Grey Heron (LWC)

Visited the London Wetlands Centre on Sunday the weather and shooting conditions were superb, took many shots. Had a lot of opportunities capturing Grey Herons in flight but they were far away even for my 300mm + 2.0x, this one was the closest.
As a few of you know I shoot from a wheelchair, LWC has brilliant facilities for wheelchair users the best reserve yet that I have visited, there is a lift in one of the hides, amazing!

The head doesn't look sharp to me, I guess maybe out of the DOF?

Techs:-
Canon 1D MKIII
Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS + 2.0x
1/1000th
f/7.1
ISO800
3/4 Crop, CS3 smart sharpen, EV Adjustments in DPP

Very nice.
Loads of detail in the feathers


John

I think considering you the distance have a good shot here, the head is a little soft as you say but the shot is full of character and detail, especially in the wings as John says. As the bird is leaving the scene I dont think it distracts at all.

I certainly admire you getting out there shooting from a chair, I guess Slimbridge would be another good location? What are the facilities like in general for you as a bird photographer?

i agree the LWC has some of the best facilities for the disabled as well children with proper tarmac paths to most of the hides. Unfortunately, the place is a nightmare for photography at the best of times even for those of us who are more mobile, and its proximity to a big city means that on most days and especially sunny weekends, u get a whole load of school children who make a bit of rufus.

Nice shot - the emphasis on the wings shows how big this really is. You can't beat the colour of those eyes (apart from one of Vincent Jones' eagle owls!).



Mark

Nick - nice capture

Yes you have run out of DoF a bit, but you could start be turning the contrast down somewhat, then using a soft burn tool to darken the head colors and a soft clone tool to 'steal' some tone from the neck and just put a light dusting in those blown highlights.

If you turn the contrast down you'll get less OoF in the head and to get a bit more definition you could try applying a high pass filter to a new image layer and apply it to the head area only - just a thought

Hi Nick,
Good to see your having a go at wildlife again, well caught.



Tim

Thanks all for your comments

[David Clapp] Dave, most of the wildlife reserves I have been to have been pretty good for wheelchair access, Rye Meads, Lee Valley, Attenborough Centre etc, Slimbridge I guess would be good as well but is a long drive from Herts, perhaps if I get over that way I will visit, I may take a trip to Martin Mere for a weekend trip? I guess most of you guys find locations of the beaten track to get the good stuff.
[szekiat chan] Szekiat, yes it was busy, there wasn't to many kids running around Sunday so I was lucky I guess.
[Andy Astbury ] Andy, great advice thanks, not sure I have the PS skills to pull that of, I'll give it a go.
[Tim Munsey] Tim, not really stopped shooting wildlife but now should have more time now the Motorcycle Racing season has finished. Good to see you are getting out and about now Tim

Cheers

Detail, colour and sharpness are spot-on. Not sure about the angle of flight though, looks as though it is leaving the frame rather than crossing it.

Brian

Nicely done Nick

Agree the head is on the edge of dof, but an open winged heron covers a lot of area, so i think you have got it about ideal for me, with this particular angle.

Alan

Its a great capture, but I'm not a fan of the 'arse end' flight shots, sorry. As for the DOF, I think it should have been fine. It looks like the heron has just moved its head slightly, but its hard to tell. The 1000th should have frozen any movement there. They are massive birds aren't they! Its only when they open their wings do you get a real sense that they actually our second largest bird!