A renowned local wildlife photographer is spending some time this summer with the bugs and birds, hummingbirds and wasps, to be precise.

Dennis Fast, of Steinbach, is filming some impressive duels between feisty red-throated hummingbirds and determined wasps.

"Quite often, the wasp wins the battle," he says. "They go beak to beak, or whatever you want to call it, and I've seen them going up into the air and they're still sort of nose to nose, and nobody wants to give, but the hummingbird will finally give up. But... sometimes, the hummingbird gets its revenge."

Dennis FastFast has captured some videos of those battles where each party is victorious. He says slow-motion video allows the viewer to really see the details of impressive maneuvers, things we would miss in real-time. A one-second clip of a hummingbird becomes five seconds worth of detailed, slow-moving video.

"So, if you get four or five seconds, which is pretty good, now we're talking. You've got 20 seconds of video of some slow-motion action and it's really helpful for seeing detail."

These spectacular videos are being shared with the public as Fast continues to be passionate about education as well as photography and wildlife.

"I'm a long-time educator," Fast explains. "And I love to inspire people. I've done a lot of photography workshops and even birding workshops. So, anytime I can inspire people, in particular in these times when people are maybe a little discouraged, a little more housebound, hey, let's cheer them up a little, right?"

Schools have often been a place for Fast to share his knowledge and experiences, speaking with groups of students. The pandemic put a hold on those opportunities, so the internationally recognized wildlife photographer turned to other stages, such as various media platforms, to continue sharing his passion.