Another shot at Herons - with more lens

[Tom W]

Went back to the dam today, where I saw several Herons standing and flying about. This time, I took some more serious focal length. Got a few good shots, but I did struggle a bit keeping the active AF point over the birds when they were aloft at a distance. Still got a few decent ones:

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42862571.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42862570.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42862572.jpg

[RbnDave]

Very nice shots. Must be nice having a place nearby with these great birds.

[Rob612]

Very nice shots. Must be nice having a place nearby with these great birds.

I agree fully, especially with the second statement... I'm a little green of envy :D :D

[Pb2Au]

Very nice. Lots of herons lately! I love that last one, and in my opinion it would be a candidate for cropping off the right side and cloning out the remaing powerline fragments. Just an idea... ;)

PS In #2, is he eating something? That's a fat heron neck!

[Titus213]

Nice pictures. They are big birds. There seem to be a lot of herons around this area (my wife hates my calling them GBH). I don't have the glass to come anywhere near this kind of photo. I especially like number one... They look like pterodactyls in flight or at least pterodactyls as presented by artistic perceptions...

[Tom W]

Very nice. Lots of herons lately! I love that last one, and in my opinion it would be a candidate for cropping off the right side and cloning out the remaing powerline fragments. Just an idea... ;)

Thanks.

Yeah, the last one is a bit cluttered. Given my PS skills, I think it would be easier (and more fun) to just go out there and take some more shots. There's a lot of "industrial" looking stuff around there, but there are also some nice backdrops with the trees on parts of the opposite shore.

PS In #2, is he eating something? That's a fat heron neck!

I didn't notice him eating anything, but you're right - that is a fat neck.

[Tom W]

Here's one with a little less clutter:

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42871466.jpg

[rent]

hi tom! nice shots! was wondering which lens you used for #1? thanks! -alex

[Tom W]

100-400L with the 1.4X teleconverter for all shots.

[BlueTit]

Great shots, particularly the first. When you say "serious focal length" what do you mean? Fantastic shot anyway. Here is a heron having lunch.


http://photos9.flickr.com/12055952_237fabc79a_o.jpg

[ssim]

Great shots Tom. Like them alot.

[Tom W]

Great shots, particularly the first. When you say "serious focal length" what do you mean? Fantastic shot anyway. Here is a heron having lunch.


Looks like lunch is jumping into his mouth.
Serious for me is the 100-400 with a 1.4X teleconverter. Not the best combo for tracking flying birds, but it has its good moments.

[sparker1]

All beautiful shots. You obviously can handle that length, good work.

[TammieO]

Those are some awesome shots. The 2nd really does look like he just swallowed something.

[mrclark321]

Very nice shots....You people in the "L coholics" club have me green with envy!! Keep up the good work, I look forward to these posts!


Dan

[BlueTit]

100-400mm, very impressive. Your panning skills must be very hot. That first photo is really sharp. I have tried a few bird in flight shots with the 70-200 but I have not managed a sharp bird yet! More practise required.


I notice all the herons you show have brown patches on the elbow of there wings, the ones here have black, mudt be a different variety.

http://photos10.flickr.com/12174992_484b33e1b3_o.jpg

[Tom W]

100-400mm, very impressive. Your panning skills must be very hot. That first photo is really sharp. I have tried a few bird in flight shots with the 70-200 but I have not managed a sharp bird yet! More practise required.

I notice all the herons you show have brown patches on the elbow of there wings, the ones here have black, mudt be a different variety.


Thanks for the complement. BTW, both of your shots look great also.

I've been practicing panning quite a bit. Despite that, I had quite a few shots that just weren't quite right in yesterday's shoot, but part of the problem there is that I was using a 1.4X teleconverter, which limits me to the center focus point. I have a few shots of very sharp trees or concrete, with a fuzzy bird flying by them. You've got to stay right on them with this lens/converter combination.

That's the beauty of digital - you get to take a lot more practice shots and hone your techniques much more without having to spend money getting the images developed.

[Tom W]

Thanks, everybody. Here's another one that I snagged yesterday:

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42913794.jpg

[eric1]

nice ones Tom. i liked #2 the best.