old man heron
Feb, 2015Views
262
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Awards
2020 Choice Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Peer Award
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Top 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
snshpall
February 04, 2015
Love herons, nice capture. Look forward to seeing more of your images. Welcome to viewbug
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at a retention pond next to the parking lot of a Whole Foods in Jacksonville, Florida.Time
The time of day was mid-afternoon.Lighting
I hadn't even considered the lighting during this, but I really did get lucky with it. Since it was late afternoon, the sun was beginning to set behind me, giving a great amount of light in just the right direction.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon Rebel Tsi, and a Tamron 70-200mm lens.Inspiration
I had been challenging myself to get one good shot of an animal - any animal or creature - each day. Here it was, getting later in the afternoon, and I hadn't gotten my shot yet. So, I packed all three of my kids in the car and drove down the road to see if I could get lucky and find out what kind of birds were hanging around the pond. This guy was the only heron around the pond. The rest were an assortment of ducks. This guy was really interesting because he NEVER moved from this spot on the bank. It's like he was the old man on the park bench just observing all the strangers and their kids playing and strolling around at the park.Editing
This was my first time really working with photos taken in RAW format. It definitely made me a believer after just increasing the blacks in the scene made the heron really pop. You would never even know that there was a truck going by on the road in the background. After that, all I did was adjust the sharpness of the eye a little bit.In my camera bag
I don't have a lot of equipment to work with. So, I carry pretty much everything I have which is my Tamron 70-200mm zoom lens, my Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens, and my Neewer TT560 flash Speedlite. My tripod is always in my car for when I need it, but I rarely use it because I move around so much, and I feel clunky and clumsy when I do use it. I keep telling myself that I'm going to get a monopod, but have yet to follow through with that. I still have my kit lens which a lot (if not most) people think should be tossed. But I've gotten some pretty good pictures with that even so, and I especially like it for when I need the really wide angle which I can't get even with the 28-75mm lens that I have.Feedback
Mostly, I would say be patient, take your time, and pay attention to what you are focusing on. Too many times, I've gotten what I think is an awesome shot, only to find later that I didn't set the focal point on the right subject, and it came out blurry. Very frustrating! Also, shoot RAW! :)
