Black-crowned Night Heron

[Rob Melone]

This was one of those predictable shots where I had an idea where the heron would head once it took flight along a jetty. I positioned myself ahead of the bird and waited for an oncoming runner to flush it.

Nikon D90
Nikkor 300mm f/4 w/1.4x teleconverter
1/2500
f/5.6
ISO 400

Manual exposure
Hand held

C & C are welcome!

[Karl Egressy]

Great forward wing position and nice overall flight pose. I would try to bring out more details in the head beak and neck area.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nicely timed, good focus, I would suggest brightening up the head and neck a little bit.

[Richard Flack]

Awesome flight pose Rob and sweet setting. Would look to lighten the head/neck area and possibly sharpen more. TFS

[John Rowell]

Excellent job of figuring out what was likely to happen and then taking advantage of it. I like the wing position and detail. Also, the bg rocks are a great framing tool in your image. Agree that the bird could be lightened up and more detail extracted. I think the heron is a little cramped in the frame and would think about adding some canvas on the right.

[Bill Dix]

Very well conceived and executed, Rob. Good planning paid off. I agree with the comments above re. brightening and comp.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice flight shot, I agree with previous comments regarding work on the head.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Love the dynamic pose, and I like the double bent wingtips...very cool. I'm OK with the rocks anchoring the bottom - I would just clone out the thin sliver peeking in at bottom left. The light angle was not prime but you dealt well with what you had (and planned well too).

[Grace Scalzo]

If only he had turned toward you and the light hit his face. Good thing is, I suspect you will have more opportunities with this species. I like the curled up wings.

[Randall Farhy]

This really is a nice in flight shot, being aware of what was about to happen and setting up for it made the best of the situation. My only suggestion would be to try some fill flash on backlit/overcast situations such as this, better beamers can throw a lot of light in a narrow cone without overpowering the available light when FEC is used.

[David Salem]

Nice work getting this guy in flight. The pose is good but the HA isnt. You can improve this by lightening the head up and adding a catch light. Keep trying and you will get a great shot.