demanding, even this fledgling Yellow-rumped Warbler. I was thrilled to see this young bird a couple of days ago. I’ve had Yellow-rumped Warblers coming to the water sources in my yard all summer, so I assumed they were nesting nearby. Sure enough, a couple or days ago they showed up. I’ve never seen a fledgling Yellow-rumped before, so it was pretty cool. If you pay attention to my captions and camera settings, I had manually set my exposure for photographing hummingbirds.

I promised more photos from the eruption of Steamboat Geyser on July 8 so here are three more. Steamboat’s water eruption can reach well over 300 feet and it’s steam column can be considerably taller. Early morning light added a wonderful aspect of the eruption. The image above is from Back Basin with Crater Spring in the foreground. Because the water phase can last a long time, and the steam phase can last for hours, I knew I had plenty of time to walk around and come up with different compositions.

With such height, a Steamboat eruption lends itself well to vertical compositions. The image above was also taken from Back Basin, a short distance further along the trail from Crater Spring. The backlighting on the runoff channels from the numerous thermal features made for an interesting foreground. I’ve seen Steamboat in eruption several times since it started it’s current active phase though I’m nowhere near an expert. But in my experience, I’ve only ever really seen water when on the two viewing platforms closest to the geyser. The challenge with getting the image below is that I was in a downpour of geyser water as it rained back down to the ground. Obviously, rain itself can be harmful to cameras and lenses, but thermal water full of minerals can be even more damaging. So I needed to be very careful with the camera while trying to get an image of the water eruption. In the below image, there is water raining back down all over the left side of the image.

When not traipsing around Yellowstone, the past few weeks have seen my trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to photograph a couple of hummingbirds that show up occasionally in the backyard. This one, a male Rufous Hummingbird, is certainly the most colorful. It’s been unbelievably hot since June and these guys usually come around when it cools down in the evening. In August, I’ll hopefully have more hummingbird visitors as they usually pass through as they start going south.

While walking around Norris Geyser Basin, I decided to photograph Emerald Spring. As I approached it, a snowshoe hare came out from under the boardwalk. It was obviously used to people walking along the boardwalk as it casually grazed on some grass long enough for me to compose this scene.