The Elusive Blue Heron

[fractal]

The 2 herons I see on my natural trail by the river have been alluding me for the last year. Last week I carefully made my way to the rocky edge of the river to get a shot of the water and trees. When I looked up I was literally 10 feet away from one of them. He glanced at me and took off while I stumbled with the camera, only managing a few out of focus shots with my Minolta Rokkor. This only made me more determined.

The next day I returned with heavier artillery; my Minolta Maxxum 200mm 2.8. With the sun now dropping earlier I had to work quickly. These are the shots I managed, between f/2.8 and f/4 and ISO 800-1600.

NEX-7    200mm F2.8    200mm    f/3.5    1/320s    ISO 800

NEX-7    200mm F2.8    200mm    f/4.0    1/250s    ISO 1600

NEX-7    200mm F2.8    200mm    f/5.0    1/320s    ISO 800

NEX-7    200mm F2.8    200mm    f/4.0    1/250s    ISO 1600

NEX-7    200mm F2.8    200mm    f/4.0    1/200s    ISO 800

 

[NickCyprus]

#4

 

[bdbits]

I wish I could mark both like and funny at the same time, because your back story made me smile.

Nice shots, especially rare for me to see them with the wings spread out. We have them around here, but I usually spot them a few hundred yards away while in the car driving around the countryside. If I stop to try and take a shot, they usually get suspicious and take off before I have a chance.

 

[roundball]

View attachment 73963

View attachment 73965

Perseverance ! 2 & 4 are my favs...

 

[Nexnut]

like like like

 

[davect01]

Good hunting

 

[unlo]

Great Shots

 

[WNG]

Wonderful! I like the first shot, it captures the mood of the narrative's first day's setting.

 

[Mus Aziz]

Nice shots Chris.

 

[sam]

Chris and Bob, I can relate to both you your stories.
My most recent was being on the trail close to home, I didn't bring the mirror lens, missed a great opportunity.
Next day, I had the lens, saw one as I was walking along back to the car.
I stopped, hid behind a bush, raised the camera, and the heron took flight.
On the bright side, I have made some great photos of these birds, and have been quite happy with them.

I really enjoyed seeing these photos Chris. Wings spread open is something I have yet to capture successfully. Great photo!

 

[Kiwi Paul]

Nice shots, well captured.