August 24 was the last day of the spring 2024 Hackberry Farm Day Camp Photography Workshops. We ended the season with a great group of folks who witnessed the most impressive hummingbird displays to have ever happened here at Hackberry Farm.
July and August, however, were full of surprises. Â
Back in May, we hosted our macro photography day camp, and in June, fireflies and moonlight photography were the topics. July brought us starry sky photography (that we had to reschedule), and then in August, we did some starry sky photography, astrophotography, and moonlight photography, along with the surprise of the year.
They are great fun if you've never been to one of our day camps. Typically, people show up early in the day, and after a bit of instruction, we get going with the task at hand - taking pictures. It's a hands-on approach to photography that's heavy on the practice and the practical side of photography. Even though most of our guests at the Hackberry Farm Day Camp Photography Workshops travel from nearby, recently, we've had guests come from as far as Maryland and South Dakota to enjoy a day of photography and fellowship.
In June, the fireflies didn't disappoint, and we had a full house of photographers who came to witness the spectacle of thousands of fireflies lighting up the night. A week later, a full moon lit the June night, providing an eerie glow that painted the landscape.
Come July, we had an astrophotography session planned, but cloudy skies thwarted our efforts, so we rescheduled until August.
In early August, the skies were clear and dark enough that we accomplished a bit of Milky Way photography and star trails and even photographed some deep-space objects. A few days later, we had another reschedule on the star trails. On this private workshop, we'd hoped to photograph star trails with the Perseid meters overhead. We got meteors, but we also got much more than we'd bargained for.
When we do star trails, it's not uncommon for us to deploy the cameras and leave them overnight to do their thing. Hackberry Farm is private, so the cameras are safe when left unattended. Then, early the next morning, I'll go retrieve the cameras. When set properly, the cameras will contain hundreds of photos that we can then stack into cylindrical star trails. Most of the time, the camera's batteries die before the cards fill up.
On August 12, after a night of hopefully capturing star trails and Perseids meters, I started scrolling through the images after replacing the batteries on the camera. About mid-scroll, I saw something that amazed me. A strong solar storm and clear, dark skies were the perfect combination, and for the second time this year, the aurora borealis was visible here in North Texas.
The natural wonders didn't stop there. I woke up yesterday to prepare for our annual hummingbird day camp. I try to plan this hummingbird event to coincide with the start of the fall migration. I've often heard that it's better to be lucky than good, and yesterday, luck shined down on the farm.Â
Standing at the barn at sunrise, the hummingbirds swarmed the feeders. It was a beautiful sight. Even though the temperatures outside strained the mercury, the hummingbirds fed in big numbers all day, giving folks a chance to shoot hummingbirds in flight and perch on what I call "The World's Most Famous Hummingbird Stick."
All in all, the camps came to a ceremonious end. This spring, we learned a lot, had some good food, enjoyed even better fellowship, and spent time with some fine folks. I appreciate everyone who came out this spring and summer.
I'll see you soon.
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We'll soon launch our Fall 2024 Day Camp Photography Workshops, so stay tuned for all of the details.
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