Tricolored Heron

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Taken at Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel.

-- Robert Pailes (rpailes@peganet.com), October 20, 1998

Answers

What a great action shot. The only thing that bugs me is how the bird slightly blends in with the BG at near the top of the wings. Other wise a wonderful photo.

-- Tait Stangl (taits@usa.net), October 20, 1998.

Nice work Robert. I'd prefer a square framing since there are so many dynamic elements (feet, neck, wings) and the right space doesn't contribute anything.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), October 20, 1998.

Great light, great exposure, great bird. I really like the pattern produced by shadow of the primaries at the base of this bird's wing.

-- Peter May (peter.may@stetson.edu), October 20, 1998.

Amazing photo!

As usual, I'm curious as to the equipment used and how close you were to the action.

I wouldn't change the cropping at all.

-- Brent Hutto (BHutto@InfoAve.Net), October 20, 1998.


I love the moment you've captured here, with the one foot just grazing the surface of the water as it takes off and the undisturbed reflection of same. Were you shooting with a motordrive, and I wonder what the shutter speed was? I like the composition too, giving the bird some lead room as it takes off. I too would leave the cropping as is.

-- Barbara Kelly (kellys@alaska.net), October 20, 1998.


Thank you everybody for the nice comments. This shot meant alot to me when I first saw it on a light table. I started shooting last summer ('97), and went through a brutal learning curve of discovering what a truly good image was; sharpness, composition, exposure, etc. You all know the experience. Anyway, as I slowly got better, I still was missing decisive moments, like a bird taking off, in flight, good behavior shots, etc. Well, I decided to spend more time with each subject and be more patient. This was the result.

I shoot with a Canon Elan IIE, primarily with the 300/F4.0L IS. I also use a 1.4x a good bit of the time. That is the setup I used for this shot. The background of this shot is under water 95% of the time, accept in the winter/spring at extreme low tides. I was probably 30 feet away at about 9am with the sun behind me. The exposure was 500 at f8, with Kodak E100 film.

Thank you again for the comments. I am glad to finally have a web presence so I can successfully join in on the posting.

-- Robert Pailes (rpailes@peganet.com), October 20, 1998.


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