Morning Great Blue Heron

A couple of days ago, this beautiful guy came into our backyard pond to take his morning bath. Although the pond is full of fish, this morning the heron just preened and cleaned. In the early morning rays, he was well lit against the dark background, making this image stand out.

Very nice! Number one especially, the shot as a whole is just beautiful. What a fantastic pond you have too. Superb work!

Beautiful shot! I can't believe the amount of detail and sharpness you've captured at that distance, outstanding.

The composition and lighting is just beautiful. Well done.

Thanks, my friends, for the kind words.

When I first got my 100-400, I was disappointed by how soft many of my photos were. It's taken a while to learn how to use the lens correctly, and I would use this shot as an example of the benefits of patience and practice!

BTW, this shot was taken hand-held, but using live view to nail the focus. That's made a big difference in my percentage of keepers.

Great shot.