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08/29/2007 01:24:54 AM · #1 |
Well heres what i have so far from Stalking The Great Blue Heron.
ill just give the most intense part of the day:)
Day One: 08-26-07Path of travel
I was bored, got home from church and it was ab out 10am, i went in the house, put on some grubby clothes, grabbed the e-500 and a 40-150mm lens and went for a walk, got to the river around 10:15 and i walked to a island in the middle of the river, stayed there for about a hour walking around not much happened, just a bunch of back tracking that didnt pay off, learned that a heron feeds upstream to keep the dirt its tallons kick up out of the feeding area, also they cant hear worth a @*$! so you can make alot a noise, but youll spook them if they see you, anyway. noon rolls around and i get to under the bridge, i see a heron sitting about 200-250 feet away, happy as ever i run plowing through the island to get closer, i finally get sick of being in the bush so i come out to a corrner, and he is still there, Shot one hes that big long pole thing i sat there waiting about 30 minutes for him to come closer, finally something spooks him and he flys my way, me not ready with my camera off to save battery, quick flip it on and get to the shooting, leaving the lens on auto, all it did was zoom in and out and in and out, not good, the heron flys right past me as i get two shot off both blurry, one mistake i hope to never, but probable will make again.Shot 1,Shot 2,
Day two: 08-27-07 Path of Travel
I get home from work about 3pm, grab my gear and got down to the river at 5pm. i walk the outer rim of the river because the neighbor has no trasspassing signs up like crazy, about 1/4 way around the bend i spot two heron, one flying and one sitting in a tree, the one flying nabbs at the one sitting and he takes off, then the one flying takes the tree, i am about 80 feet away sitting tucked in a tree take a shot and its just to far away. 80ft shot one i sit tight for a bit, and then move up another 30-40 feet crawling in the grass, i get close enough to the second tree so i boggie on into her! grab the camera and take a shot. about 45 feet Shot 2 still to far away, worried that i was going to spook the heron, i didnt want to move to the next tree, which was about 20 feet away, but its either take the chance and spook them and get the shot, or wait and hope it flys this way, well i got sick of waiting, so i got down again, and moved really slow to the last tree, took me about 15 minutes to get there in fear of spooking the heron, i finnaly get close, i get under put up my lens and, bam away he flys, i came out of the tree just a tad to much and spooked him.spook shot 3 in massive dissapointment i take a picture of the branch he was on to see how wonderful the shot could have been.wonderful shot that i didnt get:P i then finish walking the curve of the river and went home.
Day 3: 08-28-07 Path of travel Things are lookin up nice and bright outside, but being tired from work i feel asleep till 5:10pm, i got up, grabbed my stuff and headed outside, and what do you know, clouds rollin in. so i figure ill take a differnt approach today and ask the land owner if i can go on there property, she says no problem as long as i dont litter its all good:) so i gear up, and take to the trails, get in to the same tree where i missed the shot the day before, and i sat tight, about 20 minutes of nothing rolls by and here comes a hawk flying down the riverbed and lands in a tree, what an oppertunity, so i snuck up to the edge of the water still being covered by the tree and snapped some shots, but again he saw me and flew away, i did though manage to get a diecent shot of him.Hawk1 as he flew away i looked down stream and there was the next victum accross the river standing by some logs, i grabbed my gear and headed on the path down stream, get to the first tree that i was at yesterday and snuck in a bit, and he came to my side of the river heading up stream, so i snuck out, and went back to the third tree climbed up in her and sat for about 30 minutes, there was a beautiful open patch of water id say 10 feet from where she be, but she didnt move, i seen her snap up a fish, that i say is an awsome thing to see, but no pictures cause of branches, i ditched the tree idea, and climbed out, and snuck near her, getting closer and closer, this time i actually layed down in the grass, keeping a tree inbetween the two of us so she cant see me, 10 minutes passes and i get to the tree, keep my cover very slowly i come around the trunk of the tree and snap about 5 shots, knowing i got one good oneTHE GOOD ONE!!! FINALLY!!! i climbed up in the tree and swong around the branches to get her spooked so i could get out, its always better to spook an animal with branches or something rather spook them by letting them see you, because this way they will return to the place in the near feuture unafraid of the surroundings.
anyway, i am very pleased with the shots i got on day three, i will be going there for the fourth and final day on friday, should be an all day event, or atleast early morning, i hope it goes good, hope you liked the story, ill give a reply on friday with the shots i take, thanks again, i hope you enjoyed it. i sure did Jimbo_for_life:)
if anyone cares to look at any of my other work, go to www.photobucket.com username: Jimbo_for_life and the friend password: enter
Message edited by author 2007-08-29 10:54:12. |
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08/29/2007 02:31:39 AM · #2 |
Herons are as bad as eagles when it comes to spooking them.
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08/29/2007 10:52:08 AM · #3 |
| i havent had the oppertunity to shoot wild eagles, i know there is a nest outsidwe of town in the country but i havent got a clue who owns the land so i never considered taking shots of them. but would be fun for a feuture project. |
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08/29/2007 11:00:36 AM · #4 |
Beautifull final shots of the two birds, looks to be well worth the struggle :)
-dave |
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08/29/2007 11:03:01 AM · #5 |
| thrill of the hunt ... very cool |
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08/29/2007 11:15:13 AM · #6 |
Very well documented story! Cool. Nice end results.
I have a similar story (posted in details of my Backlighting III photo). Used to hunt deer as a kid/young adult...these heron are nearly as jittery as deer are!
You did great getting close enough for that last shot, especially with 150mm at the top end. |
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08/30/2007 12:25:47 AM · #7 |
Great story! I've chased a few herons around my neighborhood (which we officially nicknamed Heron Landing a few years back). This is probably the best shot I've gotten:
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