Grey Heron in Canal

[Nigel Kibble]

[IMG][/IMG]
Taken with Nikon D3100 , Tamron 70-300mm Di LD ,Aperture 16f ,Exposure 1/125, ISO3200 , Hand held , at full zoom ,I liked the reflection of the Heron , the day was overcast , taken during a walk along the Grand Union Canal in Leicester UK .

[Ashley Cohen]

Hi Nigel, I have seen on some of your other images that you are new to photography. I think reading some of the guides about wildlife photography available on the web will help you greatly. The best thing about this shot is the reflection and that the image doesn't appear to be cropped much. Unfortunately for me there is quite a lot wrong with the image. The settings used to capture the image are not right, you should use an aperture much lower for wildlife photography, such as F7.1 or F8 on your lens to allow for some extra sharpness from the zoom. That would have allowed you to use a much lower ISO as 3200 is rather high for such a camera though you have done well at now showing much noise. I would have also darkened the exposure as you are blowing the highlights on the whites quite heavily. The wider aperture would have also thrown the background out a little though it is a little too close to the bird for that to happen and the rubbish in the background is not great either.

I would suggest going to a local park, getting low to the ground and trying some duck, pigeon and gull shots. They are good starter subjects and shouldn't be overlooked. They will help you see what works and what doesn't and best of all they aren't timid subjects so you can usually get as close as you want. I think practice is really the key to success.

[Grace Scalzo]

Hello Nigel! I see what you were going for here. We have a pond near where I live that looks like the one in your picture, and after some attempts, I gave it up as a possible location. Good suggestions by Ashley on trying to find better spots.
Do keep at it. Having a love for nature and the willingness to learn the basics of photography can lead you down a fascinating road!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Hi Nigel, While I see this was a great attempt I have to agree with Ashlee on most of the suggestions. A lower angle always adds so much to an image in most cases and you can still get reflections providing you shoot at the right time of day.It looks like the whites are a bit over exposed so you could have used a little more shutter speed if you were set on that aperture. Learning about aperture and shutter speed and the basics of how the camera works will make the biggest difference in your photography and in my opinion make it a whole lot more fun and challenging. As Grace stated ...DO keep at it. You won't believe how much you will grow if you keep an open mind and do some homework. Looking forward to more of your posts