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Young Great Blue Heron
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Young Great Blue Heron

by Mia McPherson

Gallery: AvianPosted September 26, 2010414 views26 comments
Ardea herodias

This is a first year Great Blue Heron, it lacks the occipital plumes of the adults and the "epaulets" on the shoulders are just starting to show the rusty coloration found on adults.

This was taken on a January morning on the Gulf coast of Florida. I like how the water and the sky lined up behind the bird, the details in the plummage and the light. I don't believe I've ever posted an immature Great Blue here yet.

D200, HH, I think I was on my knees in the sand to take this shot, f8, 1/350, ISO 160, O EV comp, 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, auto WB, aperture priority, 52% of the original image, cropped for comp. Larger version posted for evaluation of sharpness & details.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful comments & critiques. Thank you for looking.

Comments

26 comments
Comment posted by Bill Leggett on September 26, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Good catch of the grumpy pose, Mia!
Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 26, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Excellent detail and DOF Mia, hard to believe it's been cropped 48% because it still looks great..
It's the one & only reason I'm selling my Canon body right now..The need for more wiggle room.
Well done & have a great week :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on September 26, 2010 at 6:26 PM
Great detail with pretty, rich blues. I like it! Sharon
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by denise ippolito on September 26, 2010 at 6:36 PM
Mia, I saw this on your blog. Really great details and sharpness. I like the pose and the background colors are a good compliment to the bird.
Registered on December 17, 2009, 202 Posts, 1529 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 26, 2010 at 7:02 PM
Beautiful, Mia. Lovely feather detail and a very nice composition. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Doug Gilham on September 26, 2010 at 7:58 PM
Very nice image Mia. I love the lighting and clean BG and the slight seperation between neck and back. And for being a juvi he doesn't look gangly like some do.This has held up very well to the crop as well. I was shooting heron portraits this morning, but nothing with this nice of light. Top shelf as usual!
Registered on September 20, 2009, 77 Posts, 489 Comments
Comment posted by Angela McCain on September 26, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Lovely light in this sharp and detailed image. Well done.
Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on September 26, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Love the detail here Mia. I like the feathers at the end of the beak. This bird has been preening a lot I bet as it molts in its new feathers. The BG is perfect for this shot IMO.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Ditch on September 26, 2010 at 9:05 PM
Lovely soft light; excellent detail; clean setting.

Well done.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Huff on September 27, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Mia, these is a awesome picture!! Execllent details and exposure through out.

Ron Huff
Culdesac, Idaho
Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments
Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on September 27, 2010 at 2:42 AM
Mia,
Very nice portrait. Great details and sharpness. I like the pose and the soft complementary blue BG!
Cheers.
Mauro
Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments
Comment posted by Danny Laredo on September 27, 2010 at 6:37 AM
Mia, this is a real nice portrait, excellent detail. Maybe a touch more contrast.
Registered on March 18, 2008, 71 Posts, 332 Comments
Comment posted by Monica Siri on September 27, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Mia,
well composed and neat portrait of this heron. I really like the colors too. :toast:
Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments
Comment posted by Butch Lama on September 27, 2010 at 12:39 PM
Excellent details & sharpness. Love the soft lighting & perfect BG.
Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments
Comment posted by wade pettitt on September 27, 2010 at 5:03 PM
Mia , great comp, light , details and lovely background. Well done!!!.
Registered on May 6, 2009, 184 Posts, 471 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Moore on September 27, 2010 at 5:05 PM
As always your work is excellent. I would like to hear your thoughts on a little more room at the top.

Dan
Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hackley on September 27, 2010 at 8:16 PM
Excellent detail in the large image, I like checking out the feather detail in birds when the image allows this and this one does. Well done.
Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on September 27, 2010 at 11:46 PM
Nice details and lighting Mia. I like the gradation of blues in the bg. :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on September 28, 2010 at 12:39 AM
Fabulous job composing this. I really like the soft feather texture you captured and the velvety blue background. Good thing you didn't try and saturate the colors, would have messed up the feel. :toast:
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Sally King on September 28, 2010 at 2:53 PM
I think I can feather the texture on those feathers. Gorgeous light as always and excellent details. Another superb post. The little feathers caught in the end of the bill are a special treat.
Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Mason on September 28, 2010 at 6:10 PM
Excellent detail for such a crop - up to your usual standards. I agree a little more room at too would give a better balance. I love the colours.
Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Saunders on September 28, 2010 at 6:23 PM
Lovely portrait Mia :toast:
Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on September 28, 2010 at 9:07 PM
My thanks to everryone who has commented on the Great Blue image.

Dan & Ian, I do have space above the head of the heron. I tried another comp very quickly in ACR and I agree, some space above the head would benefit this image, thanks so much for your suggestions.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Dudley on September 29, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Superb detail Mia and I love the light. The graded background colors add a nice touch as do the feathers at the end of the bill. Perfect DOF to get all of the heron sharp and have a nice effect on the background. A lovely portrait.
Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments
Comment posted by May Haga on September 29, 2010 at 5:42 PM
Beautiful details Mia.
May
Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments
Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on September 29, 2010 at 10:40 PM
A wonderful capture all around, Mia! Sharpness held up really well with the crop. :smile:
Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments