A Male Anna’s Hummingbird on the banks of the Willamette River

I wanted to share about the conditions on this shoot — the lighting was incredible. Around 5pm the sun hit the hummingbird perfectly, lighting up his rose-pink throat while the Willamette River and the bank behind him created this dreamy blue and green gradient backdrop. He literally glowed.

I was able to get within about 3 feet using my Fuji 100-400mm zoom — patient approach, slow movements, and he didn’t seem to mind. I even managed a few shots of him in flight, which is genuinely one of the hardest things to capture. They beat their wings 50+ times per second, so freezing the action takes shutter speed, light, and luck all lining up at the same moment.

The Pacific Northwest never stops giving these little moments. Grateful to live where I can walk down to the river and find magic like this.