GBHs Nesting

Gallery: AvianPosted February 8, 2011136 views10 comments

There has been a lot of GBH nesting activity lately. So I went out armed with my gear and some ideas on camera settings I received from you folks at NPN. My previous shots with the sky as a background were not well exposed on the birds. I had set negative Exp Comp so I would not blow out the whites. Finally I listened to your input and set my compensation to a positive. I am working on capturing the exposure in the camera. I think I got it. Only a little sharpening and cropping.

I wanted to capture the nesting behavior and I think this one does it for me. I like the look of the bird waiting for the new addition and it seems to be looking at it with a critical eye. I thought a little pano crop might work.
Comments are appreciated.

02-01-2011 8:00 a.m.
Canon 7D
EF 300mm 2.8L
f/6.3 at 1/4000
Exposure Comp + 2/3
ISO 640
Tripod
Crop shows 50% of original.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on February 8, 2011 at 5:32 AM

Sorry I forgot to mention that I did clone out a branch stub of the snag at the center bottom.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on February 8, 2011 at 7:58 AM

Well done Harry,, this is a very nice action shot - I love the symmetry of the males's wings and the branch he is carrying. Exposure looks spot on - nice job.

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on February 8, 2011 at 8:44 AM

Harry: Nicely done. Your exposure looks very good!! Great pose and action from the Herons. Congrats on this fine capture.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on February 8, 2011 at 10:41 AM

Way to go Harry. Very good exposure on this one. Nice wing position and feather details. You nailed it my friend. I agree with Randy about the wing and the branch symmetry. NICE!

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Summers on February 8, 2011 at 11:22 AM

well done for trying to get it right in camera and I think you have done a good job, lovely shot showing their behaviour

Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 8, 2011 at 12:19 PM

Really nice comp Harry. Exposure looks great. Love the flight position of the left bird and the stick. Very nice.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on February 8, 2011 at 2:51 PM

Harry, you really nailed the exposure! Excellent behavioral shot here. The incoming bird is in a exceptional pose with the twig, and the nest/snag/second bird is just great.
Very well- done!

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Huff on February 8, 2011 at 3:37 PM

Well done, Harry. Nice exposure.

Ron Huff

Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 9, 2011 at 10:11 AM

Harry,

Your exposure looks very good to my eye, you even have details in the shadowed areas. Love the flight pose of the heron and how the other bird seems intent on looking the twig over. Nice sharpness, comp and intereaction. I'd be happy with this in my files.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on February 10, 2011 at 8:47 PM

Harry, I agree - you've done well here. I think your work with exposure compensation has served you well and I like both the behavior and your framing.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments