This bird was feeding in the reeds when I locked focus on it. Without a warning, it did a 180* turn and took off. I only managed to get off two shots. One showed only a bush. If I had not been locked on, I never would have got this image. I guess it pays to be ready.
Taken 5/13/09, 12:27 PM, Great Meadows NWR, Concord, MA, 1/250 @ F4.8, ISO 400, Nikon D200, Nikon 70-200 + Nikon 1.7 TC on a monopod. Levels, USM.
Lee, it certainly does pay to be prepared :D
I love the soft tones in this image and the OOF grasses in the front are sweet. Great sharpness on the bird too.
Nice in flight, Lee. The bird looks real good: well exposed and sharp. The background is a bit noisy though and the image seems a bit tilted. Should be easy to fix.
Lee - it does pay to be ready! I like the pose with trailing legs, but it would have been nice if the bird was coming more toward (rather than away from you), but when you get surprised you obviously have to play the cards you're dealt.
A few suggestions: I do agree with Levina - the image needs a bit of counter-clockwise rotation --> I think I would probably square the frame to the streaky reflections in the water. The bird looks a little washed out - I would also consider a reverse-S curve treatment or localized contrast adjustment on the plumage.
It is fine image but I sense this is a large crop (??)- it looks a little noisy and whilst the bird is in focus I think it lacks a some detail. The bird is large in the frame so if the crop was reduced a bit I think both composition and detail and noise would be improved.
Lovely stretched-out flight pose, with trailing legs. Ditto above comments about rotation, crop, NR. A little more SS and DOF would have been desirable, but under the circumstances you did well to get what you did.
Great Blue Heron in Flight
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