Fast, Furious and Feisty

July 19, 2026July 18, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 4 Comments

The hummingbirds are becoming more and more active these days. It seems as though they are everywhere zooming around the yard chasing each other. They’re fun to watch yet challenging to photograph.

We have a row of Leyland Cypress trees flanking the hummingbird feeder this year. The hummers love to rest and stretch on the branches before swooping into the feeder for food.

As cute as these little garden fairies are, hummingbirds are territorial creatures, keeping close guard over their spot at the feeder. They are fast, furious and very feisty when it comes to protecting their food source.

I could probably place another feeder in the yard and that might help to ward off some of the fighting. But, quite honestly, I don’t think that will help much. Besides, they’re very entertaining to watch as they chase each other making what sounds like a heckling laugh. I’ve seen three (3) at one time chasing each other but have only been able to shoot these two (2).

August is the month when hummingbirds get even more active as they build their strength and prepare for their migration back to Mexico and Central America. Hopefully, I’ll be able to capture some more shots of their adventures before they leave.

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Stillness

June 28, 2026June 27, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 4 Comments

“Learning how to be still, really still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance”. ~Morgan Freeman

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Keeping it Simple

June 21, 2026June 21, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 5 Comments

“In the presence of nature, the deer teaches us to be still, to listen, and to appreciate life’s simple moments.” ~unknown

What can be simpler than a chance encounter with Mother Nature?

I took this photo on one of our walks last week using my Samsung Galaxy Note 20. After a few edits in Affinity Photo (lighting, blurring, curves and vignette) this was the final result. I’m also linking this to John’s Cellpic Sunday.

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Back to the Islands

June 7, 2026June 6, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 2 Comments

This week I’ve been working a little on processing photos from our Caribbean cruise. I took sooo many landscape photos that I’m having a hard time sticking to the task at hand. Not to mention there may have been a little daydreaming which doesn’t help!

One photo I’ve been working on is a view from our ship looking out at the harbor of Martinique. Off in the distance to the left is Mount Pelee which is a volcano that has been dormant since the 1929 – 1932 eruptions. What inspired me about the landscape was the lush greenery with the shadows of the clouds dancing on the hillside, the city harbor nestled in the valley and the sailboats moored out in the deep blue of the waters. Simply put, it was breathtaking.

What I liked about how I took the photo was the perspective of the bow of the ship pointing into Saint Pierre. Unfortunately, like many photos you take, the camera never sees it quite like the human eye. To me it’s dark and lackluster, nothing like what we saw in person.

I began experimenting with the usual edits: exposure, curves, contrast, saturation, etc. Nothing quite worked to my liking. I then started experimenting with the “Tonal Map” option in Affinity. The “Tonal Map” option gives images an HDR (high dynamic range) look and feel.

My first attempt wasn’t bad, but I feel like it was a little too unrealistic and the ocean turned out a little grainy. In my attempt to boost the color of the rooftops, the red color seems to be too much.

My second attempt was much better. I feel like I nailed the colors better and the ocean took a deeper, bluer tone. But it was still missing the “pop” I was trying to achieve.

They say, “3 times a charm” and I think I may have hit the mark with this version. The landscape has the vibrancy I remember; the ocean could still be worked on a little bit more. But I can live with it. Or so I thought.

If you’ve hung with me this far, thank you. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the last shot, so I decided to merge all three (3). Voila! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! I’m glad I did. The colors and the pop are there!

Here’s a look at the original and final images.

Now I really want to go back to the islands!

“I wanna be there
Wanna go back down and I’ll get high by the sea there
With a tin cup for a chalice, fill it up with good red wine
And I’m a-chewin’ on a honeysuckle vine.” ~ Jimmy Buffet

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – After the Rain

May 31, 2026May 30, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 8 Comments

We’ve had a lot of rain, here, lately. I’m not complaining because it has been a much-needed relief. I just hope that it doesn’t come back to bite us in June and July. We shall see. Despite the rain, we’ve managed to get our daily 8 – 9-mile walks in. Yes, there have been a few times where we’ve had to either duck for cover or just walk it out.

