tri-colored heron on the hunt

[annmpacheco]

Taken last week way out on the mudflats, super low full moon tide. This was the first tri-colored heron we were able to photograph all week and it was a treat as there was plenty of action in this tidal pool. The heron was very territorial and would chase off a a lil blue and a snowy. One such squirmish resulted in the snowy leaving town but a few feathers lighter... Light was changing steadily, tc on, tc off, and always trying to squeak out the highest shutter speed and dof... Gail left before me and warned me to be mindful of the incoming tide as we would need to cross the channel before it became a problem. I was mindful, but more so on the action... When i looked up and noticed the few birders who were further out than me had disappeared, I had a bit of worry and said a quick good bye. I made it through the channel but i am sure a learned a lesson from that experience...
I opened up the shaded side of the face, removed dust spots, and adjusted color... The head has very smooth feathers and i worked on getting it as sharp as can be without the "crunch."

1Dx
840mm

ISO 500
7.1
1/3200

[kevin Hice]

Just beautiful Ann,love all the colors.intensity of the stare. What I really like is that little splash down by the leg shows that movement before the strike.

[greg cowle]

The heron looks really nice. I really like the way almost periodic background works, with the ripples, the mid-background (mudflat?) and the far background bands. Could be better if the mid background band wasn't quite as dark on the LHS, but very nice image design.

[Paul Burdett]

Always nice to see your amazing photos Ann. Really like this one...great detail, HA and colours. Love that little splash of water at the foot. I do agree with Greg regarding the dark band.

[gail bisson]

Hi Ann,
I love the pose and the intensity of the moment.
I think you overdid the work on the head, It looks contrasty and crunchy to me. ( I thought that before I read your comment). I would redo your PP and probably try to leave the head alone unless it was not tack sharp. I also think that the sun was getting pretty strong (only 9:30AM but this is Florida!) and that is causing some contrast issues.
As you know, I am not a fan of the intersecting sandbar but it is what it is! I love the sandbar at the top of the frame though.
The reflection lines of the water on the wings are nice. I like them.
And I was getting worried that you would not get back through the channel in time!
Gail

[Mike Poole]

There is a lot to like on this shot Ann, the low POV, the colours, the detail, but if Im being brutal then for me having the head under the wing is a bit of a deal breaker. I find the head gets lost. Its a shame as you did everything right - I didn't notice the work on the head. I would love it if you had another frame from the sequence with a clear head view

Mike

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Reminds me of my time during Texas Galveston Beach when I was photographing them couple of years back (I bared stated photography that time) . We do not have this kind of scene in Utah.

I do like the image. I think if head was not intersecting the wing, then it wil be a stronger image.

Not too sure about opening the shadows in Head.

Background looks nice. You can apply gaussian blur to the sandbar which is intersecting the bird.


Question:- How do you guys knew that high tide is coming. I am heading out to Florida and I want to know how I can know about low tide, high tide etc for planning..

Thanks
Krishna

[annmpacheco]

Reminds me of my time during Texas Galveston Beach when I was photographing them couple of years back (I bared stated photography that time) . We do not have this kind of scene in Utah.

I do like the image. I think if head was not intersecting the wing, then it wil be a stronger image.

Not too sure about opening the shadows in Head.

Background looks nice. You can apply gaussian blur to the sandbar which is intersecting the bird.


Question:- How do you guys knew that high tide is coming. I am heading out to Florida and I want to know how I can know about low tide, high tide etc for planning..

Thanks
Krishna

Hi Krishna, best bet is to look up the area on a tide chart... You will see the interval of time between low and high, falling high tide, low tide and tide starting to rise are in general the best bird feeding times... Hope that helps.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Hi Krishna, best bet is to look up the area on a tide chart... You will see the interval of time between low and high, falling high tide, low tide and tide starting to rise are in general the best bird feeding times... Hope that helps.

Thank you. That helps.

[William Dickson]

Nice one Ann. Detail and POV are perfect. Very well done. Been there Ann with the tide coming in, often...Always happens though, when its time to move, something good comes along. Good work.

Will

[John Mack]

Very nice. Low angle and the pose are both nice. The Small splash around the leg is a plus.