Simple Great Blue Heron In-flight

[Stephen Stephen]

I created this image yesterday when my friend Jim Cumming and I visited a heron colony about 30 minutes south of Ottawa. We ran into 5 friends there who had had the same idea.

Unlike the Venice Rookery and other locations heron colonies here are difficult to approach. The bird was flying past a large OOF branch when I captured this frame but it had the best wing position of the series so I decided to try and save it.

The under wings are dark but I chose not to use any fill flash because some birds had already begun to sit on eggs.

Image cropped to about 80% of full frame. OOF branch removed and Topaz Denoise applied to background. It looked fine at first but now I think that it could use a bit more selective sharpening.

Canon EOS 40D and Sigma 50-500mm at 500mm Handheld. Exposure - 1/1000 seconds, F 6.30, ISO 250
Flash - Flash not fired, compulsory flash mode

[Paul Lagasi]

Classic pose Stephen, I'm at work on crappy monitor so can't comment much on color..glad you made it out.

[Deborah Hanson]

I think the bird looks sharp as is.
Nice position of the head/neck - I like the gap between the body and the neck so that details are there so it looks like a neck, if that makes sense). Good background, sets off the bird well.
Good expression on the face, it makes the impression that the bird is working hard.
Only wish is for a bit more detail in the wings, but that is a personal thing regarding wings and motion.
Deb

[Stephen Stephen]

Thank you Paul and Deb.