This beautiful Great Blue Heron in breeding plumage was doing his impersonation of a statue in the grass. He did not move for quite a long time, which was great for getting good, sharp pictures. So often birds are either moving or in flight, which makes it more difficult to capture good quality images.
Fortunately for me, he was in the perfect place - the line of grasses dipped down slightly just behind his head. That allows the eye to trace down the horizon of grass against water, which serves to bring your attention directly to his head.
The light was ideal, being fairly soft with no harsh shadows. His light feathers stand out nicely against the green and blue tones. I chose to crop this as a narrow pano to eliminate some out of focus grass in the foreground, and a large expanse of water in the background. The wide view also serves to make him look small in the scene, and yet clearly he is the main subject.
TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/3200 sec. Aperture f/10. ISO 800. Lens: Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS with built-in 1.4x extender for an effective focal length of 560mm. Camera: Canon 5D Mark III. Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." --Vincent van Gogh
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