I was mostly unprepared for this unexpected opportunity yesterday afternoon but thankfully I had my backup camera gear with me.
1/400, f/5.6, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set up or called in
While I was running around the valley doing some chores in a snowstorm I came across this Great Blue Heron perched on a fallen snag over a pond. Of course I didn’t have my usual bird photography gear with me, including my 500mm lens, but I always carry my backup 7D Mark II attached to my smaller zoom lens in my pickup so I used that combo to take advantage of the opportunity as best I could.
Because of vegetation growing on the edges of the pond this is the only angle I could get on the heron and in my view it has both advantages and disadvantages. Often I’m not fond of looking at my subject from behind but this view gives us an interesting look at the dorsal feather detail and I like the sweeping composition as the bird looks in the direction of the snag disappearing at the far left frame edge. At this angle the entire snag is sharp and I think it would have weakened the image significantly if some of it had been soft. The part of the snag that intersects the midsection of the bird may not be ideal but nature is what it is and I can’t do anything about it short of cloning it out. And that just isn’t going to happen.
In my view the unexpected bonus of the low light conditions in the storm is the falling snow that is so apparent against the dark background. More often than not when I photograph birds in snow the falling flakes are invisible or nearly so because the background is so light the snow can’t be seen well. But in this case reflections of trees and other vegetation at the far side of the pond made the water dark enough to really highlight the falling snow. I think that snow made the difference between a ho-hum image and one that is quite interesting.
I like the pensive, almost forlorn mood of the image as the heron looks out over the landscape and seems to contemplate its dismal situation in the dark and stormy conditions.
Note to bird photographers: It pays to have photo gear with us at all times!
Ron
PS – Late yesterday afternoon and last night I began receiving multiple requests for the recipe for the cheese manicotti I talked about in yesterday’s post. It seems that the most efficient way to provide it to anyone who might want it and not force it on everyone else is to publish the recipe in a separate post which I hope to do later this morning or this afternoon at the latest. I think it’s too long and too much out of context to include here.
I don’t want to turn Feathered Photography into a clone of Martha Stewart’s website but one time shouldn’t hurt…
Blog subscribers will of course receive an email with the link to that second post and once it’s published I’ll add a link to it at the bottom of this post.
I love that “What Now ??” look of this bird. And like you I am not fond of the rear end over the shoulder look, but this one works well. The composition with the fallen “snag” works well…
Beautiful photo.
Thanks, Jean.
Another glorious image! GBHs (and raptors) always evoke an image of the time of dinosaurs in my mind and this one is no exception. The backward view with the hunched shoulders against the snow and the darkish background just adds to that picture. The horizontal part of the snag didn’t bother me at all. Nature happens.
Like others here, I’m delighted you had the backup equipment to capture this image. I’ve found redundancy with key items is a very good thing on the same level of having wings for backup with balance issues. I want wings. Alas, they didn’t come as original equipment OR an option on the human model. And gravity works, except for birds 😉
Laura nailed it for me. On so many counts.
Laura, redundancy is particularly important in photography with so many items we need. Things like cameras, lenses, memory cards and batteries come to mind. And thank you.
Wonderful composition and colors. Really captures the pensive “soul” of the bird at that moment.
Thank you, Kent.
Hello Ron,
This image really portrays the “survival” and “hardship” themes of bird life, that is always a story worth telling!
I totally agree with bringing photo gear with me whenever I am in transit. I have gotten so many of my best images unexpectedly along the way somewhere, and these opportunities have many times saved an otherwise mundane day! Oftentimes I visit local spots for just a few minutes, and it has paid off many times. Thanks again for your always inspiring and informative posts!
Yup, having gear with you all the time can really make a difference. Birds are largely unpredictable so we never really know where we’ll find them or when they’re going to be doing something interesting.
I’m wondering why the GBH are still up north, i would think they would have migrated already. I photograph them and see them regularly here in FL and thus i’ve never seen them “in snow”. Thanks for the share.
Elmer, we often have some stay the entire winter. If all the water freezes up they hunt voles and they do it very effectively. I’ve often photographed them in snow. And fishing from holes in the ice.
I just love the GBH. Great shot. Brightened up my morning, except for the snow. Thanks.
Thanks very much, Sarah.
Beautiful! 🙂 Looks like he’s thinking “what the…..???!!! Feather detail is great as are the snowflakes showing clearly. Glad you were prepared. They are gorgeous birds tho getting them to stand out from the background is a challenge sometimes. Snow/blow at the moment – started with S wind now trying to come around from the N – roads will be UGLY – glad I don’t have to get out! 😉
Stay home snug and warm and safe, Judy. Wind’s coming from the north here too. We have blue skies right now after yesterday’s storm but that’s supposed to deteriorate starting this afternoon. I saw 19° out on the refuge this morning and with the breeze it felt downright cold.
He’s kind of thinking – I seem to remember this white stuff – what the heck is it? Nice photo Ron and you are right – best to always have your gear with you. GBH’s are a big part of our bird population at all our lakes.
Thank you, Everett.
I’m with Arwen — the GBH is also one of my very favorite birds. I really like this shot — “brooding” was the word that came to my mind. The snow makes it for me! So glad you had your backup sitting shotgun! 🙂
Thank you for a new vocabulary word! I never knew “snag” in the context of a dead or dying tree (that’s a detention for this science teacher! 😉 ). Here’s the link I found: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snag_(ecology) — and yes, I know it’s a wiki and a problematic one to boot, but the basic definition seems pretty harmless.
And don’t worry about being confused with Martha — you just shouldn’t have made those manicotti sound so delicious! 😉
Marty, I have no problem with wiki and think it’s one of our most valuable resources. Yes, they make a few errors but generally they’re concise, pretty accurate and organized in ways I like that makes it easy to find precisely what I’m looking for.
Glad to know you learned something!
“Delicious” is in the taste buds of the (literal) consumer so the recipe won’t be for everyone but I hope that some of my readers at least try it sometime. Personally I’m hooked on it and so are some of my family and friends. Many of them prefer to avoid all the trouble so I often serve it when I have company for dinner.
Lovely picture…for all the positives you stated. If the water was any other color the entire mood of the picture would have been lost. I find myself taking backside shots to see the feather arrangements…there are times they offer such great detail, especially like the female RedWing BlackBird, that they are much more interesting to view. After missing a few rare photo ops early on, my camera always goes along with me.
Thank you, Kathy. I very rarely go anywhere without driving my own pickup and that means I nearly always have my backup photo gear with me.
The GBH is one of my favorite birds. Growing up in Louisiana, they were a part of the landscape. I went to a Girl Scout camp where they told the “legend” of the camp name which, of course, included doomed lovers from opposing tribes. One was killed and the other transformed by the Gods to be a GBH. It was a thrilling rendition of Romeo/Juliet proportions. And guaranteed to make 12 year olds sigh. 🙂
“And guaranteed to make 12 year olds sigh. 🙂”
Yes, I can imagine. Kids are pretty impressionable at that age and have lots of imagination.