Great Blue Heron

[Joseph Przybyla]

I must have a hundred or more portraits of Great Blue Heron. So why photograph another? The bird is different, the light is different, the background is different, each image is unique. Also capturing each image and post processing is a new lesson to be learned. Dot and I were walking along the shore of Lake Hancock at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida when I happened upon this bird perched at the shore of the lake. The morning was cloudy/overcast allowing for photography almost anywhere without shadows. I looked through the viewfinder exploring different angles until settling on this one. Then I had to hold focus on the eye waiting for the bird to move it's head to the right angle. A burst of three images and I had what I wanted. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 500mm F/5.6 VR AF-S ED PF, camera and lens supported by a Oben carbon fiber monopod with a Wimberly MonoGimbal Head
1/1600 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV +1/1/3 ISO 2200 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 500mm (750mm 35mm equivalent)
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2021 and Neat Image for noise reduction when needed
Cropped slightly for composition and presentation

[David Roach]

Yep, not just another GBH in your hands. Nice soft light, wonderful details and full breeding plumage to boot. TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

So why photograph another? The bird is different, the light is different, the background is different, each image is unique. Also capturing each image and post processing is a new lesson to be learned.

I like this train of thought. I see so many shunning gulls, chickadees, or whatever other bird they consider a "dirt" one.

Anyhow, on to your image. Pretty much everything looks great, except maybe boost the saturation on the face and bill, and add some canvas at left. I love the feather texture - especially on the shoulder and back!

[dankearl]

Nice Classic pose, I think you could amp up the color a bit.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Joseph ... no question shoot the heron and process it , again and again !!!

Works well for me , nice pose and a pleasing BG . Simple and effective image .

Asking for curiosity , where was the FP ??? As the feathers in front are looking very sharp , but the head not that much compared to them . A bit more DOF would not have hurt here ....:bg3:

Nice one , TFS Andreas

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Joseph ... no question shoot the heron and process it , again and again !!!

Works well for me , nice pose and a pleasing BG . Simple and effective image .

Asking for curiosity , where was the FP ??? As the feathers in front are looking very sharp , but the head not that much compared to them . A bit more DOF would not have hurt here ....:bg3:

Nice one , TFS Andreas

Hi Andreas, thank you for viewing and commenting, much appreciated. As it is said a picture is worth a thousand words. Here the single active focus point is shown. In my experience feathers take sharpening differently, some have coarse hard edges that sharpen more while softer feathers do not shapren as much. Thanks again, Andreas.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Joseph for your clarification , I agree that not all feathers do look the same .

As a side note , it is no guarantee that the FP is shown in the image is the sharpest point in the image , as the lens / camera combo could be front focusing !!!

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks Joseph for your clarification , I agree that not all feathers do look the same .

As a side note , it is no guarantee that the FP is shown in the image is the sharpest point in the image , as the lens / camera combo could be front focusing !!!

Hi Andreas, I agree regarding front or back focusing with camera and lens combinations. I have a target and angled ruler to check for front or back focusing. I spent a couple hours with this camera and lens using both Nikon's automatic autofocus fine tuning and then manually focusing, de-focusing capturing images then carefully examining them on the computer until assured it was correct as could be within the vagaries of phase detect detect autofocus. Thanks again for caring.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Cool .... best way to have pin sharp images !!!

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, much appreciated.

[John Mack]

Really like your reasoning for photographing this bird. Always more to learn. The framing and pose and right on. The soft light brings out the detail nicely.