Green Heron Stalking

Gallery: AvianPosted August 10, 2014103 views10 comments

Thought it was time for a break from the owls, although I'm sure there are many more coming!

This is definitely one of those "does this work?" posts. I photographed this green heron at a wetlands in central FL last spring and expected to post it shortly after returning home, but could never decide if it was worthy. To be honest, while I was photographing this guy, I thought I might have some of my best images of a wading bird to date, and I was quite disappointed when I opened the files up for closer evaluation, so that kind of took some of the motivation away. I do love his intense look and algae(?)-covered foot suspended as it quietly and slowly stalked forward.

I took this immediately before the heron attacked what it (and I) thought was a water snake. He struck with amazing speed and pulled back for all he was worth, using his wings for extra leverage in what seemed might be a two-way life and death struggle. After several seconds, I started wondering if that was in fact a snake, and a few seconds later, he realized his mistake and flew off, the submersed root he had determined to kill none the worse for wear.

I did have to clone out one extremely distracting foreground reed from the right half of the frame.

I'm curious to hear if you feel the reflection is an asset or liability here. When I get a reflection, I'm always compelled to retain it, but wondered if I should crop from the bottom to eliminate it.

Many thanks for your time and consideration...

LARGER version provided

Field Notes:
Photographed from near water level with my tripod slammed down WAY too close to the water's edge for being in gator country
Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 200-400mm f/4 IF-ED VR @ 400mm
ISO 1250
1/400sec @ f/5
-0.7EV
Tripod mounted with Wimberley Sidekick

Processing Notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7 with adjustments to colour temperature, curves and image size (cropping)
Adjustments to tone and contrast using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and Viveza 2 with additional selective curves adjustments in PS5
Noise reduction using Nik Dfine 2.0
Cloned distracting OOF reed from right third and minor encroaching vegetation from bottom left
Cropped to app. 80% original width

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on August 10, 2014 at 8:52 PM

Hi John,

This is a very solid shot. I like the low POV a lot as well as the raised foot on the heron. It adds interest to the image. He does look pretty intense. Great comp. Yes it "works"!

PS: I just saw your nice comment on my Pelican post, thanks. It's nice to meet you.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on August 10, 2014 at 9:38 PM

I like the nice low perspective. The heron is also very share with great feather detail. You did a great job with the exposure considering the bright patches on the water. I always struggle with shots with different brightness zones.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 10, 2014 at 10:46 PM

This is definitely one where it pays to look at the larger image, John. For some reason it gives an entirely different feel than the smaller image, and I find I like it. The reflection doesn't really add anything to the image for me, but it's not obtrusive, so I think I'd keep it, especially as I like the composition the way it is. Did you get any shots of the Heron fighting with the stick?

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on August 11, 2014 at 5:43 PM

Thanks for the initial input and feedback, Steve, Jerry and Dennis!

Dennis, I did fill my buffer on the D600 once or twice during the struggle, but sadly did not have the light to get solid action shots during the epic battle with the root. He also flailed around so much that I was mostly behind him, sadly! I'll revisit that folder of images and see if there's one I could post as a follow-up here. Thanks for asking!

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

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on August 11, 2014 at 7:50 PM

John- I echo Dennis' remarks about this image. I think the LP is very solid and gives one a totally different look. I think the reflection has a place in the scene, or not- you could crop up and remove it without affecting the overall image IMO. I might also consider a tighter crop, especially from the right as I think you have plenty of terrain to imply habitat- assuming you the the pixels.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 11, 2014 at 8:27 PM

Nice hunting pose, good detail in the large image, I can take or leave the reflection, and I agree with cropping from the right.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 12, 2014 at 10:48 PM

Hi John, I liked the raised foot and the low POV on this. I personally don't feel the reflection adds much here since it is only a partial reflection and the fact the eye is not visible. If this were mine, I might crop this a bit tighter since the OOF FG really isn't adding much.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 13, 2014 at 4:51 PM

I like the top half of the frame here John, nice colors and the heron looks very good. The bottom with the bright water and reflection which is muddled by the oof vegetation doesn't do much for me. Do you have more room at the top? Perhaps adding some there and cropping some off the bottom would improve this.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on August 15, 2014 at 1:52 AM

John,
What a neat capture. Love the partial reflection although I'd love to be able to see the eye a little bit better in the reflection. I love that you kept the reflection (I'm a sucker for keeping any reflection I can as well) and I love the habitat you kept in the shot. Definitely worth keeping this. I really like this a lot John. Love the raised foot with algae. Nice job!

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

Comment posted by Sharon Lane on August 17, 2014 at 6:02 PM

Hi John,
This is one of my favorite birds with their intense yellow eyes. Normally I am a "love reflections" kinda person, but . . . when I viewed the larger image I placed a sheet of paper over the lower half of the image and actually liked it better without the reflection. It is a little distracting from an outstanding shot. And I like the "rougher" looking water better.

Nice!

Registered on August 13, 2009, 15 Posts, 51 Comments