Little Blue Heron portrait – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 500, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited
This is another image I came across last week and wondered why I hadn’t processed it because I don’t have many Little Blue Heron portraits in my portfolio. I like the heron’s look of concentration and the color of the water.
I had been photographing the Little Blue while sitting quietly in the lagoon and the heron moved much closer to me than I had expected a few times it came too close for me to focus on it. It didn’t seem to care at all about the crazy woman with the one big glass eye. I think I had never processed it because the neck of the bird isn’t sharply in focus due to my depth of field. I could have changed that but my shutter speed would have been too slow to photograph this active bird.
A friend of mine says I am too tough on myself in regards to my photography. Maybe they are right.
Mia
I also like the way the neck looks, it seems to imply a breeze ruffling the feathers…
Beautiful portrait! Love your pictures 🙂
Slight “fade” makes for great composition…concentrates viewer’s focus on head of bird…would be nice to replicate with other birds, if you can….a good technique to have in your little bag of tricks…
You, and another friend (who I hope wasn’t the friend in question) are DEFINITELY too hard on yourself. Striving to improve is always good. Beating up on your achievements? No.
Your friend is definitely on to something. I ADORE little blues. One thing I really miss about not living in San Diego is seeing those guys. That eye is SO CLEAR. Great stuff. And yes, the look of concentration is great. I’ll bet YOUR eyes reflected a similar focus at the time. =)
You area pro with you photos and that is why you are hard on yourself. I like that it sort of fades away, giving the indication that yes indeed there is more body back there! 🙂
Beautiful!
This intimate portrait brings the viewer right into the scene. One can feel the intense focus of the bird. Very nice background.