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The Surprise
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The Surprise

by Dottie Short

Gallery: AvianPosted July 1, 201080 views10 comments
I was walking along Clear Creek in Nassau Bay Texas getting accustomed to a borrowed D300s and practicing hand holding, when much to my surprise a great white heron landed close to me. I was quietly stand under low-hung branches of a tree, so I supposed she did not see me at first. I was able to fire off a good number of images before the heron was surprised and took off. She flew off as I was shooting and the last image was of two black legs :jump:

D300s, 70-300@ 300mm, F/8.0, 1/500, ISO 400, RAW, hand held

PP No crop, set white/black point PS, sharpening Nik

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 1, 2010 at 11:07 PM
Nice, Dottie. The image really gives the impression of the size of these birds. Good detail and exposure. I think a little less dof would have helped smooth out the bg-I find the texture a bit distracting. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Harbour on July 2, 2010 at 1:14 AM
Beautiful capture, Dottie. I like the pose with the stretched out neck. and the nice head position you caught.
Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on July 2, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Dottie, I agree that you did well with exposure and detail in the whites, and also got a nice pose. I find most of the setting pleasant but feel like the tree at right is a little distracting--perhaps a step or two to the right could have removed it, but it is always hard for me to remember things like that in the field.
Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 2, 2010 at 1:52 PM
I think you really well here Dottie, nice exposure and your comp works for me. :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Dottie Short on July 2, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Brian, I didn't see that tree until I downloaded it on the computer. I think I do have another image without the tree. I'll find some time to repost soon. Thanks for your comments. Dottie
Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 4, 2010 at 2:28 PM
Dottie,

I like the pose of your egret (this isn't a great white heron, it is a Great Egret) and how it shows comfort in your presence. It looks focused on what it landed for. I like the compostion with the exception of the bits of blue sky at the top, I find those little bits pull my eyes away from the egret. I think the greens could be desaturated a small amount.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Dottie Short on July 4, 2010 at 3:44 PM
Good catch Mia! My mind thought egret my fingers typed heron. Thank you for the suggestions and comments.
Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 4, 2010 at 8:45 PM
My pleasure Dottie!
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Angela McCain on July 14, 2010 at 11:19 PM
Dottie- Just seeing this post. I like it and the no crop is quite impressive. Must have felt huge this close up.
Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 24, 2010 at 6:14 PM
The long graceful lines of the bird come through well in your vertical comp Dottie,
good hand-held work. Exposure, color, and details look great, like the BG too :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments