There are times I need to remind myself to just stop. Don’t go anywhere, stay put and watch.
In the marshes there’s nothing you can do about distance. No standing in the water or shoreline. Take what they give you. The other day some were too far for a shot, some were too close for a shot. Some were about right.
Fly By, Great Blue Heron
Click any image below to view the gallery. If using WP Reader select the icon top right to see a browser.
There are days when the big guys are very cooperative. Best days are when there are patches of sun after a chilly night. They are warming the old bones, and not giving up their spot.
Night Herons are not very big, length is 58–65 cm (23–26 in), wing span of 115–118 cm (45.3–46.5 in). Those long wings are what makes it hard to shoot while in flight.
Good auto focus and bird tracking are what gives us a decent chance.
This is a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. The young Herons were out and about. They were shy and fast, and some downright friendly. A day of contradictions for sure.
There was actually some color in a few trees too.
Best viewed large.
Over The Marsh Like A Rocket, Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron, ACE Basin, South Carolina.
A Great Blue moving along a dike. The tall grass borders the drop off to the water. Perfect for fishing.
The Great Blue is the tallest wading bird in North America, just not this one who is rather small.
This time of year these birds are out in the large marshes. They are solitary for another 2 months or so. At that point males head back to rookeries they know and begin searching for good nesting sites.
For now they are content to eat and argue with any other big Herons or Egrets they find.
Recently I upgraded the DxO NIK softwares. Installs and setup went as expected. The plugin for Lightroom was automatic, Adobe products most always plays well with others.
I manually setup ON1, despite the claims of the vendor ON1’s integration with outside programs is not automatic and there is always ongoing issues. That said once you remember the quirks it’s perfectly usable, which I find a big plus for photographers that choose it as their main editor. NIK (DxO) plugins have specific functions and are about the best at what they do.
Up High
Both images here are a similar composition but were taken in different locations. The gear used was also the same. Above is a Tricolored Heron photographed at Bear Island. Below is a Great Egret shot in the Donnelley WMA.
The editor ON1 was used on both images also. Testing the new NIK was best done on that editor since it’s a safe assumption all will be fine in Lightroom.
Each image was sent to Color Efex individually. The ‘trip’ from ON1 to Color Efex, and Color Efex saving changes back to ON1 worked just fine. Sending these on that ‘trip’ for Silver Efex results are not as smooth, but that’s for another time.
Up High
Specs; OM-1 mk2, Leica 100-400, ON1, DxO Color Efex
When we walk on this trail we never really look up. The Ashley River is on the right, a few places on the left lead to the main house of the plantation, and overhead just big branches thick with leaves. It’s a spot we pass through.
However on this morning I glanced up. Maybe 15 feet up at the tree I spotted this Owl.
Below, a juvenile Barred Owl. One that had fledged a few weeks ago. Owls nest in a nearby bamboo swamp, I assume this was from there.
Young Barred Owl
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, ON1, Topaz, DxO Color Efex.
Note; This year was not a good year for the Barred Owls in our usual places. A few miles up the road new housing was built, never good for wildlife, water levels changed too. Also they have been in the same nesting place for a long time, might have been just time for a change. This juvenile was photographed last fall.
