Autumn and Great Blue Heron

[gail bisson]

I have a gazillion images of Great Blue Herons but they all elicit a "mweh" response from my heart. I have been waiting a long time to get a picture of a GBH that I love.
And yesterday was the day! I was lying in marsh muck photographing a Snowy egret (a rather rare vagrant to Nova Scotia) when I heard the "GWAAAK GWAAK" call of a GBH. I looked up and there he was, coming in straight at me.
I was able to get a series of full frame, tack sharp images and this is my favorite. I love the fall foliage in the background. Happy Dance!
Canon 1 Dx 3, 600mm v.3 and 1.4 x
ISO 400 SS 1/4000 f 7.1. My settings were for the bright white snowy and when the GBH flew in I mistakenly increased SS from 3200 to 4000 instead of opening up my aperture or increasing the ISO. As a result, the image was underexposed by 2/3 of a stop.
One good thing, is that the chin feathers were not blown out!
Taken 15 minutes after sunrise so the corrected exposure is accurate.
PP: Nothing added or cloned. Crop to 85% FF (top and left side). Exposure increased, usual DPP sliders and used Topaz Denoise AI. Then sharpened the converted JPEG with Smart Sharpen.
DPP is my go to when I underexpose an image or blow some highlights. Recovers things better than LR.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[annmpacheco]

Hi Gail,
I just love this and the colors, what wonderful light. I think this is a juvenile and i like the feather plumage. It also looks like there is the foot brake happening! Wonderful exposure, some shadows and no blow outs! I'd be very happy with this gorgeous capture.

[John Mack]

Lovely light and pose. The background is very nice as well. Framing is right on.

[kevin Hice]

Beautiful Gail,have to like that marsh muck LOL I never washed my jacket all summer till I quit.I love the light on this one and agree those fall colors in the background are special.I love how the light hits certain areas like the leading wing edge,wings just makes this all the better.Along with those highlights in the water. Gives some depth.
Not your typical Heron landing frame. TFS

[David Roach]

Killer in all respects. TFS

ps
Those chin feathers are sweet...

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Like this approach capture, Gail. The reflected bands from water add a wonderful quality to the image. Great feather detail, and an outstanding background. Congratulations!, and lying in marsh muck certainly paid off.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Bill Dix]

Fabulous landing shot of this juvie, Gail. Love the background, outstretched wings and foot. Impressive to get him full frame without clipping anything. My initial reaction was that it needed a fraction more exposure of the mid-tones; but then I realized that I had my study light on which I don't usually have. Turning it off made all the difference. Nicely done.

[Brian Sump]

Gail, thanks for sharing the back story and congrats on a very fine GBH capture!

Beautiful incoming shot and you're right, the rich autumn colors add a gorgeous canvas.

I'm in my dark study and my first reaction was that it was still a touch underexposed. I do think bumping a bit on the subject would only help. Totally have the same kind of moments bumping the wrong dial but thank God for good PP platforms.

Beautiful over all.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Gai, this is so cool! Love the landing pose showing off the giant wing span and those long legs. Super light and techs. TFS.

[arash_hazeghi]

More than the bird, I like the BG> beautiful soft tones and the wing position is great. I would brighten this by another 1/2 stop and also sharpen the bird a bit more. could be a bit crisper

TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very cool! My favorite part id the water reflecting onto the wings. I see a couple of comments on the exposure, and it is subjective in a case like this where it is not flagrantly off, but I like it as is and would not alter it if mine.