Woman and Nature - Hummingbird Moth

The bravest of several dozen kin, this sphinx moth decided to carry out his natural duty even after Lesli picked the flower.

We found a lot of them feeding in a patch of dandilions along a hike though the canyon forest. Sphinx moths love the desert; I've seen them here ( in Uinta National Forest ) and in the canyons of Zion National Park. These were less afraid of humans, and they let me approach as close as my lens would. Frustratingly, with some magnification the moths move faster than a D60's autofocus can track. Eventually I gave up on AF, and started to focus manually, when I heard my name, spun around, and saw one of the insects eating right out of Lesli's hand. By instinct I lifted the camera to my eye, and managed two exposures before the insect flew off. This is the "Hail Mary Pass" of photography.