Green Heron

Gallery: AvianPosted July 17, 201194 views8 comments

This is one of those species that has eluded me for a long time. There actually is one that lives in the canal behind my house but I only happen to see it in low lighting conditions. Over the weekend however I was lucky to find this bird working the marshes while the sun was heading down - I let my kayak drift toward it and shot away before it skulked back into the grasses.

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC HH from kayak
f/6.7
1/800s
ISO 500
Natural Light

Cropped to 73% of FF, sharpened using smart sharpen in CS5 on 27" iMac

- Luke

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on July 17, 2011 at 10:30 PM

Nice work Luke, the light is great on this, details on the heron are excellent and even the dirt looks good. Green Heron's have eluded me too, hoping to get a shot of one this summer. Great job.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on July 17, 2011 at 11:00 PM

Something about the warm light is somewhat hypnotic for me. Detail on the heron is good in the larger view. I like the earth bank at the bottom as it contrasts well with the reeds. Kool!

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on July 18, 2011 at 12:29 AM

Excellent capture, I love your comp. and the grasses behind!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 18, 2011 at 7:39 AM

Great natural setting, details, and well composed. I've found that late afternoon light can either make or break the shot..It can be tricky..So it's a well managed exposure here, you did good

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on July 18, 2011 at 10:43 AM

Very nice warm tones here Luke. Nice comp and sharpness on the eye. Green herons appear to be elusive in the Pacific NW also. I saw them several times about 5 years ago near my home but haven't seen one since. Plenty of GBH though; 28 yesterday over a 200 foot stretch.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 18, 2011 at 10:45 AM

Great light and nice habitat, Luke. The Heron seems just a bit soft to my eye. I like the pose and great eye contact.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on July 18, 2011 at 12:45 PM

Very nice: light, detail, composition all work together here.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on July 18, 2011 at 9:41 PM

The light and the bird coming out of the reeds make this shot for me Luke. Sharpness looks pretty good to me and I like your composition.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments