Green Heron on Lotus

[Gayle Clement]

My husband and I took our small flatboat to an area of Lake Boeuf in Louisiana with several square miles of lotus. At times the only way to get through the tangle was a push pole. The pods are beginning to ripen and being eaten by a wide variety of birds. Most of the birds were moulting and not very attractive. Here's one of the many green herons.

The thick duckweed floating on the water is typical of this area of swamp.


D700
Nikkor 500mm f/4
Nikkor 1.4 TC-EII
1/500s @ f/5.6
Aperture priority
51 point 3-D tracking
Matrix Metering
ISO 320

[Dave Phillips]

oh Gayle, you know I love the greenies......what sweet habitat for these guys.
Nice sharp alert pose, maybe a bit off the top and a slightly softer bg.......maybe!!

are these gh only accessible by boat?

[Daniel Cadieux]

This would benefit from some CCW rotation as everything in the BG is slanted down left to right. Some of the blotchiness in said BG is somewhat distracting, and head angle is slightly off. Quite an unusual perch and I do like the swampy habitat. Must have been a fun outing!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the perch and light and wish for more eye contact. Another vote for CCW rotation.

[carole wiley]

Another vote for rotation. I think I might crop some of the top. I like the habitat and he looks like a bright, alert little fellow.

[Arthur Morris]

I like this a ton ESP the flower and the COMP. I am not so sure about the need for any CCW rotation... The bird looks SQ to the world and if you rotate it it might seem as if it is falling over backwards... A bit more head or body turn would have been nice.

[Gayle Clement]

Thanks so much to everyone for their responses. I will blur the background a bit. That may help with the impression of a slant in the background. I have great eye contact in some of my other shots but they're all over-the-shoulder poses. Thanks for the help and comments.