White-Faced Heron

[FootLoose]

It's not the magnificent specimen that Christina posted recently, but possibly a puny Antipodean cousin (Egretta Novaehollandie).

C&C welcome.

#1.




#2.



#3.



#4.



#5.

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[Kodiak]

•
Nice stuff Greg! … the first one is not consistent with the others! Cool background!

[Stagecoach]

Very good series Greg, No 1 stands out for me but very closely followed by the others.

[dje]

Exceptional clarity/sharpness and light Greg. Well done.

Dave

[chauncey]

Greg, those are absolutely stellar images.

That being said, and I've shot a ton of heron images...we must have a totally different definition of
"beauty", I find them to be borderline prehistoric in appearance.
Their mating calls...they had to have been used in the movie "Jurassic Park".

[Brownbear]

Yes, absolutely stellar! Gorgeous! My favourites are #1 & #3.

[Wavelength]

Very nice set

[IzzieK]

Greg...I prefer #1 and #5 best for their profile shots...nicely done...as all of them are of course, just to me, those two have something more to them than the others.

[bnnrcn]

All beautiful !

[FootLoose]

John, Kodiak, Grahame, Dave, William, Christina, Nandakumar, Izzie, and Binnur, thank you for viewing and commenting.

This was another overcast afternoon when I just sat down on the rocky outcrop and waited for something to happen. Kodiak, I think the difference in colour between the first and the others is due to the bird moving around me. The first was shot facing almost due North while the others were more Easterly.

I shot around 300 frames and selected approx 50 for processing, based on the pose, detail in feathers, lighting and least 'busy' background. While #2 & #3 are from the same burst, until now I hadn't noticed how well the next 2 fit in with the sequence here.

William, absolutely agree about their call. One of them has recently starting hanging around my area - which is basically a concrete canyon - and when I first heard it, I could not believe that incredible noise was coming from that little head!

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set, Greg. That's a great setting with the barnacles on the rocks. I really like the first one for the richer colors. Though it may be just a tad dark.

I shot quite a few of those guys last year while visiting. We saw the white necked variety too but always out in cow pastures and too far to shoot. They're both fun to watch.

[Paniaa]

Beautiful, I like best 1 & 5

[FootLoose]

Thanks Pania, the consensus seems to be for the static shots rather than the action shots.

Dan, good to know you like the richer colours. They are probably a bit more natural - at least when they are wet. Since my knee has been playing up I have spent a lot of time just sitting and watching the birds, and I have found it quite fascinating. (Even the gulls, which seem to have some on guard duty while the others are bathing.) The way these herons and the oyster catchers crack open shells and extract the bodies inside amazes me.

[Kodiak]

Kodiak, I think the difference in colour between the first and the others is due to the bird moving around me. The first was shot facing almost due North while the others were more Easterly.

Granted, the changing incidence of the light will have an effect but with
some minor tweaking, one may come to a closer rendition such as this
suggestion followed by the original:

[John 2]

That's a beautiful bird Greg and nice and sharp. Good set of images.

[Caddy]

Granted

very convincing.

[FootLoose]

John and Caddy, thanks for viewing and commenting.

Kodiak, a touch of vibrance? I think the bird is a little too blue in your edit, but I take your point. I will watch out for consistency of colour in future sets.

[Kodiak]

Kodiak, a touch of vibrance?

Sorry Greg, vibrance does not refer to any slider in my RAW converter.
I only meant to give you a hint that it could be done.