And you guys think I don't have a neck, huh?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Green heron. I find it quite amazing that they hold that much neck coiled in most of the time. To see it come out like a dart at the fish is quite something. What a great design.

40d; 300 f/4 non-IS; 1.4x; iso 640; f/6.3; 1/320.

Light was not great. I had to underexpose in the camera and then pull it out in DPP. I have been watching this fella for a while. He gets the neck out and in in a flash. So I had to have some good shutterspeed. Some NR done on BG and some USM on the bird. I have been visualizing this shot for a while. So happy to finally get it.

Do you think I should crop it differently to put the bird in dead center?

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

A good way to show how long these guys' necks are. This is my favorite heron.

[Brian Barcelos]

Very nice. Sharpness, the stare and feather detail in the neck are great. BG is also wonderful. I seen one of these for the first time last Tuesday but he took off before I even had a chance.
Brian

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Sinh, Brian...thx. I really like photographing them. (a) they are colorful and (b) they pose quite well. Once they lock their head and concentrate on the fish, they are not too bothered by you. You just have to be lucky to get the right BG.

But my experience is that they are too sensitive to flash...at least the ones that I have photographed. So if your turn the flash off, you should get good photos. just be patient. This one that I have been chasing regularly also sits on overhanging tree branches and jumps in the water to catch fish. quite fascinating.

[Rene Quenneville]

Nice fellow. We do not have the in my neck of the woods!!

This picture could be improved by using S&H in photoshop.