Rare Albino Hummingbird Photographed by Amateur

12/19/2011

A fifteen year old amateur photographer named Marlin Shank recently captured some images of an exceedingly rare creature: an albino hummingbird. 

Photography is a great way for people of all ages to connect with nature.  Marlin Shank's photos of the albino hummingbird have been making the rounds on various online birding groups and Marlin's dad Kevin wrote a great nature photography lesson for Nature Friend magazine, which published the photos.

Albinism is a genetic condition that results in a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair, scales or feathers of an animal.  Typically an albino creature has blood-red eyes, which adds to its odd, otherwordly appearance. 

It's a relatively rare condition, and photographing such an quick-moving example of it as this albino hummingbird is a rare feat indeed.  Great job Marlin!

Photos by Marlin Shank/Nature Friend magazine.

Comments

[Roberta Ramos]

congratulations!!! Parabéns! excelente foto!

[Heather]

Incredible! I'm jealous.. ;o) Hummingbirds are my favorite, Great Job!

[naturegal]

These are fabulous pictures of an incredibly difficult animal to photograph clearly. Young Mr. Shank obviously has a gift and talent, I hope he continues to develop it (no pun intended). An albino hummingbird is such a marvelously intriguing creature !

[June]

What a GREAT job he did! And how beautiful is that bird?

[jeanne]

I don't imagine I'd ever have seen one otherwise - thank you, Marlin!

[gina]

Looks like a tiny angel, I love hummingbirds, never knew that albinos even existed. Great pic!!

[ZaCloud]

Superb job with the camera! Marlin really nailed the shutter-speed and aperture settings, and somehow managed to focus perfectly on such a fast-moving animal. You're good, dude! Thanks for bringing us these awesome photos!

It's rare for something this awesome to be discovered, AND for the one who's there to happen to be a REALLY good photographer so we can get a truly good look. So, we're all very fortunate that these elements combined.

Gorgeous, beautiful bird. And awesome skills!

[Jeevan Khadka]

great job .

[Shahid Abbasi]

Great pictures

[Shahid Abbasi]

Great pictures

[Kamran]

Awesome

[A.F. for Animal Planet]

AWESOME!

[ronie]

cool, wish i could see one.

[bulgarian lawyer]

Fantastic pictures and excellent work. May encourage Marlin to continue this good job!

[Dennis Hayes]

Would love to know photo technical details. Camera and lens make and models, ISO setting(s), speed(s), f-stop(s), tripod used?, flash used?, editing software if any, amount of editing if any, and finally how long did it take to get these fantistic shots?

[Dennis Hayes]

Would love to know photo technical details. Camera and lens make and models, ISO setting(s), speed(s), f-stop(s), tripod used?, flash used?, editing software if any, amount of editing if any, and finally how long did it take to get these fantistic shots?

[Pat in Raleigh]

And he's only 15 . . . take Note National Geographic, here's your next photojournalist! Stunning photos, just stunning.

[bigyank]

What a great photo!!!! Hey, everyone, you should see their magazine too!

[digital cameras]

Both the pictures and its contained message are beautiful, to have captured such a rare specimen on film is truly a blessing. I just hope these wildlife continue to live in the actual world and not just in pictures.

[nude photography]

These are amazing shots, just goes to show that age isn't a major determinant of skill. Good job, 15yr old Marlin!

[Адидас]

Amazing catches, wow. Great work!

[Зоя]

It's so beautiful, I love birds.
Really great work Marlin congrats.