Tricolored heron, Egretta tricolor

SELF | Feb 15, 2009 | tsiya

[SWAMPSNIPER]

These guys spend a lot of time way out in the salt marsh, I don't get this close as often as I'd like. The heron was hunting little crabs and shrimp. The spread wings pose is typical, the shade created helps the heron see through the surface glare.

It was very cloudy, sea fog starting in. I set the saturation on high, it is easier to desaturate a bit than to replace color not in the image. I'm never as pleased with the result, full sunlight can't be beat.

The lake is surrounded by houses, the colors reflect on the water, if a bird moves just a few feet the water color changes

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Pinglist

[brytlea]

Lovely, thanks for sharing!

[Kimmers]

Thank you for the backgrounds, stunning work.

What camera and lens are you using?

[JoeProBono]

Nice!

[gorush]

Herons are the epitome of grace in spite of their ungainly proportions. Great photos, as usual.

[LucyJo]

Beautiful. I always enjoy your work.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

If I were a little bitty crab, one of those thing coming after me would probably be like a 60-story tyranasaurus!

[Semper911]

Okay now that's twice in the last few days I've stumbled on one of your pic threads. Your work is stunning.

Do you have room for one more on your ping list?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Lots of room!

[Not A Snowbird]

Lovely!

So that's the critter that nabbed several of my pond fish last year!

[TADSLOS]

It was very cloudy, sea fog starting in. I set the saturation on high, it is easier to desaturate a bit than to replace color not in the image. I'm never as pleased with the result, full sunlight can't be beat.

First of all, great composition of the heron. Have you tried adjusting your white balance setting? Also, a warming filter might help in this situation.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Panasonic FZ30 with an Olympus Tcon-17 lens. I can push it to about 900mm equivalent. These shots are at a bit over 600mm. It’s a poor boys DSLR!

[rdl6989]

It’s a poor boys DSLR!

That's exactly what I've been looking for.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

No outer threads on the Tcon lens, I’d have to rig something to hold a filter. The camera has a 55mm lens thread, I use filters when I don’t use the TC.

[TADSLOS]

No outer threads on the Tcon lens, I’d have to rig something to hold a filter. The camera has a 55mm lens thread, I use filters when I don’t use the TC.

Do you use some version of Photoshop, Lightroom or some other post-processing program with your images?

[dayglored]

Please put me on your ping list, these photos are really gorgeous! I was graced with a number of GBHs in my house on a creek near Ithaca for many years, and love to watch them, both live and in photos.

I'm neither a professional photographer nor birder, strictly amateur. But FWIW my "totem animal" has always been the Wood Duck...

Thanks,
Dayglored

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I have Photoshop 7 and a bunch of freebie programs. Photoshop is hard to beat. I got the freebies because I can't resist a deal!

If you don't have an edit program you are pretty much stuck with shooting in near ideal conditions.

[cajungirl]

stunning pics,,put me on your ping list. We have a GBH in our backyard {lake} and he is out there every day.

[TADSLOS]

If you don't have an edit program you are pretty much stuck with shooting in near ideal conditions.

True. Even under ideal conditions, some post processing will really help give the image a boost.

If you are shooting in RAW format, you may want open the RAW image first to try using your white balance tool in the Elements 7 RAW editor. This gives you the ability to non-destructively adjust your white balance of the image to the light conditions you were shooting under at the time. Once you have opened the image into Elements 7 editor as a JPEG or PSD file, you may find that using a photo warming filter (usually after any other adjustments) might also be helpful.