Great Blue Heron

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image in 2015 at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. This image captures how I saw the heron that day. In shadows, filtered sun illuminating the head and neck, dark shadows in the background. I struggled with developing the image because the conventional didn't look right. So I went with what the image gave me, low key, dark shadows, grungy. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm
1/1250 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV -2/3 ISO 720 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC 2017
Cropped for composition and presentation

[John Mack]

Pretty dramatic light on this bird. I like the dark background and detail on the bird.

[Arthur Morris]

Love the dark background -- what was it?, the dramatic look, and the breast feathers. The bird's head is turned ever-so-slightly away from square.

with love, artie

[Joseph Przybyla]

Love the dark background -- what was it?, the dramatic look, and the breast feathers. The bird's head is turned ever-so-slightly away from square.

with love, artie

Hi Artie, thank you for viewing and commenting. The background was deep shadows that I was able to darken a few lighter areas.

[Isaac Grant]

Love everything about this one Joe. Beautiful details, love the dark background and the framing. Very much like the one I got when with you. Funny how they so often have some downy feathers stuck to their beaks. This is a real beauty of a shot.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Beautiful Image. I like the dark background and the feather details on the bird.

Thank you for sharing.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, very much appreciated.