Eclipse Herons

Gallery: AvianPosted December 11, 2011244 views20 comments

I took this during Saturday's lunar eclipse. We didn't get the full eclipse here in central Kansas, but it was still fun to watch. These Great Blue Herons were sitting perfectly still on the ice, and the light from the moon was bathing the ice, creating this scene. I blended separate focus points for the birds and the moon, as well as exposures. The exact placement of the moon horizontally is accurate, and I did my best to estimate the height when this series was made. I think the color balance is fairly accurate, but any suggestions would be welcome. C&C always welcome and appreciated. Width wise, this is only a small crop, 456 mm, ISO 400, f/8

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on December 11, 2011 at 1:16 AM

This is fantastic Rob! Really well composed, and I like the narrower vertical format. Nicely done!

Registered on February 26, 2011, 58 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on December 11, 2011 at 1:16 AM

Rob: are you kidding me? This is exceptional! Exceptionally envisioned and exceptionally executed. Congratulations on creating this image. Wow.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Frye on December 11, 2011 at 6:38 AM

Picture is a wall-hanger

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 11, 2011 at 7:50 AM

Rob, You have truly blown me away. Scott is correct; this is a wall hanger. What was your shutter speed for the image of the birds? You have composed this image beautifully.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on December 11, 2011 at 8:22 AM

Your wording "bathing the ice" is spot on. I love the lighting in this image, and agree...it's a wall hanger! Well seen and well done! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on December 11, 2011 at 8:32 AM

Fine image! Good tech and skill in creating this photo. Thanks for sharing. Bet it was cold!

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 11, 2011 at 8:58 AM

Sweet shot Rob. The only thing I would consider doing is removing the three lights in the distant BG. The ones that form the flatish triangle. Other than that this is supurb.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 11, 2011 at 9:07 AM

Rob, this is really fantastic. A beautiful composition and a beautiful image. I'd remove the half-dozen or so city lights (?) on the horizon and hang this on the wall.

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 11, 2011 at 9:26 AM

Great job on the PP can't tell that so much work was done

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on December 11, 2011 at 10:27 AM

Beautiful image, so creative, and with masterful postprocessing.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on December 11, 2011 at 11:11 AM

Thanks everybody for the comments. I meant to remove the tower lights, and will definitely do so. John, the temps were in the low 20s, but there was little to no wind, so overall not bad at all. The whole experience was very cool though. I had originally planned to photograph the eclipse about a mile farther around the "loop", but when I saw the herons in perfect position, and they didn't spook, I changed plans :). I was very surprised that they didn't fly off until just before sunrise, as I was moving constantly to follow the changing angle of the moon light. Harry, the exposure for the birds was 2.5s, the sky was 6s, and the moon was 1/160s.

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on December 11, 2011 at 11:59 AM

I agree with the others Rob. This would be great printed large and hanging in the right spot.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on December 11, 2011 at 12:50 PM

Wow! Beautiful work and oh so nice I'll bet to be at the proverbial "right place at the right time!"

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

Comment posted by Etienne Artigau on December 11, 2011 at 1:07 PM

Wow... just WOW! This pictures brings into a single image both of my passions, bird photography and astronomy!

Étienne

Registered on January 17, 2006, 55 Posts, 104 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on December 12, 2011 at 10:44 AM

Rob, I like your vision here! Good job with the processing as well! This is really nice as presented!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on December 12, 2011 at 5:34 PM

Stunning..just stunning!!!!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on December 13, 2011 at 7:57 PM

A wonderful image! Just great!

Ray

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 14, 2011 at 7:41 AM

Neat concept and you pulled if off nicely. Really interesting to read how you did this. I was out there in the cold shooting the eclipse too but had some difficulty with the exposure at the bottom of the moon as the eclipse progressed.

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

Comment posted by Rob Graham on December 14, 2011 at 11:27 PM

Thanks again, everybody. Ron, I haven't been able to successfully process a series from later in the eclipse for the same reason you mentioned. I haven't given up yet though :).

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on December 19, 2011 at 3:49 PM

Wow! I love your composition! Just an awesome image!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments