A few years back a street in our neighborhood flooded after heavy December rains. I was surprised to find this Great Blue Heron looking for a meal in the middle of the flooded street. I quickly drove home and grabbed my camera, the long lens, and tripod. I thought the cars in the background contrasting against the unexpected heron made a nice contrast. I posted another version of this recently for the Weekly Challenge “After the Flood” but a day late. My apologies, I’m new here, just learning the ropes.
Specific Feedback Requested
All feedback welcome!
Technical Details
Nikon D800, Nikkor 200-500mm @450mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 1600.
I imagine it was surprising to see the heron in the middle of the street. Nice catch. Thanks for sharing it with us. If I may suggest, you might try cropping down from the top to take out the sky, which seems a little distracting to me and doesn’t really add anything to the photo. Also, maybe some details could be brought out on the heron. Great capture.
I’ve actually been thinking about this one quite a bit, if philosophically. It’s one of the first images I saw as a new member and I book-marked it in my mind for comment. I haven’t found the category but I’d think urban nature or something to that effect. It’s sort of a sad commentary on the encroachment of “civilization” on what we like to think of as pure, innocent nature. Or perhaps it’s a recognition of the invasion of nature into our sphere, a willingness to relinquish that innocence and healthy fear of us in order to meet life’s basic needs. There’s a sense of possible threat to the bird here at the hands of our technology and machinery. There’s a feeling of a stranger in a strange land. Well done, whether your thoughts trended these directions at moment of capture or not!
@kerry4 Thanks for your comment! A little background. This street is next to a wetlands on one side and a pond on the other. The Tualatin River is close by. The street runs along a natural area and is part of a regular walk I do. There are a resident egret and a heron that I often see next to the pond, looking for a meal. However, in 10 years this is the only time this street has flooded. At the time I shot this image, I was thinking about the juxtaposition of this heron in an urban setting, and how unusual and almost surreal it was. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking too much about the symbolism you identified. I’m very pleased that the image evoked such a strong response from you!
