Great Blue Heron II

[Dick Jenkins]

We are looking into a Great Blue Heron nest where the four chicks are about to be fed by their mother. If you are familiar with this bird you will notice that mother doesn't have the typical markings, her head is almost pure white, she is a Wurdemann's Heron, a result of mating a GBH with a Great White Heron. She did however mate with a GBH. The chicks will not take on their final markings until after their first molting. The mother breaks lots of rules according to the National Audubon Society in that she is not (supposed) to be found north of Tampa, Florida. This bird resides on the Florida Panhandle.



The nest sits atop a 30 foot tall, broken pine. I am 40 feet from the base of the tree, shooting off a tripod with a Canon 50D, Canon f/2.8L, 300mm prime lens and 2X extender.

[jeeperman]

Nice shot, not one you will see everyday, that's for sure.

[MiniChris]

And one day, you will figure out how to post these pictures which I am sure are quite nice
Go to the primary forum page and read Donald's explanation on how to post your photographs. it is really quite easy once you get the hang of it. I think everyone on here is anticipating some striking photos. Whoohoo!

[MiniChris]

Nice shot, not one you will see everyday, that's for sure.

Is this tongue in cheek, or am I not seeing something everyone else is...? I see no photos at all and have remarked as so.

[jeeperman]

I see it. It is quite nice...... though is still missing proper posting, and is in thumbnail only.

[jiro]

That is really a wonder to see. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward seeing the bigger image soon.

[MiniChris]

Indeed...eagerly anticipated, nicely admired. Good shot.

[Peter Ryan]

Thanks for sharing Dick - great shot and what a great family to have nearby.

[Steve S]

Nice shot, even with the 2x converter. Can't wait for march, when they begin to nest here.

[Dick Jenkins]

Thanks all for your comments. I've written to the administrator with several questions regarding the features on the site. Obviously I have problems with properly posting images on this forum. I'm sure I'll be hearing back soon with answers to all my questions. In the meantime I HAVE created a gallery of 20 or so images, a little bit of everything that I shoot, perhaps you can have a look at them. The album is under my name and is entitled "Landscapes" many of which I had hopes of displaying. All of my panoramas are HDR and typically one or two row tall, measuring 6 to 8 feet in width so you can well understand my problem of how to properly display them. I'm lead to believe there is a way on the site. Chat with you all soon. Thanks again.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...chmentid=10222

[Klickit]

I just looked at your gallery, Dick and I can immediately see you will be able to scoop the pool in our competitions here. Some real stunners there.

[Corros]

Great picture! Fun to see this animal which I can see every day, but not this way (at my home town there are white and blue Herons).

[Dave Humphries]

Lovely shot Dick,

Lots of useful info too, thanks.

MOD PS: There were two identical threads, I got rid of the other one

[MiniChris]

You've done this before..eh? I showed these to my students today and they sat in stunned silence. After a few minutes, one said she figured it was time to toss in the camera and I reminded her there was a time when you were exactly where she is today. Rob's Allure shot had the same effect. There are some incredibly talented photographers in this forum and I hope we get to learn from you and the others. A colleague of mine remarked that she had seen one of your pieces in a show somewhere that was selling Blue Angel photographs. Did you fly with them or have you been in close proximity with them?

[Dick Jenkins]

Normally Chris I can figure out such things easily (uploading images). You suggested I go to the primary forum page to read Donald's blurb on how to post. Well I can't find the primary forum page. Here are my actions: (1) After entering my text for the post I clicked "Click here to upload photos from your computer" (2) tinypic upload pop-up appears. (3) I select "Choose File" from the pop-up. (4) I browse to my storage locations, my computer and select a file. (5) The file name appears in the tinypic pop-up. (6) I enter a tag word (7) I move to "Resize" and allow the window to cascade. (8) I choose "message board (640X480) (9) I click "Upload Now!" Now I'll have a look at the results. I assume I should select from the "Resize" window the message board size.

[Donald]

Normally Chris I can figure out such things easily (uploading images). You suggested I go to the primary forum page to read Donald's blurb on how to post.

Dick

It's not actually my post (it's Dave's ). I just keep referring people to it. If you click here you get it. I think you want to focus on Posts #1 and #2.

The secret is to make sure you follow ALL the steps in Post #2 and don't stop after step 3.

[Dick Jenkins]

Kit, You can always learn something from someone, that's my philosophy. There are things I can learn from you and vice versa.

[Dick Jenkins]

Great picture! Fun to see this animal which I can see every day, but not this way (at my home town there are white and blue Herons).

Cor, I am surprised to learn that the GBH is found in the Netherlands. When I think about it they are found clear up in Canada in America and they are hearty enough to stay through the winter. I know of this isolated spot here near home where they mate each spring and I have spent a considerable amount of time with them. I believe that is the main reason for my success in photographing them. This particular pair was one of 20 pairs in the rookery. I chose to follow this pair because I could easily recognize them because of the female's coloring. I found them 4 kilometers away from the nest fishing. Their day has a definite schedule and you will quickly learn to expect feeding and such to at specific times. You'll know when they are about to fly.

[Dick Jenkins]

Thank you Jiro, I'm looking forward to seeing your work.

[Dick Jenkins]

You've done this before..eh? I showed these to my students today and they sat in stunned silence. After a few minutes, one said she figured it was time to toss in the camera and I reminded her there was a time when you were exactly where she is today. Rob's Allure shot had the same effect. There are some incredibly talented photographers in this forum and I hope we get to learn from you and the others. A colleague of mine remarked that she had seen one of your pieces in a show somewhere that was selling Blue Angel photographs. Did you fly with them or have you been in close proximity with them?

I began photographing about 10 years ago. I knew of a man from my hometown in Connecticut who has long since retired as a newspaper photographer. He became my mentor and a very good one. He is always critical and doesn't pull punches. That's exactly what I wanted, not someone who would say, those are nice. Shooting the Blue Angels and sporting events is a rush. The subject is coming at you quickly, sometimes faster than 600 mph and you must learn which settings are appropriate to stop them. The Blues practice about 60 miles from our home, every Tuesday and Wednesday and I attended a practice a week for two seasons (they relocate to California for 3 months during the winter) again until I could predict their every move. All my images were taken on the ground however many of the aircraft shots look differently. Being familiar with your subject is very important. Tell your students that anything that is worthwhile takes a lot of effort, and to be good you must exert that effort on a continual basis. I'm 73 years old and fighting the clock and that perhaps increases my intensity.