At the beginning of the trail we take there are two (2) magnolia trees growing wild. They’re not massive but large enough that they are producing some beautiful blooms. You can tell the trees have been there a while by all the brown leaves on the ground.

Earlier this week I noticed they were blooming and made a mental note of how pretty they were and to take some photos on the way back.

This was one of the days when the rain caught up with us. We were a little soaked when we returned, but I didn’t mind when I saw how pretty the magnolia leaves were with the rain droplets.

Ultimately, I had a vision for this photo and that was to convert it into a dreamy black and white image. I’m still learning Affinity photo, but I feel pretty good about how this conversion turned out. What do you think?

The original images were taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note Phone, so I’ll be linking to Journeys with Johnbo Cell Pic Sunday as well.

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Jumping into the Deep End of Summer

May 24, 2026May 23, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / Leave a comment

Tomorrow is Memorial Day here in the states. It’s a national holiday which marks a day of remembrance of our fallen soldiers who died while serving in the military.

Memorial Day also marks the official start of summer and I think these cute little birds are definitely feeling the summer vibes. Don’t you?

Until next time, here’s to our fallen and to a summer full of belly flops, flip flops and floaties.

~donna

Wordless Wednesday – Mourning Dove

May 20, 2026May 16, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / Leave a comment

Sunday Vibes – Humming Along

May 17, 2026May 16, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 4 Comments

If you’ve followed along with my blog for a while, you know that one of my all-time favorite bird is the hummingbird. They are cute, swift and very challenging to photograph.

Except for the occasional scout, they were a little late showing up to the garden this year. But finally, this past Monday we had an emerald green hummer land on our feeder.

As you might imagine, Hummingbirds get their name from the humming sound their wings make when in flight. They hover at rapid wing-flapping rates, which vary from around 12 beats per second in the largest species to 99 per second in small hummingbirds (source: Wikipedia).

The feathers on a hummingbird don’t come from a specific pigment. Instead, the top layer contains prism-like cells that reflect the light (source: Hummingbird Info). Look how shiny and multicolored this little guy is.

I’m a little rusty when it comes to capturing these cute garden fairies in flight. Normally, they fly at a speed of 25 – 30 miles per hour and when threatened they have a burst speed of 30 – 50 miles per hour (source: Hummingbird 101).

This was a lucky shot of this guy getting ready to leave the feeder.

I hope you enjoyed the fun facts about hummingbirds, today. Rest assured there will be more posts this summer of these beautiful creatures so stay tuned.

Until next time, have a great week and keep humming along.

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Keep Calm and Chirp On

May 10, 2026May 16, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 6 Comments

Happy Sunday, everyone! I’m still hanging out back with the bird feeders this week. There’s always lots of activity around them which makes for great photography opportunities.

Today, I’m featuring this cute fella which is a Tufted Titmouse. He’s a charming little songbird that belongs to the Chic-a-dee family.

According to Cornell Labs it can be found in the Eastern forests and is also a frequent visitor to bird feeders. An interesting fact about them, is they can’t excavate their own nest cavities. Instead, they are dependent on natural holes left by woodpeckers. I guess you could say this is a great example of “one man’s (um, bird’s) trash is another man’s treasure?!”

Hmmm. It looks like they’re also talented in gathering their food upside down. I really don’t know what this was about, but, hey it seemed to work for him. Who am I to argue?

I hope everyone has a great week!

Until next time, “keep calm and chirp on.”

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Dine and Dash

May 3, 2026May 2, 2026 / Donna Robinson Photography / 2 Comments

“I asked a bird for advice. It said to just wing it.”

There was a group of finches hanging out at the feeder the other day. They all seemed to be having a good time, except for the middle one.

He was either uncomfortable with the company or was in a hurry to get to another feeder, because he never really settled in to eat, except for just a few bites.