Grey Herons in winter landscape

[Ivan Sjögren]

http://i60.tinypic.com/biqkgj.jpg

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Stockholm, Sweden

Canon 70D | 400mm f/5.6 | ISO 400 | 1/400s

I tried for a different and wider shot when I headed out in the snowstorm some weeks ago.

[Jack Breakfast]

High holy heavens, that is one striking photograph! Something different and very appealing indeed. The colours and the background and the snow, o yes: such a dreamy scene! I've been playing around with different crops, and I think I might like this picture better with a slab taken off both sides. The rightmost heron is the most out-of-focus, and 3 is a more interesting number than 4, so you MIGHT consider removing that bozo, but then again he does look like a ghost who doesn't fit in, maybe. Truly, I like the picture quite a lot as-is, but if it were mine, I would experiment with it endlessly. Anyhow, it is grand to take the camera out in inclement weather; you can come up with special scenes like this one.
P.S. Another reason to clone out the rightmost heron: he is the only one standing on two feet and it is quite sparky and delightful to see three one-footed herons in a row, in the snow, set against a weird icy ghostscape. Something to think about, maybe...
P.P.S. I keep flip-flopping about that rightmost two-footer. Now I like him again. Anyhow, I'll shut up about it. Thank you for sharing this compelling picture!

[Joseph Przybyla]

This is the type of image you either love it or hate it. I like it. Technically there are some problems but the overall impact makes it feel like the day and conditions you captured it. Thank you for sharing.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is highly artistic, I love what you went for here...great job spotting the opportunity. The water at bottom is an important element to the image, I'm glad you incorporated that into the scene. Excellent wintry feel, and the orange-ish tree-line (?) framing the herons is so cool. Had the two outside herons been on the plane of focus that would have been too good to be true.

[Marina Scarr]

This is one heck of a powerful image. There is so much to see and think about here and its very artistic.

[Jim Crosswell]

A real beauty Ivan! I like the snow, setting and composition. I would leave it as is.