GreatBlue on the Dam
GreatBlue on the Dam
GreatBlue on the Dam
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Jan, 2014Views
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Frank1390
January 28, 2014
Nice capture. That bird seems brave to be where it is. I would think it would be too slippery and powerful current. Thanks for sharing. :-)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken below Independence Dam on the Maumee River between Defiance and Napoleon Ohio. The Great Blue Heron is one of my favorite subjects to photograph and they seem to be at this location frequently.Time
My husband and I ride together most mornings and since he has to be at work 2 hours before me I often search out a photo op before I head to the office. This photo was taken just after sunrise on a cloudy autumn morning.Lighting
The early morning sun was slightly muted due to the low cloud cover. This worked well for using a slow shutter speed that created the soft milky effect in the falls.Equipment
A Canon Powershot SX500IS on a tripod was used to create this image. I was shooting in TV mode with a 1/40 shutter speed in ISO 100 @F5.6Inspiration
When I pulled into the parking lot beside the dam I spotted this Great Blue Heron sitting on top of the dam. Not sure how he was able to maintain his balance long enough for me to get my camera set up. He looked so majestic sitting there with the autumn colors in the background. I had come to this location to practice shooting the falls at different shutter speeds to achieve the soft milky flow I had seen in so many of a friend's waterfall pictures.Editing
Minimal post-processing was done in Photoshop. I had to stand so far from the dam that the image had to be cropped considerably to be able to see the heron. Fortunately, the Canon SX500IS has an excellent lens and good zoom. Since it was a cloudy morning the colors seemed faded and were slightly saturated in post-processing.In my camera bag
In addition to the Canon Powershot SX500IS, I now have a Canon SL1 EOS Rebel DSLR camera; 18-55mm IS Canon lens; 75-300mm Canon lens; 55-200 mm IS Canon lens; 18-250mm Tamron lens; UV Filter; CP Filter; Polaroid ring flash; set of Macro extension tubes; lens cleaning kit; extra SD cards and batteries.Feedback
A tripod is essential! I have found birds are easier to find and photograph early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Shoot LOTS of images. I usually keep my camera set to "burst" and shoot in AV mode. However, to get the effect I wanted in the falls, this image was shot in TV mode with a slow shutter speed. Experiment and practice, practice, practice! But most of all have FUN!
