Least Bittern

Gallery: AvianPosted June 9, 2010142 views12 comments

D300, 500mm f/4, tripod
ISO 400, 1/400 sec at f/9 - full frame, except cropped to 10 x 8 format
Photo taken Feb. 19, 2010 at Viera Wetlands, FL
I was sitting quietly near the edge of the water waiting for an American Bittern to move enough so that the reeds were not obstructing the head of the bird when this Least Bittern landed to my right and started feeding, walking in my direction. I was able to get a number of
shots, none without OOF reeds in the foreground. I used the clone tool to minimize, but not eliminate the OOF foreground elements.
Comments and suggestions most welcome.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on June 9, 2010 at 7:34 PM

Very cool. I would love one of those

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on June 9, 2010 at 10:14 PM

super pose, great details, very nice habitat. for me the only minor nit is that the bill seems slightly less sharp than the breast, it looks like this was due to the oof foreground reed.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 9, 2010 at 11:02 PM

Beautiful, David. Gorgeous detail in the plumage and a nice pose. Completely different from the other David's , but I like them both.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on June 9, 2010 at 11:39 PM

I like the stalking pose David, and the image makes me feel I'm down there in the swamp.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on June 9, 2010 at 11:48 PM

Hi David,
Good that you were able to get one of these out in the open. Colors and setting look nice. It appears the focus was near the front of the wing as the head seems a bit soft. Looks like the cloning tool caused some funky effects in the reeds below the bill.
Thanks for posting,
Ronnie G.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on June 10, 2010 at 5:07 AM

David,,,,,It's great to see one of these guys out in the open for a change. The setting is great as is the color and pose in the soft light. The eye is less sharp than the feathers just ahead of the wing so I'm guessing that was the focus point. I tend to get stuck on that.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 10, 2010 at 6:19 AM

Love the low angle , the footwork and those neat reeds.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on June 10, 2010 at 7:07 AM

What a nice cooperative little bittern you have there David - I'm afraid our equivalent doesn't leave its cover. Great shot

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 10, 2010 at 12:50 PM

Nice full frame shot, good feather detail, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on June 11, 2010 at 12:30 AM

Congrats, David. I'd love to photograph one these close up like this.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on June 12, 2010 at 6:18 PM

Nice job of removing the OOF foreground reeds, David. We can just discern them but they don't disturb our view of the bird. Lovely image of this bird: nice detail and color.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on June 12, 2010 at 11:52 PM

David,
I would love to get one of these out in the open. They are always in and around clutter. This is a really fine image David. Very sharp feather detail, spot on exposure, and the dead reeds don't bother me at all. I understand the removal of the apparently green reeds in the foreground as they would be distracting. The only real nit, and it's a small one, would be the SLIGHTLY soft eye and beak tip. I would love to have this in my Gallery David. The bird gods were with you that day. Looking forward to more of your images.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments