2024—Through a Window

An immature Black-chinned Hummingbird sought refuge in a dense Pyracantha shrub just off the deck at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon a couple of days ago. Although the shrub was dense, I found a small window that allowed me to focus through the leaves on a single twig with perfect light on it that seemed to be favored by the Black-Chinned and Broad-billed Hummingbirds near a busy feeder. The “focus recall” button on my Nikon Z600PF worked perfectly to refocus on that twig, which was just inches beyond minimum focusing distance of the lens. When I spotted a hummer perched on the twig, all I had to do was point my lens in that direction, press the recall button and there was the hummer, in perfect focus, on that twig. If I hadn’t had the recall button set to that focal point, the auto focus would have searched and found the leafy edges in front of the small window clearing and I more than likely would have missed the shot.