Green Heron

[jprzybyla]

I got out to my favorite marsh last Monday morning and found this Green Heron to be more than accommodating. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000, Nikon 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF shot at 300mm, 1/1250, F/8 & 5.6, ISO between 220-500

#1



#2



#3



#4



#5



#6



#7

[deetheturk]

Superb as usual Joe!

David

[Downrigger]

I'm with David. Superb is a fine word for these, Joe. I picture you and the heron is some sort of photographer-model relationship with you pacing about firing away exhorting expression, attitude, and gesture while the bird obliges moving from one pose and expression to the next, in response.

[bnnrcn]

Great shots..

[RichardTaylor]

Beautiful captures.

[Donald]

Every one a beauty, Joe. A pleasure to look at them.

[Dave Humphries]

Wow, I must try harder this year Joe, these are great, I'd like to at least try to get closer to them

[Ken Curtis]

Excellent shots, Dave. Well exposed and crystal clear.

[jamn4ex]

Too much of a good thing. Great series.

[Rita]

Great shots.

[IzzieK]

+7 for me...Great shot!

[AB26]

Hi Joe,

A set of really great shots. I love the composition in each and every one of them. The background bokhe is very pleasing and buttery. All of them are nice and sharp. Very well captured.

However, there is something I am missing in the images. When I look at bird shots I look for as much detail as possible in the feathers. In my humble opinion birds are colourful creatures and nailing exposure in a bird shot is critical, to capture those wonderful colours. I do believe you have nailed exposure in each of these shots. What I see on my screen are images that are a little de-saturated and that makes the images look a tad overexposed.

I took the liberty to edit #2 in an effort to illustrate to you what I mean. Adding just a tad of contrast and saturation brings out more detail in these shots of yours. If you disagree with my edit and you want me to remove it I will be obliged to do so.

[John 2]

Just excellent Joe. Loved looking at them.

[Plumcrak]

Stunning Joe, just plain stunning!! An absolute pleasure to view.

[Wavelength]

Classic images; well done

[Brownbear]

All absolutely gorgeous!

4, 6 and 8 are my favourites, likely just because I prefer the pose, and/or my interpretation of the mood of the bird.

[NorthernFocus]

Quite a photo shoot with that guy, Joe. Some nice poses, excellent detail, and a nice clean BG. Very uncharacteristically for your stuff, I have to (grudgingly) agree with Andre in that they seem JUST a tad flat. Particularly in the first couple of shots the head doesn't seem dark enough. A bit more contrast would make the already good detail really pop.

[jprzybyla]

Thank you all for viewing and commenting, I appreciate it very much. I am a little late in replying because I have been out in the field capturing more images. Yesterday at the rookery at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.

Andre and Dan, thank you for your suggestion and critique. The images were shot just before noon, the light was quite harsh so I lowered the contrast to dampen that. The two images you mentioned I have revisited and added more contrast. Thank you for your interest and suggestion.

[terrib]

He was cooperative! I always enjoy your photos, Joe. These are very nice, indeed!

[ajsmith]

All beautiful. Love the color and detail that you capture.