Great Blue Heron, Profile

please view larger, thank you!

Beautiful portrait. Very nice. Regards, Jean-Marc

Handheld at 400mm, no less! Very nice. My favorite GBH shots are the ones that put the bird in some context other than swampy water. This has that distinctly Up North feel to it, which is so refreshing.

Thank you, Jean-Marc and Matt!

 

Matt, I took this from the bow of my fishing boat, which is a fairly stable platform. The bird was on the shore fishing for bass. The water was very calm and I just shut off the motor and let the boat slowly drift forward. Right after I took this shot the bird put his head down into the shadows and got a rock bass. I was able to get 5 shots with the bass in it's bill. But, the shadow screwed me and my shutter speed dropped to 1/80 at f8 which just wasn't fast enough to overcome the motion blur. I've been trying to keep the iso down but at f8 at 400mm you need a lot of light. I really appreciate your comment. (the 500mm f4 AF-S VR II is in my dreams)

 

Dick

Sharp eye, (and beak).cher..

I agree with the comment concerning the slightly unexpected context. Presenting the subject against this background of hemlock (?) provides a delightful surprise, not to mention helps to accentuate with color and texture the dramatic impact of the heron's presence.

Thank you, Bernard and cher!

Dick