Great Blue Heron from Anhinga Trail

[Richard Waas]

This GBH was photographed on tripod with my Canon 5D MK II just before sunrise at first light. I wish I could have gotten either higher or lower to keep the horizon from cutting thru the body, but a nice looking bird still the same. Any suggestions on how I could deal with the background. I darkened it a little. ISO 800, f/4.0, 1/200 sec, EF500mm f/4.0L IS USM, Evaluative Metering, Auto Exposure, Auto WB, No Flash. Comments Welcome.

[Kerry Perkins]

Lovely GBH capture Richard! Very nice pose, colors and comp and the exposure looks good to me. I can't really think of a good solution for the bg. I think anything you would do might just make it more obvious, but maybe others will have a thought along those lines. I might be tempted to clean up some of the sticks behind the legs. Very nice!

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Richard, looks alright, challenging habitat,... unless you want to reengineer the image with a new BG,.. it is what it is.

Unique pose, watch that next step for sure :)

[Gus Cobos]

Mr. Waas,
We missed you at Shark Valley...but I see that your trip to Anhinga Trail paid off big time. I like the image as is...no more, no less...:eek::D I like the mood and feel of the early breaking light...you captured the moment quite well. You have good color rendition, good sharp feather details, a good head angle and sharp eye...love the natural habitat...a big congrats my friend...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Gail Spitler]

Love the light :D :D :D
Great sharpness. I find the whole image very dramatic.
Well done

Cheers
Gail

[Lance Peters]

Hi Richard - techs all covered - like it a lot richard - even with the BG.
Good show :)

[Katie Rupp]

I'll echo Gail: Love the Light!!!!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great pose you were able to capture. Lots of details on your bird and I specially like the early morning light.
Congrats