Ardea cinerea (Grey heron)
Written by Thursday, 11 June 2009 00:00
"When despair for the world grows in me, and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be -- I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought or grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” Wendell Berry
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Heron in late sunlight This Grey Heron came flying by close to sunset at the end of 2008 so it was fully illuminated by the deep orange sun behind me. I present 2 versions of the same photo: one with the correct light levels and one underexposed, which comes awfully close to my viewing experience that day. Photo by Frank Panis Shooting Data: Camera: Nikon D300 |
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Ardea cinerea (Grey Heron) We have been trying to get some close up photos of the grey heron for a while, with no luck. The bird does not particularly enjoy human presence in its vicinity. The first photo shows an adult heron which landed on a tree at Chester zoo, right after the carers started feeding the sea lions, clearly in the hope of getting some of the food. The other photos were taken at Sale water park. It is not difficult to photograph a heron, provided one has time and patience. Once we got to "know" the birds and their environment we noticed four birds who enjoyed "fishing" away from the main flock. It was a matter of getting to their preferred fishing areas, finding a good place to hide and waiting for them to appear. As photo models herons have got a considerable advantage: they are not "jumpy" about a perceived danger (in this case, humans or cameras). Once the herons realised we were in the vicinity they remained immobile for a while, which allowed us to take some good close up shots. The birds, apparently oblivious to our presence, kept a close watch on us and patiently waited until our attention turned to something else - the camera screens- before they flew off gracefully but extremely fast. Knowing their habits allowed us to plan better. We got to know that as long as we were shooting a standing heron from a relatively close distance the bird would not fly off. Lose it from your eyes for a split second and it is gone. This, however, presents another opportunity. A fast shutter speed and a quick focussing lens, coupled with the appropriate angle, should yield this close up photo of the bird taking off. A word of caution: the birds have substantially sized, powerful wings. They move extremely fast in the air. Photos by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos Shooting Data: 1. Camera: Nikon D300 2. Camera: Nikon D300 3. Camera: Nikon D2X 4. Camera: Nikon D700 5. Camera: Nikon D300 6. Camera: Nikon D700 7. Camera: Nikon D700 8. Camera: Nikon D700 9. Camera: Nikon D700 10. Camera: Nikon D700 11. Camera: Nikon D2X |
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