The story

It was my first time photographing in Aspen, Colorado, and I remember being struck by how different the light feels in the mountains—clean, bright, and constantly shifting. That day also marked a first for me: my first successful captures of hummingbirds. Watching them up close is almost unreal. They’re pure energy—hovering, darting, disappearing, then reappearing in the same breath. And when the angle is right, their feathers don’t just “show color”—they change in the light, flashing from deep emerald to copper and ruby like living prisms. This image is a time-lapse sequence of a hummingbird taking flight—capturing the moment it lifts off and the path it traces through the air. It’s a small scene, but it felt like witnessing something electric and precise, and I’m grateful my camera was ready when it happened.