Great Blue Heron thread

Steve....I think you had a moment as well! Nicely captured!

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Originally Posted by jeeperman

Steve....I think you had a moment as well! Nicely captured!

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Thank you paul, i have my moments as well...............:) Not too many of them tonight. Faught the whitebalance all night. I think i like the morning light much better. At least untill the leaves come on.

On a good note, i found another tree which i hope will give me the close shots i'm after.

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Originally Posted by Steve S

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...dit-Edit-3.jpg

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Amazing, such dramatic lighting and what a pose. I don't know how much you are cropping on these but there are many of them that would look fine with more context. I'm not saying I don't like the close ups I love them, but I'm thinking you have 2 shots with a lot of these. I thought last years were great but I do think these are even better. You seem to have a better viewpoint this year and the light you are getting is just incredible.

Wendy

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Originally Posted by Steve S

They have their moments. :) One from tonight.......................................

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...w-2-Edit-3.jpg

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This flying heron I like so much. Just taken on that special flying moment. It is really a topper for me.
I have uploaded also a not so normal flying heron. I call this one the ‘low pass, low speed’ heron. Yours is way much better in light and background. Hopefully you get more of those.
Jan
http://i56.tinypic.com/243g9sh.jpg

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Originally Posted by Jan de Vries

This flying heron I like so much. Just taken on that special flying moment. It is really a topper for me.
I have uploaded also a not so normal flying heron. I call this one the ‘low pass, low speed’ heron. Yours is way much better in light and background. Hopefully you get more of those.
Jan
http://i56.tinypic.com/243g9sh.jpg

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Don't sell yourself short jan, that is a fantastic shot. Great shutter speed, wing tips almost touching the ground, nice shadow.............i like it alot.

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Originally Posted by ScoutR

Amazing, such dramatic lighting and what a pose. ~

I thought last years were great but I do think these are even better. You seem to have a better viewpoint this year and the light you are getting is just incredible.

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That's what I was thinking too :)

Excellent pictures Steve.

Cheers,

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Originally Posted by ScoutR

Amazing, such dramatic lighting and what a pose. I don't know how much you are cropping on these but there are many of them that would look fine with more context. I'm not saying I don't like the close ups I love them, but I'm thinking you have 2 shots with a lot of these. I thought last years were great but I do think these are even better. You seem to have a better viewpoint this year and the light you are getting is just incredible.

Wendy

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Thanks wendy, i appreciate your input. I would like to show some more context, but it is just soooooooooo:) hard to pan and get a clean shot in the woods like that. Unless they land on the top of the tree, you can't get a clean shot. They usually are in the open as they come in, and then fly to the opposite side of the tree to land.

I shot a pano of the whole tree last year, with great hopes of a good shot, and it was a flop. No detail on the birds , in a maze of branches. I need to be in the perfect spot to get a clean background, to shoot wider. I did find one more tree, that i hope will give me the shots i want. I also just remembered a small nest site on a remote lake i might get some awesome wide angle (and close up ) shots . I'm going to scout it out this week and see if it is active.

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Originally Posted by Dave Humphries

That's what I was thinking too :)

Excellent pictures Steve.

Cheers,

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Thank you dave, i appreciate it. Everyone else has posted some great shots too, give them a little credit as well. :)

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Originally Posted by Steve S

Thank you dave, i appreciate it. Everyone else has posted some great shots too, give them a little credit as well. :)

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Yes you are absolutely right Steve,

My apologies to the other contributors - you are all displaying excellent results here - far better than mine.

.... but the standard here wouldn't be as high without your lead Steve ;) :cool:

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...3&d=1301523776

Rookery is off limits, so I took this from the highway. This is pushing my camera and sharpening skills to their feeble limits, but I liked the pose. Herons in love.

I am humbled by the beautiful pictures everyone posted. Mine is not sharp, nor crisp nor clear, but has a rather painterly feel. I don't need a critique....ah well, it seemed a good idea, anyway.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...8&d=1301709350

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Originally Posted by Marie Hass

I am humbled by the beautiful pictures everyone posted. Mine is not sharp, nor crisp nor clear, but has a rather painterly feel. I don't need a critique....ah well, it seemed a good idea, anyway.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...8&d=1301709350

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That's a great composition marie. Maybe clean up the limbs on the right and add some space to the left.

Here is one for wendy..........................a little more background :) ISO 1000 didn't help it too much though.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...w-2-Edit-3.jpg

The weather has been terrible for the last couple weeks. It's been cold and rainy and i don't like going up to the roost when its cold. They have some eggs now and when i climb the tree i bump them off the nest for a little while. I didn't want anything to happen to the young so i stayed away untill better weather.

Today was warm enough, but the light wasn't what i wanted, but not too bad either. So far the best lighting has been in the morning.
I got a few more good flying shots and a breeding sequence. Can't wait for the young to hatch. :)

Here is one approaching the nest from a new angle. I got a new tree pruned out today. Only 35 feet to my waist. :)

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...2-2-Edit-3.jpg


And one from last time landing......................

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...w-2-Edit-3.jpg

That last shot is surreal. I'm liking it.

Very nice Steve. I feel your pain on the weather. It has been raining here for a while and yesterday and today we had snow! Can't wait to see the hatchling shots!

Thanks guy's.


The shake........................After sitting on the eggs for a while, they will get up from time to time and roll the eggs, stretch, and shake their feathers like this................................

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...2-2-Edit-3.jpg

The last landing heron is unique for me. Great shot.
Last years I try to use always the diagonal method to crop. The diagonal from the right corner goes perfect through the eye of the heron.
Is the diagonal method known to you or match your feeling how it looks great so good to this method?

Regards Jan

This thread is just getting better and better.

Not even going to try and comment on individual images. Am just going to slowly scroll through them, enjoy them enormously and remain open-jawed at skill deployed in capturing them and presenting them as the finished article.

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Originally Posted by Jan de Vries

The last landing heron is unique for me. Great shot.
Last years I try to use always the diagonal method to crop. The diagonal from the right corner goes perfect through the eye of the heron.
Is the diagonal method known to you or match your feeling how it looks great so good to this method?

Regards Jan

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Thanks for the post jan, very interesting. To be honest , i crop my images a very simple way. I keep what i like and get rid of what i don't . Usually this will dictate the crop size, and then i will try to place the key parts on or near a 1/3's line, but not always. Rules are just a guidline.