Stick Envy--Great Blue Herons Sparring

[Jim_Zablotny]

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Saturday I purchased a new SSD and headed out the next morning to one of our local Metro Parks that has a medium sized heron rookery. Around 8:00am, a flock of great blue herons entered the rookery and someone landed on the wrong nest. The heron on the right successfully defended the nest and forced the invader to make a quick retreat. I wish for better light, but managed to capture the battle.

Technical Details

Z9 600mm f4 (1/1600 sec at f6.3, ISO 3200) Denoise, Levels, Shadows & Highlights, Brightness & Contrast, Crop for Comp. The cloud cover was heavy enough to obscure cloud detail in the sky so I went for a high key image.

[Allen_Sparks]

Nice interaction you captured Jim. An intense moment in nature. Great to see an eye from each bird with open beaks and wing positions. Rookeries are definitely places where battles over resources are carried out.

[Diane_Miller]

Great action / story, with wonderful tonalities in the birds. The white sky gives it the look of a very nice illustration. Looks like construction is in progress. Maybe we’ll see more from here – sounds like another great location.

[Allen_Brooks]

Great interaction shot with them looking at each other. The detail really stood out for me.

[Ed_Williams]

Those beaks look like daggers Jim. What a fight. You got excellent clarity and sharpness with both birds and the nest in this image.