The bright fall colors of the trees at the pond’s edge were reflected beautifully in the water and I waited until the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) moved into those reflections to capture this shot.
The effects of the light on the water remind me a little of some of the paintings of Monet, one of my favorite artists. Normally when I am photographing birds, I do my best to fill the frame with them, but in this case the context was actually more important to me than the apparent subject.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice colors. You can see why it’s called a “blue” heron.
Thanks. The lighting was tough, because the heron was in the shadows, so I had to play around a little afterwards trying to keep the colors of the water and letting some of the colors of the blue heron show through.
Gorgeous colors!
Context matters and your photo proved it.
Mike, I think this is one of your best heron portraits so far. Beautiful work!
Thanks, Gary. The reflections really make this image, even more than the heron itself. As you know well, I enjoy trying to photograph herons and will try to do so whenever I see one.