BLADENBORO — Hummingbirds, bees, flowers and trees collide together at the new art exhibit at the Bladenboro Historical Society building.
It was born out of necessity, but quickly became something born out of passion.
“I was a geologist,” he said.
Geologist by trade, he ended up becoming an amateur photographer with a unique ability to grab a hold of a singular moment in time — and turn it into something extraordinary.
“My pictures were for documentation,” he said.
Singletary said he used to travel with work, having visited 16 different states and Canada.
“Then there was the 10 states I went to on vacation,” he said.
This is when he started to bloom, with a simple Nikon camera, and taking pictures of flowers and scenery and birds and the pretty things that caught his eye.
“Then some personal issues brought me home, to Bladenboro,” he said.
Having spent most of his time in Wake County, Singletary moved back into his home from childhood.
“So I started taking pictures of birds,” he said. “You have to feed them to get them used to you.”
He said the secret was getting the birds used to him.
“They react to the feeder and come to you,” he said, explaining how he loves to sit on his porch and watch them.
And sometimes the birds watch him.
“I realized that sneaking up on them didn’t work,” he said.
Singletary said that if you sat on the porch and were super still, the birds would react as soon as you moved to push the button to take a picture, causing you to lose the shot. Sometimes a little movement caused you to blend in better than if you would sit still as a monument.
All it takes to get started is a few things. Sugar water for the hummingbirds, some bird seed, and a bit of patience.
“The most important thing to have is a good, comfortable chair,” he said.
That chair, which is situated so close to home, has been the stage for numerous shots.
“They are used to me,” he said. “These pictures are taken 200 feet from my front door.”
One of Singletary’s tricks of the trade has been learning the habits.
“They are so skittish, and so fast,” he said, of his beloved hummingbirds.
Like clockwork, Singletary says they show up each year right at the tail end of March and the first of April.
“The get used to me,” he said. “I wear the same clothes, or the same hat. I have had some close encounters.”
He says there have been times where they would fly between his face and a feeder, so close, almost within a breathe’s space.
“Sometimes it’s just about sitting still and being ready,” he said.
There’s a timing element, he says, and it’s about being ready, and being close to where they are going to be, and snapping that shot.
For some birds it’s about having more than a feeder, it’s about having things as simple as a bird bath.
“It’s waiting your turn,” he said. “Sometimes it’s numb fingers and fire ants.”
Henry Singletary will be more more than willing to share his knowledge of bird migratory patterns and secrets involving hummingbird feeders.
Henry Singletary has a magnificent art exhibit at the Bladenboro Historical Society building in the art gallery. What began as a necessity for work quickly because a hobby and a passion.