You are most likely familiar with Claude Monet, widely dubbed the father of Impressionism and celebrated for his fluid painting style. If not, then I urge you to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Floor 5, The David Geffen Wing, and become transfixed by his large-scale water lilies installation!

This hummingbird photo heavily reminds me of that impressionistic style, where the background dissolves into an abstract palette of light and color, merely hinting at a lush tapestry of flowers. This was, of course, an entirely intentional artistic choice on my part- not at all a happy accident of a wide-aperture lens capturing a chaotic tropical thicket. And really, what better subject to encompass Monet’s lifelong obsession with capturing ever-changing light and color than a bejeweled hummingbird in mid-flight? It practically painted itself.