Heron in the early morning light

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Heron in the early morning light

May 1, 2015 by Mike Powell

I love the morning light as it gradually illuminates different parts of the natural world. This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) had turned its head toward the rising sun and the light was shining on its white face while other parts of its body were still hidden in the shadows.

In the limited light, I used a pretty slow shutter speed (1/80 sec) to keep from having to raise my ISO too high and I was able to get reasonably sharp shots when the heron was stationary. However, when the heron took off, I had a substantial amount of motion blur, as you can see in the final two shots.

I usually lead my postings with my favorite shot, but I had real trouble with this posting trying to decided which one to use. Should I choose one of the sharpest shots or should I go with one of the “artsy” blurred ones? I like different aspects of all four of these images and vacillated for quite some time before deciding to lead with the shot of the heron with his head tilted at an interesting angle.

Did I make a good choice?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on May 1, 2015 at 7:13 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Lovely. I could choose if I tried.
on May 1, 2015 at 7:43 am | Reply Ben Rowe Aperturef64

For me the second shot is the best, much sharper which i prefer when looking at shots of nature. Nice work mike even with the ISO.
- on May 1, 2015 at 8:00 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for weighing in, Ben. The second one is definitely the sharpest and my initial instinct was to lead with that one. Then I thought some more and almost led with the last shot, i.e. the blurriest one, because I liked the sense of motion. As I noted, I went back and forth, but knew for sure it was best to provide a variety of shots to appeal to different tastes/preferences.
on May 1, 2015 at 8:25 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I think they were all good choices. I think posts like this help the novice photographers out there (and there are many) learn more about what to expect in different / unusual lighting conditions.
I try to mention any challenges I’ve faced when I can.
on May 1, 2015 at 8:29 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

I like the second shot as well. The sharpness of the heron is a wonderful contrast to the dark, mysterious woods behind.
on May 1, 2015 at 10:52 am | Reply jeaninjackson

I like them all.
- on May 1, 2015 at 7:36 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. As I noted in the post, it’s hard to decide.
on May 1, 2015 at 11:37 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

I honestly cannot decide whether I prefer the first or second shots best as they each have strengths. Great position to be in though to not know which strong shot is your best.
on May 1, 2015 at 12:53 pm | Reply krikitarts

I agree with you, Mike: The light is just wonderful and the action is fascinating. No need to try to choose one over the others!
on May 2, 2015 at 10:32 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

Wonderful work Mike in difficult light. I quite like those backgrounds. The heron stands out beautifully!
- on May 3, 2015 at 4:44 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris.
on May 12, 2015 at 9:02 am | Reply anomadlife

I like the second!
- on May 12, 2015 at 11:34 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for providing your thoughts.