great blue heron

comments appreciated, thank you!

Beautifully captured. Regards.

Beautiful image. Regards, Jean-Marc

Excellent shot Richard....as these are such shy birds.

Thank you very much, Sonali, Jean-Marc and Keith!

Super image Dick, the sharp details of the Heron & branches are well captured.The completely black background helps create a 3D effect in a very natural seting.Well done. Best regards- Ross

Thank you, Ross! I took this last summer when I was getting used to my 80-400mm VR zoom. It was shot from the bow of my boat with the bird on the shore. My daughter drives the boat while I take pictures:-)

 

Best regards,

 

Dick

WOW, that's a sharp image shot from a boat, what shutter speed did you use? I always use a tripod,mirror lockup remote switch & I find at times my images aren't as sharp as I would like them to be. A thought is developing in the dim recess of my mind that perhaps using an ISO of 100 is giving too slow a shutter speed.Buildings don't move but there is always movement in nature, however slight, so perhaps wil try an ISO of 400 which I use for shots without a tripod.. Cheers-Ross

I love the lighting and texture. Good job!

Thank you very much, Kathy!

 

Ross, I shot this at f8, 1/800 sec, iso 800 with the lens at 400 mm. The bird was fairly still as was the water and the boat. There is simply no way that I could get to where these birds are on my lake with a tripod. I believe in tripods but I don't yet have a good one or much experience using them. Another member of PN, Mark Bartosik, shoots handheld with a Canon 1D MkIII and a 500mm prime. He gets excellent results and I spent a lot of time reading about how he does it and practicing. It's very much like shooting a high powered rifle accurately. Timing, relaxation, breathing and luck! Lots of luck and a summer filled with shooting heron photos produced a few that I thought I could share here. The next step is a 500mm f4 VR Nikkor, Gitzo tripod, ball head and sturdy L-plate, and more practice and luck!

 

Have a good night!

 

Dick