This came oh so close to being and “oh for..” weekend. After yesterday’s “oh for”, we set off this morning for a couple of local birding spots to see if we could come up with something to photograph. The only thing I came up with was a distant shot of some Northern Pintail ducks swimming among the reeds. They were too far out for any type of decent image.
That left this evening. I went out along our local creek again after dinner. I wasn’t really expecting anything too different from last evening when I came home without taking a single photo. As a matter of fact, I left the heavy artillery at home and went out with just a Canon 30D and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. No tripod – really nothing else. As I walked along the creek, I quickly came across this Great Blue Heron and to my surprise and delight, he didn’t immediately fly off. So I slowly eased myself into position – first walking very slowly, then getting down on my knees and moving closer to where I wanted to be before finally sitting on the bank of the stream no more than 20 feet away from him. He knew I was there but, for some reason, he stayed put standing on one leg in a small rapids along the stream. I sat there watching him for more than 30 minutes, taking photographs as we went along. It was a wonderful experience. I felt he had let me enter his world.
And then I topped off the evening by coming across a small herd of white-tailed deer just before dark and got some decent photos of them. So the weekend ended well.
NOTE (3/16/09): I noticed that the original image that I had posted had a bluish cast which could be seen in the background. So I increased the color temperature and tint just a bit in Lightroom to remove it and re-posted the image.
(This image is Copyright Ed Vatza 2009. Usage without my prior written approval is prohibited.)
What a beautiful bird! – and a great picture too. It’s great when the unexpected happens and things work together so well.
Maybe he knew just how many would appreciate and honor his beauty..
Oh, what a shot! I’ve never been able to get that close to one. He obviously felt no threat from you by the way you approached. I’ve studied your photo for several minutes just drinking in every detail. Thank you!
The intensity in that eye is great.
Chris
What a privilege to be permitted into his world! Maybe he knew your photos would do him justice!
Great shot, and even greater experience! Love the details of the beautiful feathers. Suggestion: Darken the top of the image where the light colored rocks are.
Great shot, Ed! Where was this was taken?