Like a statue a Great Blue Heron stands so still in the calm ripples of the shallow ocean waters. The Heron is taking a break from hunting crustaceans and small fish. Unaware of the Heron’s presence, fish are more likely to swim within its range. If the Heron spots a fish, it will reposition, moving its head closer to the water in order to better view the prey.

When I first got to the beach, the Great Blue Heron was quite a distance away, due to a low tide. I decided to attempt getting closer for a few shots, so walked out onto the beach. I have found that Great Blue Herons can be very hard to approach and are likely to fly away before getting close enough for a decent shot. On the contrary, some Great Blue Herons like the one shown are much less nervous and will allow one to get close enough for some decent shots. I was lucky on this day, as this Great Blue Heron allowed me to get quite close!

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" PHOTO INFORMATION"

Taken on Feb 01/12 on south east Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada.
Camera, Canon 7D
Lens, Canon EF 100-400 L IS USM lens.
Tripod, Manfrotto, including 498RC2 Ballhead.
Taken at, 1/500’s at f/5.6, +2/3 ev, 400mm, iso 800, man wht bal ( 6540 kelvin).
No cropping, sharpening via lab mode, lightness channel, unsharp mask( amount 45, radius 1.5, threshold 3).