For a few weeks I worked hard trying to get close enough to capture close up images of this pretty bird. And when the opportunity presented itself, for a brief moment, I captured this single image before the bird took to wing, leaving me with trembling fingers. I can’t help wondering how much nicer the image could have been if a smaller aperture had been chosen, rendering the entire bill in focus.
I spend quite a bit of time practicing my bird photography and the part I struggle most with, is sort of a dichotomy, when prime opportunities are presented, my typical calm nature is overridden with excitement and adrenaline, which hampers my speed and judgment while making camera settings and composition, but I hope the adrenaline rushes and excitement never diminish in the future. I love that feeling, and can’t wait to feel it again, hopefully later this afternoon…
I agree with your own critique. More DOF. I get the same thing that you describe. See my recent post of a slow moving crane imaged at 1/2000 sec! Shot in the heat of the moment. Would have loved to decrease exposure and ISO. Noise in low light was a major problem.
The adrenaline rush is a good thing but we must keep it under control, it can cause camera shake. It's to bad the heron didn't turn his head to the right a bit. You would have needed a lot of DOF to get the beak in focus from that close. Nice close up of the eye. good work
Your own critique is good James. You've done well to keep the eye sharp - it is a lovely focal point. I would increase the ISO a little to give you more flexibility regarding smaller apertures and DOF. I routinely use my D200 at iso 400 without noise issues. The other issue is whether the 1.4x if necesssary as it will gain you a stop if you remove it. The D200 has enough resolution to crop something from a wider image that gives you a bit more flexlibility in framing in the heat of the moment.
Night Heron Portrait
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