Photographing Hummingbirds at Cherry Creek Reservoir

Fine-Tuning Shutter Speeds for the Perfect Hover

While exploring the areas around Cherry Creek Reservoir, the goal was to find exactly what might draw these birds in after their long migration. Tucked away in a quiet field corner near a simple roadside pull-off, a patch of tall, purple wildflowers that almost resembled common weeds caught my eye.

I made sure to get out there early in the morning, which is when I normally prefer to be out. Through being out in the field, I’ve noticed a distinct pattern with their behavior: even though they are still active in the evening, they are significantly more active around these wildflowers first thing in the morning. Getting out at that hour also means the sun is still low, helping to avoid those harsh, direct shadows and bright hot spots that can easily blow out the incredible colors on their iridescent feathers.

Sitting quietly inside the truck to keep a low profile, it didn’t take long for the environment to come alive. The first clue wasn’t visual—it was the distinct, high-frequency buzzing sound of tiny wings beating at incredible speeds. To my surprise, multiple hummingbirds began circling and returning to the exact same patch of purple flowers, completely captivated by them day after day.

Watching a wild hummingbird float effortlessly in mid-air is mesmerizing. They have the unique ability to remain absolutely stationary in a dead freeze while their wings move in a blur, shifting angles in a split second.

Because I was able to keep returning to this exact same spot morning after morning, it gave me a unique opportunity to really refine the shot. I would go home, review the morning’s photos on a large screen, reanalyze how the details were holding up, and then head back out the following morning to try again. Through this process, I learned that photographing hummingbirds requires a much faster shutter speed than you would normally anticipate.

The real challenge was finding the sweet spot for the motion. While the bird’s body stays perfectly still, the wings are moving at a blistering speed. If the shutter is too slow, you end up with a full blur where the wings practically disappear, leaving you with what looks like a floating body with no shape. The goal was to dial in a speed fast enough to capture the true structure and form of the wings, while still leaving just enough movement to show the incredible energy of their flight.

Because I was using a telephoto zoom lens, I was able to capture a beautiful, authentic look at this behavior in their natural habitat without disturbing them. Wild hummingbirds out in the open are incredibly sharp and easily startled, so having that extra focal length was absolutely essential to fill the frame with detail while keeping them comfortable enough to feed naturally. It was incredible to just sit back and watch them stay so perfectly still in mid-air—a rewarding reminder of why getting out into the field early and committing to the process is always worth the effort.