Very nice shots, Kurt. I love these birds. They are always flying over my house on their way to the pond near me, or some other source of water off of Cherry Creek.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on April 26, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Herons are awesome. Those last two shots especially are wonderfully done. Great captures!
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 27, 2009 at 12:10 AM
Nice series of shots. Really like the first one with the distorted reflection!
Posted by Kurt Bowman on April 27, 2009 at 10:18 AM
John, these were all taken at Golden Ponds in Longmont. They have 4 successive ponds (one of them a Federally protected bird sanctuary and they used to get a pair of nesting Balds there). I find this time of year, many herons are at these ponds for a 2-3 week period. These ponds get many joggers and the birds start getting used to people (a little). I usually find 1-2 birds willing to let me sneak up on them. I take a few shots, move a few steps, etc. This one took me approximately 15-20 minutes to creep up on. He let me stay as long as I liked until some jogger came running by and startled him. I also find if you go to shoot them in the morning, they get VERY focused (almost trance like) during feeding and act like they don't see you.
Posted by Grant Collier on April 27, 2009 at 3:04 PM
Nice shots! #4 is my fave, followed by #1. I think I'd crop in tight on #1 around the bird and its reflection...all the empty space around it detracts form the shot IMO.
Posted by Jack Brauer on April 27, 2009 at 7:55 PM
I really like the last two... especially the last one with the bird's foot just barely dragging in the water.
Posted by Jeff Hackett on April 27, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Excellent series Kurt! I honestly don't have a favorite, I like them all. Each of them seem to have their own personality and dynamic that is very appealing.
Discussion
13 repliesI like 'em all, but the shot of the bird feeding is my favorite.
Where was this place? Did you use a blind of some sort?